LAKE COMO – ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

 DAY 10

    Lake Como – Bellagio

We were planning on taking a very sketchy route from Milan to Bellagio on Lake Como, starting with a taxi from our hotel to the Milan Central Train Station, then a local train for an hour to Varenna, and ending our little journey with a ferry to Bellagio — undoubtedly an all day odyssey with many unpredictable twists and turns along the way.  But it seemed we had little choice. At least that’s what the experts all said.

We snagged a cab in front of the Duomo Cathedral around eleven, and asked the driver to take us to the Central Train Station. I was making small talk as he loaded the luggage and mentioned that our final destination was Bellagio; and he said, “I will drive you there for 100€. It will take a little over an hour.” 

DONE! With only two days to spend in Bellagio, why blow a whole day schlepping bags and hopping trains and boats? And it was easily the best 100€ we spent on our whole Italian trip . A total no-brainer. I mean, we had happily forked over that much on crappy dinners in Rome and Milan.  In truth, after seeing what it entailed, I wouldn’t have done what he did for 200€; and after our driver dropped us at the hotel, he still had to drive back to Milan, probably without a passenger. The meter in his cab read 260€, and that was just one way.

Little multi-level, mountain goat villages dot the shoreline along the crystal clear, blue-green waters of Lake Como — many are really too small to be called towns. They are all shoehorned onto the rocky slopes of hulking, super steep, black rock, wooded mountains. We didn’t realize it at first, but we were only about twenty miles from the Swiss border, so we were genuinely surprised to learn that we were looking at the still-snowy Alps.  Imagine that!

Each small town along Lake Como is essentially the same, each comprised of three levels. The first is the beating heart at the water’s edge where you will find the harbor, the central square nestled around a lovely old stone church, and touristy shops; level two is where the locals live and shop, and that’s also where the highway and train line run; and the top level is spread out like jewels across the face of the mountain and consists of villas where the rich folks live.

Ferries and hydrofoils are the primary form of transportation on Lake Como. Cars are at best an afterthought and shiny BMW’s and vintage roadsters are the predominant species. And if you aren’t comfortable on narrow roads with trucks, bicycles, and speeding motorcycles all playing together around hairpin turns, you need to think twice about driving. The road along the lake is definitely not for the faint of heart. To be honest, just riding in a car was scary. Several times we found ourselves looking away from the road, thinking we were going to crash. The Italians are pros when it comes to driving fast — perhaps a bit impatient and fond of their horns — but they know what they’re doing, for sure.

Lake Como is a stunning mix of some of the world’s grandest places: a more muscular and less kaleidoscopic Amalfi Coast; jaw-dropping manicured villas with Monaco undertones; the crazy scary narrow, winding roads at the edge of the shimmering lake, resembling the Lake District of the Scottish Highlands; and the lush and furry green hills of Hawaii.

We checked into the Hotel Metropole, sitting at the very edge of the lake, smack dab in the center of this storybook village in Italy and we breathed a sigh of relief after careening around the bustling and endlessly chaotic cities of Rome and Milan — not to mention the Strada Provinciale highway.

We ate an overpriced lunch on the hotel’s lakeside deck, basking in the hot rays of the sun.  After three straight days of rain in Milan we felt like moles coming out of our holes.  We were in heaven.

After lunch it was time to go for a long walk.  And while Bellagio might be tiny, it was straight up and down.  So we had ourselves a very good workout.

Everything was in bloom, and it smelled of flowers wherever we went.  And many of the buff stone houses were draped in ivy and vines.

Every inch of ground in Bellagio was being utilized. But more than that. It was being used with great style and beauty. 

They even grew their own plants in commercial greenhouses above town.  And we saw several landscaping businesses with a huge variety of plants and trees for sale.

Villas on the surrounding hills had expansive vineyards with grape arbors clinging to the rich soil. There was money in them thar hills.

All in all, Bellagio looked like an incredibly orderly and sustainable town with its priorities exactly right. We definitely would like to come back and stay a spell sometime in the next few years.

The neatest thing I saw during our walk around the hills and alleys of Bellagio was a fairytale cemetery overlooking the lake at the top of town with elaborate marble graves containing multiple family members’ ashes and their framed photos.  Inna said it totally reminded her of the Russian cemetery where her grandparents were buried. In essence, each grave told a story of the people who had called Bellagio home.

Being a slave to fashion, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that the Italians are certainly some snappy dressers.  And many of the visitors to Bellagio, being a playground for the rich and famous, are in full regalia.

The women are sleek and shiny like sexy otters. These days the height of women’s fashion are big clunky white sneakers — often with swooshy decoration — that look vaguely orthopedic.  And no matter how silly it might seem, I’m sure this new trend will soon make its way to America.

And the Italian men are confidently suave like movie stars — tight jeans, black leather jackets, flirty scarves, sweaters draped just right over their shoulders, and immaculate hair. I especially liked the look of their shoes, though they are built for show, rather than comfort and durability.  They look almost dainty, like sharp leather slippers. That said, big ass boots for men and women seemed to now be in vogue.

The highlight of our first day in Bellagio was our visit to the local market that perched above the harbor on the second level of town. It was your typical Italian market, offering breads, meats and cheeses, fresh local produce, candies and cookies, snacks, beer and wine, and various household items.

When we walked inside, the place was rocking to some local Italian folk music and I started moving to the beat as I walked around the store, filling my shopping basket with goodies. The cashier, a young dark-haired lovely in tight red pants started bopping along; and before long we were both dancing — I mean really dancing together like we were in a dance hall. Everybody in the place, especially her co-workers, went ape shit, as did the other customers. I returned the next day and the girl started giggling, came out from behind the cash register, and we had ourselves another dance. When in Rome …

• https://www.facebook.com/inna.young/videos/pcb.10218764289638780/10218764262878111/?type=3&theater

Walked 7 miles.

Insider Tip — Many travel websites will tell you how easy it is to catch a train from Milan to the towns along Lake Como.  One of the key train stops is in Varenna which is closest to Bellagio. But here’s where it gets confusing. Some guide books say take the train to Varenna and others say Lake Como, the biggest city on the lake, is your best bet. And the expert travelers will then say something like, “Trains leave every hour from Milan to Veranna where you can catch a ferry to any of the popular resort towns like Bellagio.”  Yeah, well, understand that the train station is on level two, so this entails a long walk down to the ferry terminal and then back up to the train station when leaving, schlepping your luggage on steep hills that resemble the trails in the Grand Canyon with cars, trucks, and buses zipping by right next to you, often without sidewalks.  The travel sites don’t mention that part of the show. Truthfully, it’s way easier to just take a taxi from Milan to wherever you are staying at Lake Como.

Insider Tip — The Hotel Metropole is the only hotel in Belaggio that sits right at the edge of Lake Como. And it’s the best place to stay in town. It offers a really nice breakfast buffet in an indoor/outdoor dining room on the water. It has a bar. And the ferry dock is right outside the front door. It’s Bellagio’s most happening spot to stay.

Insider Tip — The highways in Italy are just like those in the U.S. but they are ALL toll roads, so you need their equivalent of an EZ Pass or you are going to get a boatload of tickets. And they have speed cameras on all the major roads. Remember: the speed limit is measured in kilometers. So when you see a speed limit sign that says 50, it means 32 miles per hour.

Insider Tip — Save money by avoiding the overpriced restaurants and shop at the groceries where you can find fresh meats, cheeses, and cheap wine and beer.  We spent 60€ for a standard Italian lunch with no liquor and for the same amount at the grocery above our hotel we bought a six pack of local beers, a bottle of local Prosecco champagne, a liter of Coke Zero, some bottled water, several types of salami, three different cheeses and some delicious homemade olive dip, special Italian crackers, and homemade Macaroons.