Today was a wonderful day. The weather, as before, was wonderful. Temperature in the mid-80's, clear, not humid. Last night, lying in bed, I heard what I thought were fireworks. It was the 4th of July, and I thought that the locals, in a show of support for the US, had set up fireworks. Instead, it was God Himself, who set up a 3-hour thunderstorm that rolled overhead, lighting up the sky.

After breakfast, we had a brilliant talk by a guide from Milan, who spoke on the work of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. She was well-organized, stuck to a focus, and was very knowledgable. She had lots of good slides.

Then we set out by speedboat for an all-day tour of the Borromean Islands. Carlo Borromeo lived in the 16th Century, and was a competitor of the Medicis, who dominated Florence. He made his fortune in banking, became a saint by reason of his saintliness (big donor to the Church), and owned the islands to which he gave his name in Lake Maggiore. Today, the Borromeos are big in banking and in steel. They still maintain a mansion and chapel on one of the islands, and they sponsor wonderful music festivals during the summer that put Newport to shame. In fact, with the mansions and gardens that line the coasts of Lake Maggiore and the islands, you can see what the nouveaux riches of Newport were striving for. The motto of the Borromeo family is...get this...Humilitas. It is inscribed into their gardens and inside the domes of their mansions.

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Vacationing here in the way we are doing it is an exercise in affordable luxury, relaxation, and learning. The group has coalesced, and everyone gets along very well.

Our first stop was Isola Madre, where we toured one of the palaces and gardens. There were lots of tsatchke shops as well. One owner invited us in, saying, "Molto bella!" to which I responded, "Molto schloccheto!"

Then, on to Isola Pescatori (fisherman's island) where we had a wonderful lunch of branzino outdoors in the most pictureseque setting. We splurged on some great Rosato wine and threw Atkins to the winds.

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Another hop over to Isola Bella (named for Isabella Borromeo), where there were magnificent gardens, filled with peacocks and golden pheasants that roamed free, as well as a unique puppet museum, inside the Borromeos' palace.

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We passed up the third lecture of Professor Oldcorn. His thesis at the beginning was that every Italian schoolboy has to read Manzoni's I Promessi Sposi three times. Since he gave the same lecture twice, we felt there was no need to hear him ramble on a third time.

Supper was passable, but the company was good. The chef prepared a July 4th cake with sparklers for us, and the owner offered a toast of Asti Spumante.

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After dinner, we had a discussion with three local Italians who spoke about life in their region of Italy today.