We’ve been in big cities for the last two weeks. Budapest, Vienna and Prague are each great in their own way, but it is so sweet to get to Lake Como. If you’ve not been here before it should be on your short list. We’ve been to a lot of awesome places in the past 6 months and this is definitely one of the best. It is beautiful, magnificent, serene and cosmopolitan all at the same time
Bellagio is a place that must be visited. Not the Las Vegas resort, but the real Italian hamlet. It’s a wonderful village on a peninsula in the middle of the lake. As you’d expect, there are cobblestone streets and steps – lots and lots of steps – great bars, shopping and people watching. On a hot day, go to La Punta – “the point”. There’s a little park with plenty of shade where you can escape the ample crowds. Quick tip – there is a restaurant at the point called La Punta (of course) which BTW is really good. But if you just want to sit in the park and perhaps go for a swim, walk into the restaurant for a beer “to go” and drink it in the park. Super cool.
Our VRBO apartment has a great view of the lake [VRBO property reference – 8170915]. Very clean with two bedrooms and a nice bathroom. Adequate kitchen, decent television and a washing machine – that’s always a huge bonus when you’re traveling a long time. It’s also about 300 yards from George Clooney’s villa. We haven’t yet seen him. Believe me, Shawn has been looking 😊.
Cool cultural experiences are the best. I think that’s the best reason for traveling. Anyway, for the first three nights we were at Lake Como – normally a very quiet place – there was an extremely loud outdoor party with live music about 100 yards away from our bedroom window that rocked till past midnight. The Rolling Stones in Prague had an earlier curfew than this party band.
The first night we thought it was a private party. The second night we just hoped it would end. On the third night, we realized that it was open to the public so we decided to join in the fun.
It was great to mix with the local families at what was apparently a local village party. Great Italian band starring a rock and roll accordion player that probably works all the local weddings. So nice to be in Italy. They really do know how to live. So much joy and lots of family.
We’ve said the best way to view a city is via a bike tour. But the best way to see a lake is by boat. Today we rented a boat at AC Boat Rentals in Menaggio, about 15 minutes by car from Laglio [http://acboatrentals.com/?page_id=2695]. They will rent a boat to anyone over 25, even without any type of license. Perfect for us and tons of fun!
The lake is so incredible and peaceful in the morning. We first motored across the lake to the village of Lezzeno and had lunch at Albergo Aurora – a three star hotel with a five star terrace directly on the lake [http://www.hotelauroralezzeno.com/en]. Wonderful place for lunch and wine. Afterwards we cruised the lake for about three hours. So great to just float up to wonderful villas and jump in for a swim!
The Madonna del Ghisallo is a big hill close to shores of Lake Como. It’s been part of major bike races like the Giro Di Lombardia and the Giro di Italia. Due to its beautiful location the mountain top chapel became a natural stopping point for cyclists. Anyway, a local priest proposed that La Madonna del Ghisallo be declared the patroness of cyclists. This patronage was actually confirmed by Pope Pius XII. At the top of the hill there is also a cycling museum – the Museo del Ciclismo – full of historic cycling stuff. The church itself is also full of bikes and jerseys of famous professional racers along with an eternal flame for cyclists who have died. Very interesting stuff – especially if you are a cycling geek.
I rented a bike – a sweet Colnago – and made the ride from Laglio. First I had to ride to Cadenabbia to take the ferry over to Bellagio. Then followed the signs, as well as lots of other cyclists, up the really big hill. Plenty of suffering, but a great day at Lake Como.
We’ve talked about shopping many times on TravelBreezers. But it’s usually artisan goods made in the particular territory. FoxTown is a different thing [http://www.foxtown.com]. It’s located in Mendrisio, Switzerland – just across the border with Italy – about 20 minutes from Como by car. This is essentially an outlet mall, but with every high end designer. Think Gucci, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna with prices about 50-70% off retail. So, still expensive, but you could get something really cool at a great price. We were on our way to Ascona, but saw the signs for FoxTown. Went in with an agreement amongst ourselves that we’d only spend two hours in the mall. Well, four and half hours later, we left with a lot of bags from Prada, Sandro, Tod’s, Zadig & Voltaire and Gucci. Very fun day, topped off with a dinner in very nearby Lugano – just 5 minutes away.
Lugano itself is a place worthy of an entire day. It’s a beautiful town, located on the banks of Lake Lugano – another spectacular lake – with a wonderful lakefront promenade full of stores, restaurants and bars. It’s so close to Italy that everybody seems to speak Italian. So its kind of like Italy, but with a Swiss sensibility – more organized, clean and expensive! Extremely nice place. Seems to be dripping with money.
In the early 1930’s Dr. Carl Jung was instrumental in creating an annual meeting of international scholars focused on development of ideas related to consciousness and the human psyche. This conference was called Eranos as was held in the village of Ascona. This is a lovely village on the shore of Lake Maggiore, which straddles Italy and Switzerland and is about an hour’s drive from Como. Another town with a lovely lakefront promenade- but much smaller than Lugano. Today it seems like a place that very wealthy Europeans come to retire. It’s very nice and extremely expensive! Very quaint, perfect for a day trip.
Unfortunately our time in Lake Como went way too fast. I really think we could have happily spent another week here.
Off to Zurich!
great pics, brought back great memories, Ernie