Photos from our retreat spot in northern Italy

Ciao, friends! I finally have photos up on the blog, thanks to my friends who just visited.

An explanation: Casa Speroni and the Sarigo Retreat Center are run by the same family. The former is a working B&B--very nicely fixed up; the latter is undergoing renovation (to be completed in April of next year).

I'm still working in the details of the retreat, but am excited to announce we will have at least two trips included in the week. Some ideas: to Milan to shop, see the "Last Supper" and Duomo, etc. and possibly attend an opera at La Scala; driving around the lake to see castles and gardens and visiting the largest weekly outdoor market in Europe; touring and tasting Piemontese Barolo or Barbera wines!

Other day trips you can take on your own (or go with me and my daughter as a friend rather than "official" student) will be to take the ferry around the lake to the islands to view castles and gardens; visit Switzerland; take a combination ferry/train ride that goes to the mountain town of Domodossola; hiking; much more--see the links blog to research some of the other towns and sights within train distance in a day.

here is a long list of websites to explore. Please post a blog entry if you find out anything interesting (I haven't looked through the sites yet) and include anything of interest to others.

grazie Tama

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/mag/nlm.html

http://www.lagomaggioreexpress.com/Inglese/index.html

http://www.stresa.net/lido2000/uk.htm

http://www.borromeoturismo.it/scripts/home.php?lang=en
(scroll down as the clickable images are at the bottom of the page)

http://www.cenacolovinciano.it/html/eng/home.htm

Stairwell at Casa Speroni

The stairwell at Casa Speroni, showing the three floors, and my "bellissima" friend Virginia who was at Sarigo and Casa Speroni in September and took these photos.

Stairway at Sarigo

This photo makes me nostalgic for Italy!

Casa Speroni Balcony view

Here's the view from one of the Casa Speroni rooms.

Sarigo Bedroom

Here's one of the bedrooms at Sarigo in the current, unrefurbished state--needs some TLC, but has potential.

View from the back of Sarigo

View of the surrounding hills of Sarigo.

View out the back of Sarigo

This is the view of the hills from the back of the place.

Yoga Room at Sarigo

Here's the state of the yoga room in September 2007--as you can see, it needs a lot of work! But, look at the wonderful brickwork (and my lovely friend Virginia) and imagine it fixed up like the rooms Casa Speroni, and practicing yoga and pranayama there...

Amazing Brick Ceiling

This may actually be at Casa Speroni, rather than Sarigo, but I've added it here to show the amazing brickwork. These buildings are hundreds of years old--like most buildings in Italy.

Sitting room at Speroni with TV

This photo and the ones below are all from Casa Speroni B&B where my friends visited last month and brought back these photos. Casa Speroni is--as you can see--comfortably furnished and currently taking guests.

Living room at Speroni

Here's the living room at Speroni.

Another single room at Speroni with double bed

Another single room at Speroni--with double bed.

Bathroom at Speroni

An example of a bathroom at Speroni.

Twin Bedroom in Speroni

A shared room at Speroni with twin beds.

Italy Yoga Retreat 2008

Look here for information about the June 2008 yoga retreat, plus helpful information about Italy and surrounding countries for travel and adventure.