Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Italy: Day XV (Como, Bellagio)

Tuesday, August 2nd:

The Village of Lenno on Lake Como:


            A bit of a change of plans today from our original intent on getting a car or a moped in Como to go to Switzerland. It turns out that no automatic cars are available for rent in Como, and neither of us has enough experience driving a stick-shift that we opted out of that. Not only that, but there are no moped or boat rentals at the southern end of the lake! Again, if I had known there was more to do to the north, I perhaps would have stayed up there instead, but Como is beautiful nonetheless.

The Como-Bellagio Hydrofoil Ferry:


After spending the morning trying to figure this out, we got on a Hydrofoil ferry up to Bellagio, a bit farther north. Bellagio sits right at the point where Lake Como splits in half, and the ferry ride offers beautiful views of all of the surrounding villas that Hollywood celebrities have been flocking to purchase in recent years. These are some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen in my life. We even got to see the Villa del Balbianello where Casino Royale and one of the new Star Wars movies were filmed.

The Villa del Balbianello:


A Villa on Lake Como:


A Villa on Lake Como:


We spent the afternoon walking around Bellagio (yes, the namesake of the famous Vegas hotel) and taking in the sights and sounds. I almost purchased a custom Italian silk tie at the shop where each one of the recent presidents to have visited Lake Como has bought ties, but I opted to save money (expensive!). Instead we wandered a bunch and had a late lunch at Hotel du Lac. I enjoyed yet another Caprese Salad, this time accompanied by fresh fruits and Bruschetta with Prosciutto and Artichokes. We hung out by the docks while we waited for the ferry again, and took the forty-five minute ride back, again admiring all of the ridiculous lakeside mansions.

A Village on Lake Como set in the Italian Alps:


            We were greeted by an absolutely spectacular sunset over the Southern Italian Alps. Max and I had some beers outside while checking out the sunset before napping and heading to dinner at Ristorante Bistro, in our hotel. I had a lightly breaded Fried Veal Slab with tomatoes and rocket. We took it easy tonight as tomorrow we are finally leaving Italy to go to Barcelona in Spain! We need the rest while we can get it, as we will be meeting up with my friend Matt Collins in Spain and will definitely check out the notorious nightlife!

A Sailboat Marina in Bellagio:


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