What is that giant orb ablaze in the sky?

After weeks of cloudy gray skies and while Chris was back in SR for work my friend, Amanda, and I decided to head down to Ticino, Switzerland for some sun.
We headed into the 11 mile Gotthard Tunnel leaving behind bleak, freezing Zurich and emerged from it into gorgeous sunshine and 50 degree temp!

We went to Bellinzona which is known for its 3 castles: Castelgrande, Montebello, and Sasso Corbaro.

Courtyard of Castelgrande overlooking the old city and Collegiata dei Ss. Pietro e Stefano (the church). Also, Montebello on the adjacent hill and Sasso Corbaro on the hilltop.

Cool stairs. They totally freaked me out when I was trying to come down them.

Before heading to the other castles, we had a leisurely walk through the old city and had a great lunch. This is in front of Collegiata dei Ss. Pietro e Stefano.

We didn't really know how to get to the hill top where Sasso Corbaro was so we found a map and put the road into the GPS. It took us on a incredibly winding, one-lane, partially dirt road, but we made it.

View from Sasso Corbaro.

Needless to say we did not take the same road back. We took the easy way and pretty much ran into Montebello which was both of our favorites.

Who wouldn't love a 12th century castle with working drawbridges?