My last day in Domo!

Today was my last day in Domodossola. I was very sad that it was my last day. The past week had gone so quickly. Maria Carla had to go to Milan to the doctors and Maurice had to look after the kids so Marianna took me for a walk. More like a hike.  As we left the house all I could see of the place we were to walk to was part of a building sticking out from some trees.  It seemed quite high up

We were heading for Monte Calvario which promised a nice view over Domodossola. 

As we walked we came across chapels depicting the days of Jesus' life. Inside were beautifully hand carved statues.

It was quite the work out walking along the stone path up towards the sanctuary. The photo above is looking down towards the expanse in which we just walked up. When we finally reached the top we were welcomed by the beautiful buildings and the lovely park that surrounds it.

Inside another one of the chapels.

The view from the top looking over Domodossola was amazing. I wish the day had been clearer so that you could make more of the valleys and mountains out. It was also very nice to see how far we actually climbed up. Everything looked so small.

While we were up there we met with one of the volunteer groundskeepers who took us on a small private tour of the castle. Marianna and I ventured into the private side of the grounds where she had never seen before so that was a cool experience. We saw the old parts of the castle and the gardens. They even had a pond the shape of Lago Maggiore!

After our little tour we walked into the other part of the walls and walked through the trees towards the main church. We stepped inside the quiet building and lit a candle each before heading back down the mountain. As we walked down, our pace a bit quicker since we were no longer heading upwards we came across a goat who seemed to want to block our path but as we got closer bounded up the hill a bit to get at some bushes.

We were able to get some photos with cute little Edoardo, Maria Carla and Maurice before getting a shot with just Maria Carla and Maurice.

I was so fortunate to be welcomed by this side of my family. Distant are the branches but as Mariana put it, blood is blood and I was happy to be meet everyone that I could. I cannot wait until the next time I am in Domodossola.

(( Sorry for the long wait, internet connections have been poor and I have been very busy ))

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