Planes, trains and....... ferries!
Well, we did also manage an automobile (taxi) on our travel day from Barcelona to Menaggio on Lake Como. Another straight-forward flight to Milan with Vueling Airlines. We could also access the lounge at the airport thanks to Georgina and Caron's Qantas Club membership so we had a relaxing wait for our flight. We hopped on to the train straight from the Airport, and after a quick change of train we made it to Lake Como. There are a great number of towns to stay on Lake Como but we chose Menaggio as it seemed to be a good place to base ourselves, and the easiest to move on to our next destination, Switzerland.
Menaggio
So - on to our lake-view room at the Grand Hotel Menaggio. Bring on the ferry ride. If only it wasn't bucketing down to the point where we could barely see where we were walking to get to the dock! One recurring theme for this trip seems to have been the weather and Lake Como unfortunately kept the "rain with the occasional downpour" theme going for a few more days. However what we could see from the ferry was breathtaking.
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| View from Menaggio |
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| Looking back to Menaggio from Varenna |
Our hotel was (thankfully) less than 100 metres from the ferry dock at Menaggio so in we went with some trepidation due to recent very bad reviews for the hotel. Yes, it was very dated and perhaps earned it's "grand" name from a bygone era, but we were nonetheless most impressed. The view from our room might have had something to do with that??
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| Room with a view :) |
Again, the usual drill of bag drop and a quick stroll around in between showers, a trip to the local supermarket for a few essentials (spotted Limoncello at 5 euro a bottle? G just had to grab some!), then out for a quick drink and a meal together. As the weather was looking pretty grim for the next day Georgina found us a brilliant alternative way to spend the day on the Lake and booked into a full-day cooking class at Varenna with Moreno at Ristorante Il Caminetto.
Varenna & our Italian cooking class
From the moment we were greeted at the ferry terminal we knew we were going to have a great day of learning, meeting other foodies and sharing some wonderful home-cooked food. We started with coffee and home-made cake and Moreno then showed us the art of making pasta, followed by the perfect "pomodoro" sauce, then on to gnocchi and finally risotto. Of course the philosophy is all about slow food made with passion, we even managed to hand-roll our own gnocchi. During the session the church bells rang at 12 noon which apparently meant "time for a snack". So out came a generous platter of local cheese and cured meats for each person (extra cheese for us). Moreno also asked each of us - red or white? - and out came a small carafe of wine for each person as well.
We had a great time sipping the local wine, nibbling on the local cheeses, learning about some of the local dishes and especially tasting the simple yet classic Italian dishes prepared during the day. We finished with grappa and limoncello with Moreno always making sure we had enough of everything. What a day - no dinner required! We managed a walk around the lake back at Menaggio late in the afternoon and caught up with Caron for a drink to end a great day. If you're ever staying on Lake Como.....
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| Looking back to Varenna |
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| Finally 5 mins of sunshine! |
The next day was dedicated to Villa hopping, without putting any pressure being anywhere at any particular time. This time we started the day on the very cheap and efficient bus to Tremezzo to visit Villa Carlotta. Being on holiday, and in Italy, meant we could just stroll around until we found a lakeside cafe for a coffee,or two, and perhaps a biscotti.....
But of course we were there for the villa so a slow walk back and in we went, sensing the possibility of sunshine. Villa Carlotta was built at the end of the 17th century and was bought by a Prussian princess in 1843 who gave it to her daughter, Carlotta, as a wedding present. Carlotta's husband was a keen botanist and created the gorgeous garden that is there now, and what really bought us here. Apparently the rain has destroyed many of the spring flowers but we loved it just the same (the views of Lake Como were pretty good from here too).
Villa Carlotta
The next quick bus trip took us to Lenno to visit Villa del Balbianello. Built around the same time as Villa Carlotta for a Catholic Cardinal it is perhaps known more for it's location as much as anything else:
Lenno & Villa del Balbianello
We headed back to Menaggio by ferry to head out for a cheap and classic Italian pizza at the local family-run restaurant.
For our last day on the lake we thought we had better visit Bellagio, a very famous, very touristy village on Lake Como. We took ourselves on our own guided tour and Bellagio is actually quite beautiful and has one of the best spots on the lake for views in all directions:
Bellagio
Back on the ferry after a quick veggie soup lunch and we met up with Caron for one last walk around the historical area of Menaggio.
The rain was a close companion throughout our time here which meant we didn't quite manage to do some of the things we wanted (bike ride around the lake, kayaking around the area, etc) but we still made the most of each day. Italy was one of our favourite places from our last trip - the people, the food, the sense of community and family, and the genuine welcome you receive from everyone makes Italy just that little bit special.
Tomorrow we head to Lugano by bus then on to Lucerne to start our time in Switzerland. The alps are still snow-capped and rumour has it we might see snow - fingers crossed!
As we get close to the end of this trip, we thought we should let you know that Caz has tapped away and written most of the blogs, and Georgina has been taking all of the amazing photos during the whole trip and matching them to Caz's words. So now that is out of the bag I'm sure you'll agree that G's camera work is very impressive indeed.
Also, just a little tip when you receive the email - it's worth clicking on the grey title and the blog will open in an online format. You can leave us a comment too if you like - we would love to hear from you!