Maggiore (and later, Como) are Italian lakes that have to earn their mettle against the Balkans' frontrunners of Ohrid (Macedonia) and Bled (Slovenia). The competition appears evenly matched at the start of a 3-day assessment. This is not just a beauty competition... with the passing of the years and the extension of the wrinkles... Joye and I are forming the view that beauty is just skin deep... and attraction needs to be assessed on deeper more spiritual criteria.
Just to summarise:
Ohrid is the engineering marvel. It has springs in its bed that gush out an enormous volume of the most pure water in nature... no germs... no particle contamination... at volumes estimated to be 8 cubic kilometres per year. Scientists are still figuring out where such a mind-blowing volume of water comes from... and why is it so clean. Macedonia and Albania still have to decide what they will do with the valuable resource. The analogy of feminine beauty is... the young girl who graduates from university at the age of 16... is very pretty... and wears glasses.
Bled is made of fairytale magic... a much smaller lake... less than 10 klms in circumference. It has the picturesque church sitting in the island just waiting for princesses to find their knight and get married. The castle is perched high on the high rocky outcrop overlooking the lake.. perfectly placed to house the dastardly Count who persecuted princesses and knights. The female equivalent of Lake Bled is the sweet teenager who has dreamt her life away... dresses only in frilly white lace... and blushes a lot.
Maggiore is more mature... more assertive... more commercial. In the far distance, the Alps provide the backdrop of snow covered peaks along the Swiss border. The Lake foreshore is a long strip of commercial and residential development... much at a standard that has you photographing beautiful buildings on scenic headlands. Mercs and Audis race along the lake waterfront. Maggiore is the mature lady we saw sitting at the Gucci Restaurant... sipping espresso coffee... smoking Virginia Slims... with incredible makeup... and a bored look on her face.
This competition will make the Eurovision Song Competition look like precise science.
We picked up our new car today... one of those purchase/buyback arrangements. To continue the female metaphor... this little lady is a Peugeot 208...just released in Europe... curvaceous body... quiet and demure... diesel sipping habits of a T-totaller... smoother riding than a Lipizzaner dressage horse... acceleration faster than a race to the bar at closing time... everything you want from good breeding. It took a little time for us to get to know each other... only after the first morning of driving did I manage to lower the driving seat ... so that you felt part of the car... rather than just the driver. Joye's reaction has been positive... but not as emotional.
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