I went and stayed in, oh bother! was it Menaggio or Bellaggio, the less fancy one. I was there in early April and the first two days were warm and clear and sunny. The next two were wet and cold and the snow came down the Alps further, but it was still spectacular. Boating up the lake is gorgeous and they do some pretty wonderful food and beautiful silk on the Italian end of the lake. I also believe there's some wonderful, not very populated hiking if you do much of that. I'm an eating, strolling tourist, so I didn't explore that much.

Cinque Terra's also great on the Mediteranean coast, five little villages connected by train or hiking path and now a terrifying road. Good fish, pesto, olive groaves, lemon trees and gorgeous scenery. When I win the lottery . . .   It's also warmer than most other parts of Italy because of the protecting mountains to the north and the sea.

Susan