Luxuriating in Lake Como
The final stop during our Italian adventure was definitely our favourite.
Having landed in Bologna the weekend prior, we had followed our stomachs through to Modena and then onto Milan to visit the World Expo. We spent two very sweaty days discovering Milan and the Expo, fanning ourselves with our paper maps and jostling with children under water fountains to cool down. Needless to say any sense of poise and grace flew out the wide-open window. Milanese are beautiful people. At one point, a stunningly tanned gazelle-like girl strode past us in her towering heels, deftly navigating the cobblestones like a supermodel. Her skirt had hitched up and had caught itself along the top of her panties, revealing a perfectly peachy buttock. Husband definitely noticed, as did I, wondering if indeed this was in fact a tactful cooling method rather than a slip-up. Not to worry, I did spare the city from experimentation.
Anyway, I have digressed. Lake Como. We packed up our little suitcases early one morning, bid goodbye to Milan and wove our way through the streets towards the main station. Como is a short train-ride away, and we arrived an hour later greeted by the glittering blue lake. Post-Affogato (itâs never too early for ice-cream and coffee, what a genius combination), we queued up patiently for the ferry to take us to the little village of Lezzeno. Lake Como has many villages dotted along the shorelines, and the easiest way to get around is by boat. After touring through cities for the past few days, our stay in Como had precious but few pre-requisites: a pool, an air-conditioned room and a beautiful view of the water. We were so thrilled to have found Filario Hotel nestled alongside the lake, not far from the flashier Bellagio. It has definitely been one of our most favourite hotels to stay in, ever. I can highly recommend it. We stayed and ate there throughout our Como adventure, leaving only to head to Bellagio. We would love to go back, but our Italian bucket-list is so long that I think it will be a few years until we find ourselves in Como again.
Our bed was larger than our room back in London, and we were treated to our own balcony overlooking the lake, dotted with lacquered wooden speedboats and terracotta villages creeping up into the hills. Como definitely has a helping of look-at-me wealth, with seaplanes ferrying exquisitely dressed guests toting Gucci holdalls. But the sleepiness of the smaller villages coupled with the simple Italian life makes for a lovely escape where you can opt in and out of the highlife.
Our days were spent poolside, tricky decisions being made regarding which book to flick through or whether it was too early for an Aperol Spritz. We did have a dear friend in town at the same time, hiking through the hills surrounding the many lakes of the north. We decided that given the thirty-plus degree weather, he was a bit of a nutter and best we probably see him back in London.
The toy-town of Bellagio did manage to lure us away one day for a few hours. If Disney built a pocket-sized Italian stuffed with all things Italian, it would be here. Perched halfway up the lake, rows and rows of winding alleyways snake down from the hills, dotted with old churches, corner shops and gelaterias. Open-air pizzerias line the shore, with ice-cream toting children wading in the blue water to stay cool. We wandered up the hill, finding a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to share a gooey margherita pizza and colas. I swear all a marriage needs is love, respect, and good pizza. Preferably from Italy.
On our last night at the lake we were treated to the most phenomenal summer storm. It is probably just what we needed, to remind ourselves that even in paradise, it does blow a gale. We putted out of Lezzeno on a sleepy water taxi back to the town of Como to start journey home, but not before one last plate of buttered sage tagliatelle before London.
With Love, Kate
