Stones in a river near the hamlet of Lavertezzo, in the Valle Verzasca of Switzerland

© Robert Seitz/Offset by Shutterstoc

A river runs through it

In just a few months it'll be warm enough to perch for a while on this smooth river rock, dangle your feet into the water, and take in this gorgeous Swiss scenery. We’re here in the Valle Verzasca, a valley in Ticino, Switzerland, close to the Italian border. There in the near distance is the tiny hamlet of Lavertezzo, where most everyone speaks Italian. Tourists normally flock to this area in warm summer months to swim and snorkel in the river’s famous turquoise waters and to jump off the 17th century double-arched bridge known as the Ponte dei Salti (Bridge of Jumps). The very, very brave bungee jump off the nearby Contra dam, made famous in the 1995 James Bond film ‘GoldenEye.’