Italy: Day XIV (Venice, Como)

Monday, August 1^st:

The Southern Tip of Lake Como (from our Hotel Balcony):

            Ah, more relaxing time at Lake Como. We slept in this morning and went for another slow, leisurely walk in Venice before making our way towards the train station. This time we hopped on the Bus-Boat down the Canal to get one last view of the city from the water. Venice is truly magnificent and a feat of city planning that will never be recreated. I took a bunch of pictures of the palazzos that line the Canal before arriving at the train station and making our way up to Como. The train ride seemed very short, and we were there in between the Southern Alps in no-time!

The Rialto Bridge in Venice from our Bus Boat:

            Como is a very romantic little town. In hindsight, I may have stayed in a town farther North than Como for this adventure, as there is not a ton to do at the southern end of the lake, but it was still very enjoyable. Max and I walked around for a little while to find our hotel, the Hotel Barchetta Excelsior. It took us a little while, but once we found it we quickly checked-in and dropped off our luggage to go explore the tiny little town. The main landmark in Como is their own Duomo, Como Cathedral. The church was closed due to a service, but we decided to go check it out tomorrow.

The Como Duomo:

We wandered for a little while before getting really hungry and grabbing some food around dusk. We settled on a small spot called Nero China, an Asian-fusion restaurant with some Southern Alps flair. I had a Grapefruit basket with Mussels, Squid, Clams, and Prawns inside as well as Spaghetti Scampi with Crayfish and Prawns, Fried Risotto with Lake Fish Fillets, and we drank a bottle of Italian Müller Thurgau white wine.

Como at Sunset:

            After dinner we wandered around some more before grabbing a couple bottles of Italian wine to taste on our hotel balcony and take it easy that night. Like I mentioned, the nightlife is not crazy in Como and we wanted to rest up for the upcoming wild nightlife of Spain, so we spent a good part of the night enjoying the wine, views, and listening to music and watching TV. We did wander out late at night to find an Ice Cream vendor in the streets where we each got a cone and ate it on one of the lake docks. Tomorrow we plan on trying to rent a car or moped and going to Switzerland for the day!