We zipped up to Lausanne again on our Eurail passes as Tim and Tanya had a long weekend, and then together we travelled to Omenga at the head of Lake Orta in northern Italy. The town and lake were both very pretty, but initially it was hard to look past these two giant pink plastic snails. They were stationed on a pontoon just by the place we stayed (to the right of centre in this photo). Later we saw a matching snail in another part of town.

Googling tells me that these must be friends of others made by Italy’s Cracking Art Group (CAP), in conjunction with Galleria Ca d’Oro, that have appeared en masse in various famous cities over the last few years

‘to inspire a community-wide conversation about the importance of recycling and its environmental impact, while leaving a potent artistic trace’

I wonder how Omenga got hold of a few, as well as a number of similarly large and oversized meercats that were standing on balconies around the town?

Looking north towards the town from our place.

I liked this street art.

A woman on a pink Vespa!

A lovely blaze of yellows.

When we went down the lake to Orta by boat on the Saturday we had a great sight of the Alps that are the backdrop to the town.