Italy 2019 Como

COMO

Leaving Switzerland we travelled by train to Como....a great, comfortable and fast journey. We had booked accommodation in Como so long ago we couldn't remember what it was like.....we were very pleasantly surprised.
The owner, Mirco, met us at Como train station amongst hugs, Italian kisses and loud welcomes which instantly made us feel so welcome. Jumping into his car our first foray into the Old Town of Como ensued and, all joking aside, it was slightly hair-raising. Generally the streets are pedestrian only and you need to be a resident to get a permit to enter by car.....the streets are extremely narrow with sharp corners!!!.

It is always a gamble when booking accommodation on line but we were not disappointed....the apartment was amazing.

Situated in an old monastery, accessed through a very small, low door, it had been coverted to a loft apartment with absolutely everything we needed. Mirco made sure we were settled in making special time to explain and map out different activities to do during our stay. The apartment was situated close to restaurants....local and upmarket....close to the main Old Town Piazzas and close to the Lake.....perfect!!!!

There was also a huge market on Saturday morning  

Our first job in Como was a long awaited reunion with our sister-in-law's sister who has lived and taught in Como for many years and arranged to meet us in the Piazza Mazzini. "How will we recognise Marilyn in the crowded Piazza Mazzini?" says Gary. "Never fret" I say, "it is impossible not to know her instantly". I really didn't know how true my words were.

Arriving on time and looking at the sheer splendour of the Piazza, there was my sister-in-law standing on the corner......but wait....no.....this was her sister!!! Her every movement, voice, giggle, stance, hand gesture....exactly the same. "Understand now?" I said to Gary who, to this day, just cannot get over the exact similarities.
It was lovely meeting up with Marilyn and eventually her gorgeous daughter Goia too. We shared wine and pizza and good coversation; we strolled through beautiful gardens.....only to come up against locked gates.....Goia jumping over a relatively high wall (she has long legs thank goodness) to reach her car to rescue us.....Marilyn "breaking through" a gated bridge to effect our escape....(breaking through=sliding a wooden bar across...nothing major). We shared stories of lost love, retirement and future contentment.....it was very special.
Thankyou Marilyn for helping to make our stay in Como even more special....we look forward to catching up again in the future.
Como old town is such a beautiful place, small enough to get to know it quite intimately, so we quickly found our special place to have a sunset cocktail or a cold, cooling beer, a good local lasagne or pizza in a small, narrow backstreet. We certainly felt
very much at home.

However, coming to Como there are two things you have to do:
1. Take the Funicular to Brunate for the evening, explore the beautifully  ool church there and watch the sun set over the lake from the restaurant Bellavista.

2. Take a boat on the lake for a day. We chose to cruise past Villa Del Balbianello - where part of Casino Royal a James Bond Movie was shot -

hop off at Cadenabbia for Villa Carlotta and an amazing waterfront lunch - hop back on again to Bellagio where Lake Como splits and forks with an amazing 360 view of both forks of the lake

 - hop back on again to Varenna and finally to Menagglio....sweet, colourful townships we enjoyed exploring.

 Back on board again and it was a slow ride back to Como (we were on a "slow" boat) made enjoyable by chatting to a lovely American couple...she an artist and both avid photographers.... and stopping to pick up and put down passengers in other smaller pretty lakeside townships. Somewhere along the journey we passed George Clooney's get away mansion but we were none the wiser and nobody got excited at any stage so it was hard to know which grand place it was.....sadly!!
The hop on hop off ferries in Como are  amazing....their timetables a little less so!!!

The all day boat ride was our last day in Como and our short stay came to an end far too quickly..... but it was time to move on to Perugia in Umbria the next day. Three pre booked train rides would get us there and Mirco was taking us back to Como station so what could possibly happen to definitely make this journey our next "adventure"!!!!