A surprise gift!

It was Manda's 21st birthday on 29th June. We all met up for a few drinks and laughs at Robin Hood on Friday night which was good. It was then also that we gave Manda her birthday present which we have all been frantically planning for the last week (accom., tickets, people, etc.)


For her gift we got a deal to go down to Locarno for the weekend and then a boat ride to the Brissago Islands which are on Lake Maggoire, pretty much where the Swiss and Italian border meet. We also paid for her accomodation so she could enjoy the weekend away 'cause we all know how much au pairs make per week....



So the people that came were Manda, Lacey, Sara, Svetlana and a new girl named Laura that is now working for my bosses brother. The 6 of us set on down to Locarno 8am Saturday and after 3 hours on the train we arrived at Locarno. Similiarly said and also much like Lugano, it is very Italian. The people speak Italian, and the food is always good. We enjoyed our first day at the island after a beautiful one hour boat ride.




The Brissago Islands are basically just a tourist spot where lots of different species of plants grow and one restaurant. On the island there was even an Australian section with gum trees, ferns and agapanthas. I actually got a bit sad to see the gum trees as they reminded me so much of home. Here are a few things we saw....







It was really beautiful to be surrounded by plantlife and it seemed like we were in a rainforest or something. It was so relaxing and just good to wander and look at your own pace. At about 4.30 we headed back to Locarno and then checked into our hostel which was reasonable. Luckily we were in like an 11 person room which we had to ourselves.

We then went out to dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant which was really enjoyable... what was even better was the gelato we had later which was seriously heaven in a cup!!!

We wandered a bit more around Locarno and then headed home to have a quick glass of wine before heading to bed.



Sunday was a bit up in the air as we werent sure what to do so we agreed upon going out in a paddle boat for an hour. Manda, Lacey and I went on one where we drank wine and tried to go near big boats so we could float over their waves and the others went on another one.

Manda and I also braved the water which I thought was really scary considering I had no idea how deep it was, I spent all of five seconds in there before panicking and then more time actaully trying to haul my body back into the boat.... aghhhh!



We then went to a buffet restaurant for lunch which was really nice and then we headed home. It was a good weekend but kind of a painful one as some people were harder to get along with than others. Its hard I guess to be friends with new people when your so comfortable with your current friends. Lacey and I have some work cut out for us over the next few weeks as we say goodbye to our two best friends now Sara and Manda. It will be strenge to be without them but it will be good for us to also meet new people who have the same interests as us... that is of course travelling Europe, having fun weekends away in Switzerland, drinking good wine, going shopping and having lazy days at the lake or watching movies!

I am scared to say farewell but look forward to the challenges ahead when you go through that process of meeting people. This weekend though was good though as we were together. Months have now become weeks and weeks will soon be days, so every moment is special with the girls.

Happy Birthday Manda Mango, may every day as a 21 year old be memorable and full of laughter xoxo