Lavertezzo, Ticino

We have been in the south of Switzerland for several days with Glenn and Kat, close to the Italian border. The Swiss in this part of the country speak Italian in the main, and the architecture is different as well. It's also been hot and humid - not my favourite type of weather, especially when activities invariably involve climbing steps or slopes, but at least the skies are blue. And it's been a full moon so evenings in the streets have been delightful. We've been enjoying the very pleasant eating culture in France and Switzerland.

Just north of Bellinzona, a short bus trip up a valley, is a village called Lavertezzo. Their bridge is what we went to see, the Ponte die Salti. The double-arched stone bridge was built in the 1600s, built over a rocky ravine that looks spectacular and, if that isn't enough, the water is a remarkable blue and crystal clear. The water was running fast and was probably cold. When we visited it was Sunday and there were dozens, maybe hundreds, of people swimming, diving and sunbathing.

I walked across the bridge several times but I wasn't really comfortable. It's deceptively high and the side walls are only knee height. Add a few people carrying backpacks, bumping their way through, and it was fraught. Nobody fell in while we were there so I'm probably being a killjoy.