It was a lovely 27 degrees without wind, so we took the hop on, hop off ferry around a small section of Lake Como. During our month by the lakes we had driven around the perimeter of both Lake Lugano and Lake Como. We had visited Como twice. We had driven up a big hill at the north end of Lake Como and just kept going and found ourselves at St.Moritz. This area is truly a magical part of the world.
But back to beautiful Lake Como and our final boat ride.
We found a parking spot for the car and started off in Tremezzo. The boat dock is right outside Villa Carlotta, under these two, huge European plane trees.
From the boat you can see the full size of these magnificent trees.
Once the boat pulls away, we get a great view of Villa Carlotta from the water. There are many magnificent villas such as this one, around the lake. They were built in the 18th and 19th centuries by (mainly) wealthy Milanese to escape the hot summers further south. The European "Grand Tour" of English speaking Brits and Americans focussed on Lake Como.
The elegant city of Como is situated at the most southern tip of this long, skinny lake that runs from north to south. Because the lake is narrow, ferries criss-cross from town to town, all day, every day.
Leaving Tremezzo, we motor past Cannobia ...
... and then further along ...
... towards Mannagio ... and then across the lake to the other side to ...
... Bellagio.
Always time for a drink - so we pick a cafe on the water and watch the boats (and people) move around.
Bellagio is the most well known of the central towns on Lake Como, packed with English and Americans, spending up big. No camper vans here! The town faces west, so the shops, which are below the residentials, drop these lovely blinds to give themselves some sun protection.
We were only walking around at water level, but of course, there is a whole world up the steps ........
Collonades in front of shops, restaurants, bars, etc.
Beautiful facades.
Goodbye Bellagio. Off we go to see some of the other views around this central area of the lake.
A HUGE hotel ... with its own floating swimming pool.
More normal sized residential buildings ... with an old tower above them, on the hill.
Villas - either right on the water or in their own park-like grounds.
Gorgeous gardens.
An area where the hills are not so steep.
Pink and creamy yellow seem to be the most traditional house colours ... it's the shutters that make the difference! Sometimes, every house in a town will have the same colour shutters ... we have seen violet, bright blue, dark green, dark brown and occasionally white. In the more modern, trendy villages where a fair bit of renovation has brought forth a bit of flair, the shutters have been painted either the same colour as the walls. or, if the building is stone, the same colour as the stone. Very nice!
And finally we are back at our hop-off point, Villa Carlotta and the huge plane trees. It's 4.30pm and the dock is all a-flutter! It's (another) wedding!
The extremely well dressed guests are boarding one of those large, sleek motor launches that you see in Italian movies - oh, I forgot, this IS Italy and this is just another normal Friday afternoon!
Next - Back to France via Switzerland.
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