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Goodbye Lake Maggiore, hello Lake Como!
Today we headed to Como, where the beautiful, jet-setting Italians weekend. We knew we'd fit right in... Actually, since it was Sunday, there were as many lycra-clad cyclists on the road as Ferraris and Abarths, so we did fit in (kinda!)
From Varese, we had a quick ride over and down to the lakefront. Como is stunning for its mountainous surroundings, as well as the expanse of the lake and the small towns that line the shores. Like 100 percent of other Italian lakes I have seen, there are very few people actually in the lake. People are mainly there to stroll along the lake or ride on it (in Como's case, in some beautiful old wooden motorboats.) In fact, many of the biggest, most beautiful mansions don't even have access to the lake! It's all very strange from an American point of view but beautiful nonetheless.
After a quick lunch and some fantastic people watching, we rode along the lake for about 15 miles. We found some beautiful villages
and random old sights
at last we came to Tremezzo, and, what's that now? Bellagio is on the other side of the lake?!?
Just kidding, we finished our journey by ferry.
bikes packed in with people, cars, and motorcycles.
Bellagio has a stunning location.
and is pretty cute itself.
The town is built into the hillside -- guess where our hotel is?
We finally made it to the Locanda Barchetta B&B. Our room was located above the establishment's restaurant, and this glimpse at their copper pot collection made me very jealous.
We went out for a wander and found the town's simple but lovely basilica of St. James. It contains this fun little piece
as well as some lovely (but not old) mosaics
a 14th century triptych and a 16th century altarpiece.
We walked to the very end of the point to see the views of the lake and the Alps in the distance and were treated to an adorable show of duckly homemaking. A pair of ducks set up their nest on the swim platform of this motor boat. One adult was off gathering reeds and bringing them back while the other adult was making the nest more cushy. There were four fluffy adorable chicks hopping on and off the platform and "helping" with the nest building. Hopefully you can zoom in enough to see this. If not I took 9,000 more pictures in will be happy to send them along!
Dinner was kebabs from Bellagina eaten down by the wharf while watching the ferries deal with the Sunday night exodus.
We also had our first two-gelato day! Inspired by the incredible post-ride dose from Gelateria del Borgo (A: green apple and lemon, E: green apple and amarena) we stopped for a post-dinner one as well (A: coffee and chocolate, E: lemon and coconut)
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