We had waited until the very last minute but when no invitation from "George" arrived we decided to plan our own trip to Lake Como. Who wants to stay at George Clooney's old villa away from all the action anyway.
We boarded the train in Bologna and changed in Milan.
We arrived in Como and found that we were only a ten minute walk to the Ferry Port. We could have taken a bus directly to Bellagio from the station but decided that boat would be a much prettier trip.
We passed through this lovely park on our way to the Port.
This sculpture is dedicated to disabled service people. A rough translation of the plaque reads:
One hand is actively serving
the country in defense of
institutional values. The other hand is wounded in the line
of duty.
Arriving at the Port we bought our tickets on the fast boat.
Before long we were boarding and we took off 25 minutes early. Oh well, maybe it was full and then they just leave. Seemed strange but we were on our way and we were fat , dumb and happy.
"In the shadow of the snow-covered Raeitian Alps, Largo di Como ( also known as Lago Lario) is the most spectacular of the lakes. Shaped like an upside down Y, its squiggly shoreline is scattered with villages, incuding exquisite Bellagio, in the center of the inverted V on the lake's southern shore."
The fast boat would get us there in just an hour. We stopped at a lot of little towns along the way letting off and picking up passengers.
While we were wandering around the little deck we were seated on and talking about something someone volunteered that we were not on the fast boat but the slow ferry and the trip would take 2 hours. Oh dear! We still don't have our act together and now we're leaving. Too late now!
The real sad thing is I had paid for the fast boat ,12 eeuro's and when we got to talking I discovered Sharon had paid for the slow boat - 8 euro's. Now that I think about it Sharon had probably decided she could use the extra 4 euro's which was the difference in the fares and buy something with it in Bellagio. She had probably purposely divertd me on to the slow boat. Yup! I bet that's what happened.
The scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed cappuccino on the deck. Served in a cup and saucer and very hot and nice.
The gardens of the villa's we saw along the way wre absolutely exquisite.
Around this time we noticed that our informants were enjoying a glass of wine. I asked them if it was pretty good wine. (I'd hate to drink a bad glass of wine!) They said it was pretty good and only 2.50 euro. I ran and got us a glass.
Villa del Balbianello is located next to Lake Como, Italy. In the spring of 2006, the movie Casino Royale was filmed in front of the villa. The villa doubles as a hospital where James Bond (Daniel Craig) is recovering, together with Vesper (Eva Green) and where the Swiss banker comes to get the code to transfer the money.
Built for Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini at the end of the XVIII century, the Villa stands on the tip of a steep promontory overlooking Lake Como, almost opposite Bellagio. Today, the villa has the appearance desired by its last owner, the explorer Guido Monzino, with a rich collection of Chinese, African and pre-Colombian art, precious English and French furniture of the 1700s and the small museum with documents and mementoes of his expeditions. Yet the true masterpiece is the panoramic terraced garden dominated by the elegant "loggia" with three arches rising on the highest point of the promontory.
The same villa can also be seen in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones.
Before long we were talking to the "mother and daughter" who had been kind enough to inform us of our boarding error and provide us with a critique of the wine onboard.
We took their picture together and they reciprocated. The daughter had a selfie stick which she was using a lot but sometimes it's just easier to have someone else take the picture. She would definitely agree with that statement.
This young man in this picture had asked me to take his picture with the mountains in the background and we struck up a conversations. He was from Quebec and traveling alone. Before long we had three new friends. I got so excited I just had to have a picture.
We jut talked away and exchanged "info" and than Jacqueline took a picture of all of us with her "selfie" stick.
Finally we arrived in Bellagio. Best mistake we made taking the slow boat. We were able to get some great pictures and meet some very nice people. I've decided not to get angry at Sharon for getting me on the wrong boat. Would have been a shame after all this year together to let something like that end our friendship.
Directly across from the Ferry Port was our hotel.
By this time we were hungry so we found a nice little restaurant with a beautiful view.
We had a delicious lunch and than set out to find the three restaurants that the hotel clerk had recommended for dinner. One was way out on a point - away from the town so we set out in that direction first.
It was a littl bit of a hike and the wind was blowing and it was pretty cool. Alhtough it would have been lovely we decided right than we wouldn't walk back.
We got back into town and walked up and down the litte street along the water. Great shops!
We also noticed that all the side streets went up!
Sharon had ben looking for a "flexible" sun hat. One you can roll up and throw in the suitcase. Success - but white...
Or black?
The tour books describe the lanes these as "picturesque stone lanes". Yes they are but they are absolutely terrible to walk on. We exchanged our sandles for our old walking shoes before too long.
We found the other two restaurants that had been recommended and both looked good so we just picked this one. We both enjoyed our dinner - Sharon had a wonderful pasta and I had a caprice salad and perch. We were so hungry we hate it all before I remembered that I hadn't taken pictures.
After dinner we wandered around the streets and came upon this bar which sold hand painted bottles filled with oils and vinegars. They were asoutely beautiful and we learned they were painted by the owner's father. He also handpainted some cork tops for wine, and also for oil and vinegars which were lovely.
It was beautiful out so we decided to have a glass of wine at this hotel restaurant which had a deck right on the water.
We were just thoroughly enjoying our wine and the view. Pretty soon a ferry came into view and before long ...
this was our view.
We were a little chilly so we finished our wine and headed back to the hotel .
The next morning we enjoyed a lovely breakfast, which was included ,in this room which had this lovely view of the water.
After breakfast we visited a couple of places and did a little shopping. We couldn't figure out why there were so many silk scarfs in Bellagio. We learned that the silk comes from Como.
We had to have a last parting shot in Bellagio at the Ferry Port. This time we did catch the fast boat and made it to Como in an hour. It was nice but we both agreed that the slow boat was much better and encourage everyone to at least take it one way.
We had a little time in Como before we had to catch the train so we wandered around.
We found a little market in front of the Cathedral and found a few little things to purchase. Oh dear, we may have to send another box home.
This is the final ascent. We had to climb these to get to the train station. It wasn't bad going down on the way into Como but going up at the end of a trip when our bags were just a bit heavier and our legs a bit more tired was tasking.
We had a lovely visit to Bellagio and to Como. If the trip had been earlier in our adventure we would have stayed longer and visited some of the gardens and villa's. As it was, it was perfet for us. We saw it and enjoyed the visit. If in Northern Italy again I would definitely go back and spend more time.
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