I’m sitting at the San Remo café overlooking beautiful LakeComo in the picturesque village of Bellagio sipping my second cappuccino of the
day, the first devoured in a thirsty appreciation of the Italian way of making a
great coffee…so simple yet so delicious!
Of course a breakfast cappuccino at 11:20 am is so decadent,
but after my alarm woke me for 6:45 am (yes, I was actually going to go for a
run) I rolled over and fell back fast asleep, although lightly woken each hour
as the church bells rang out each successive hour I lounged in bed until 9:15
am. It was one of those deeply restful
sleeps that takes you a little by surprise, but refreshes you to your core if
you know what I mean.
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| The welcoming sign of San Giovanni di Bellagio at dusk |
I arrived into San Giovanni di Bellagio yesterday afternoon;
this sleepy little village is situated about a 2 km stroll along the road
from Bellagio. A well renowned escape from the summer heat
of Milan, Bellagio has been home to the rich and well to do Milanese for
centuries and is about an hour and a half drive from downtown Milan. The road ends at Bellagio as it’s situated
at the end of a peninsula within Lake Como.
In my mind Lake Como is one of the natural beauties and should be
considered a “must see” on your next trip to Italy. Lake Como is also the home to many of the
current rich and famous; from George Clooney, Madonna and Richard Branson to
name just but a few. I’ve actually lost
count of the number of times I’ve been to this part of the world (haven’t
actually seen any of the rich and famous yet) and as you can tell is one of my
personal favorite places on the planet!
This time around I decided to rent a one-bedroom apartment (Apartments II Vicolo) on Via Sant'Abbondio N.13) rather
than stay at a hotel, and what a brilliant choice as my apartment comes with a
bunch of extras that a hotel doesn’t offer including a full kitchen, lounge
room and a large sun-lit terrace that could accommodate a significant sized
cocktail party (perhaps next time around I should invite some friends to join
me?) did I also say that it includes wireless all for the same price as a local
hotel at this time of year.
I must admit it was more good luck than good management, so
I can’t take complete credit for lucking out on this little gem. You see, I was scouring Trip Advisor and was
looking at accommodation in Bellagio, but by error I checked the box on the
best ratings versus the number of stars (which is my usual modus operendi) and
this one came up as one of the most highly rated. The price was right and my dates worked for
them…the rest is history!
I had the afternoon stretching out before me, so what better thing to do but to take a cruise out to see Villa del Balbianello. Not so fast, after chatting to Lucca the local proprietor of the
Bellagio Water Taxis service and determining that his tour was sold out (I
guess it was Sunday after all), his wife Jennine (Australian no less) told me
that I could catch the local ferry service to Lenno and either hike to Villa del Balbianello or hire a water taxi to take me.
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| A view toward Bellagio from Villa del Balbianello |
The stage was set for a great afternoons adventure so after
procuring a ticket from the ferry terminus down the street I leisurely strolled
the cobbled streets of Bellagio and enjoying a typical Italian lunch (salami
and mozzarella on a crusty role) until the next ferry left for Lenno.
The hot afternoon sun warmed me to my core as the ferry
slowly chugged its way back and forth across the lake stopping at a couple of
villages before finally docking at Lenno some 25 minutes later. As I disembarked I noticed a sign that
pointed to the Villa del Balbianello and off I set, but not before treating
myself to the first gelato of the trip.
What is about the taste of great gelato?
The Villa del Balbianello is located on a heavily forested
peninsula that juts out into Lake Como, and was recently used in the James Bond
movie remake of Gold Finger. I realized as I hiked up out of town of Lenno up
the steep grade toward the Villa of the similarities between where I was hiking
today and my hike last year in Papua New Guinea as I was now hiking in a dense
rain forest surrounded by towering trees of every variety, vines, ferns, moss
and most surprising of all wild hydrangeas!
Even the heat of this rainforest felt similar to PNG, how could two
places in the world in so very different locations be so similar?
As I passed through the gates to the Villa I was bombarded
with magnificent views of the lake and surrounding gardens. To my surprise there was a wedding scheduled
under the loggia and so our English tour of the residence was fast and furious,
dodging other tours trying to beat the wedding ceremony that was scheduled to
start in just a few minutes.
The Villa was a highlight of my day, although after trekking
back to Lenno to wait for my return ferry back to San Giovanni di Bellagio I
was able to have a rather restful powernap – that’s what holidays are for I
guess!
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| My usual breakfast at the San Remo café in Bellagio overlooking beautiful Lake Como |
I’ve been frequenting the San Remo café since arriving in
San Giovanni di Bellagio; by the third day the waiters smiled warmly as I nod
and say in my best Italian “buon giorno” (Wow, add another language –
Australian, a smattering of English and potentially Italian!). Today they don’t bother to bring me a menu
but confirm that I want “the small breakfast”, which consists of a cappuccino, fresh
crusty roles with jam, honey and a large apricot croissant….hardly small wouldn't you say?
Aaahhh this is the life; the wind softly caressing me as I
sip yet another cappuccino and stare out across the lake to the little lake town
of Tremezzo. Tremezzo has a somewhat
famous or should I say infamous past in that it was in this little village in April
1945 that Italian partisans located Benito Mussolini hiding with his mistress. They were summarily executed before being taken
to Milan and hung by their heels for everyone to see. Today there is not a lot going on in the
town, although it does have the impressive Grand Hotel Tremezzo overlooking the
lake, unfortunately the town itself is stuck on a busy thoroughfare and not so
appealing as I’m sure it once was.
In Bellagio its mid week which means there are few tourists about,
mostly just a handful of locals sitting in their usual spots at the San Remo
enjoying their morning espresso and likely on their way to work. How long have they been coming here to have
their morning coffee and watch the world go by? By the look of some of them at least 50
years, perhaps more! A much more
civilized and social way to start the day don’t you think? Men, women of all ages and walks of life, it
truly is a slice of life.
All the shopkeepers are bustling around me as they unload
their days deliveries along the quay where I sit, rolling up the shutters to
their shops, sweeping the footpaths and generally getting the day
underway. The thing I love about my mornings in
Italy is being able to take my time with no schedule or agenda, nor place I
have to be and just people watch.
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| Italy must have the highest number of Scooters per capita anywhere in the world! |
Italians have a love affair with their scooters! Even this morning as I sit here they zip
back and forth, people of all ages, men and women the young and the old…this
morning I even witnessed an older gentleman (would have to have been in his
80’s) with only one arm jauntily riding along quite happily, his shirtsleeve
flapping gaily in the breeze. Every brand,
size and variety from the fancy new ones with all the bells and whistles to the
ancient Vespa’s that would be better served in a museum, but I suspect the cool
factor wins out instead for those owners and rightly so, as they chug past
blowing thick clouds of bluish grey smoke.
I think if I lived here I’d definitely have to have one if nothing more
than to just fit in.
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