Good morning friends! It’s a beautiful sunny friday afternoon, and right now I’m laying on a lounge chair that looks out onto the sparkling blue lake of Orta. Today it is over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) so it’s finally beginning to feel like summer. These past two weeks of summer have been pretty relaxing – sleeping in, spending time with my host family, meeting friends for lunch, and playing harp. Yesterday was especially nice because my host dad, Pigi, took me to see the beautiful “isola dei pescatori” (island of fisherman) on Lake Maggiore. We took a boat to the island and walked around for a while. Than we ate dinner at a cute restaurant on the island called “Hotel Ristorante Belvedere.” If you break up the word “belvedere” into “bel” and “vedere,” in english it literally translates to “beautiful” “to see.” I would say they got the name on point because the restaurant definitely had a good view of the lake!! For dinner we ordered salads and fish risotto. It was delicious! After dinner we walked around the island for a while and took pictures of the sunset. At about 9:30 we took the boat back to land and drove to a famous hotel in Stresa. There was a little party on the rooftop with music and tango dancing, so we witnessed that and ordered some gelato. Thanks Pigi, it was a night to remember!!