Lake Como/Lago di Como

We arrived in Milan in the evening after a nearly six-hour train ride from Naples Centrale with a stop in Rome to change trains. Because we were lax with our planning, we missed the local train to Como and had not arranged for a private car to take us to our hotel Borgo le Terrazze in Bellagio. So once again, we negotiated a flat rate with a taxi driver to take us to Bellagio. I was pooped from the long day of traveling and passed out for most of the car ride. Once we got to the winding roads along the lake and through the mountains, I was wide awake and alert. Our taxi driver was quite the daredevil taking the hairpin turns at full speed.

I was able to relax once we got out of the taxi and took in the breathtaking view of Lake Como in the slightly foggy night. There was something magical about it, like when you first step foot in Disney. I felt that Disney magic there. Our room had a terrace that overlooked the lake. It was even nicer to go to sleep staring out at the dark mountains and shiny lake. That night, we cancelled our last night we had scheduled in Milan and were able to extend our night at the hotel one more night.

In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and took the hotel shuttle into town. The hotel was about a 15 minute drive into the city center, not walkable since there were windy twisty roads with no sidewalks. We meandered around the city and shops before we boarded the ferry down to Como. The lake was beautiful and not busy at all. We loved seeing all the giant houses on the lake–mainly trying to spot George Clooney. Como was a much bigger city, definitely more hustle and bustle going on. We ate lunch at a forgettable restaurant and headed back to Bellagio to enjoy the slower setting up there.

For dinner, we had reservations at La Fontana Bellagio. We discovered that the hotel shuttle was not running to the city center in the evenings due to the slower shoulder season. The front desk arranged for a private car to take us to and from the restaurant. Since we were already at the desk we also got help reserving a ride to the airport for early the next morning. I cannot remember the name of the guy that drove us to the restaurant, but he was awesome. I will have to dig through my stack of vacation mementos to see if I can find his business card. He dropped us off in a square close to the restaurant and told us he would pick us up in the same spot. He told us to take our time and do not worry about what time to be back there. We walked down an alley and turned down another small alley to get to the restaurant.

Deanna started with the pasta bolognese, we got a pizza, pasta with shrimp, and branzino. Everything was amazing. As we slowly worked through our dishes and wine, the chef/owner stopped by several times to chat with us. We found out he was originally from Miami and had a restaurant there years ago. He gave us great suggestions for the wine and plates. The dessert was to die for. We had a pistachio dessert and Deanna had a tiramisu. Of course, we finished off our meal with some limoncello.

When we were finished with dinner, our driver was still waiting for us back at the square. I was originally a little unsure about going to dinner without a sure way to get back to the hotel. He assured us he would be waiting there and he was.

The next morning, we got up early since we had an hour and a half drive down to Milan to catch our noon flight. We lucked out and did not hit any traffic. Normally, I would have booked a hotel in our departure city so we would not have to rush or worry about traffic delays. But, we did not like the looks of Milan when we first arrived and really enjoyed Lake Como a lot more, so we rolled the dice on not staying overnight in Milan. We flew straight from MXP to JFK and then home.

Itinerary (click the itinerary links below to view posts):

• JFK
• CDG
• LIN
• Venice
• Florence
• Rome
• Amalfi Coast
• Lake Como