Lake Como Ferry

Larius Lacus

Here it is, one year after my trip and I still have many more things to share. My way of traveling around the lake was by ferry. There were several that plied the Lake up and down, or across.

The views from the different ferries are spectacular! Tall, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls and cascades, and the seemingly endless forest interspersed with small villages make the ferry ride extra special.

Coming into Lake towns like Cadenabbia, Bellagio, or Mennagio were like entering fairy tale villages. The old architecture is everywhere your eyes rest. You can even see elements of ancient Roman times around Larius Lacus.

Ferries are great places for taking pictures. The upper decks are the easiest way to photograph the scenery. Magnifico! Most days the ride is smooth, but the Lake can be very rough when the wind blows either up or down the length of the Lake. Check the weather before you head out.

Inexpensive, on-time, and just fun to ride. The ferries on Lake Como are just one other way to experience the beauty of Lago Di Como.

You're Not in Bellagio (Las Vegas) Anymore

Bellagio, Italy is nothing like Bellagio, Las Vegas. The approach to Bellagio is either from above on a narrow, winding road, (which I did the first two times I went to Bellagio), or by ferry from Varenna or Menaggio (which I also did two times). Both are beautiful ways to get to the small Italian resort town.

The shops and restaurants were abundant, and I ate at the wonderful, and inexpensive, Carillon Pizzeria, Bar, and Gelateria Cafe a couple of times. There pizza was out of this world, and the view of the ferry and waterfront was equally exquisite!

Once, while eating with my cousin Delia, a tractor chugged by pulling a hay cart with a newly married couple in the back. Once they got to the waterfront, the tractor stopped and all the tourists sitting in the outdoor cafes applauded the young couple and took lots of pictures, myself included.

Most of the cafes were located along the waterfront, and all had outdoor areas to sit and watch the Lake go by. The first pizza I had in Italy was at the Carillon and it was exceptionally good. I was surprised how big they were and commented to Delia that I doubt I would finish mine. When they came, they were indeed large (by American "personal pizza" standards), but the crust is almost wafer thin. Not crispy, not doughy, the crust was done to perfection. Another difference between Italian pizza's (at least in Lombardy) and their American relatives, is that the tomato sauce in very sparsely applied. I had several more pizza's during my stay at other restaurants around the Lake, and the taste experience was far above what I had expected!

During several outings, I would revisit Bellagio. My favorite approach was the ferry boat. Bellagio's waterfront is best described as bellisimo! The mix of beautiful forested hills above, and beautiful, old European architecture along the water, makes the scene seem timeless. Once, I took the ferry to Varenna with a stop at Bellagio, just so I could look at it's beauty. From Menaggio, the view across the Lake to Bellagio at night, looked like a diamond sparkling in its setting.

360 Degree View From The Breakwater

This is another short video shot with my SLR camera. Quality isn't too good, but I didn't have a camcorder. I walked out on the breakwater behind my hotel and got the shot. I stopped my panning for a second when I was on my hotel, then continued.

Commercial Fisherman

Quite of few of the local dishes revolve around freshly caught fish from Como di Lago. Fishermen go out in the night to fish and bring in their catch in the early morning. Sometimes when you walk by the house you can see someone cleaning fish in the morning, or mending and cleaning nets in the afternoon.

The boat is small, with a spot light mounted on the side. I asked if they were going after trout and was told that trout are winter fish, they are really deep this time of the year. I didn't recognize any of the other fish that I saw, but on my lake side walks, I would often see large fish swimming near the seawall.

Above the patio of the fisherman's home was a large picture by a well know local artist of Jesus and his disciples bringing in their catch. The painting has a piece of glass over it to protect against the elements, but also made photographing it hard because of the constant glare.

Rome's Colosseum

After a 2 course lunch, I decided to try to make it to at least one famous Roman site. Looking at them maps I got from the hotel, it appeared that I could walk to a train station, change trains once, and get off at the Colosseum.

Setting out with my umbrella I found the train station a few blocks from my hotel. During my walk it started raining, and continued to rain until the late evening. Going north wasn't too hard, and after 5 stops I came to the subway. Getting off the train was easy, but now it was 6pm and rush hour. I have never felt like a sardine in a can until that ride. I got on quickly and many more got on in back of me. The door started to close, but couldn't. Someone from the outside pushed the last person in and I was surrounded by a sea of humanity.

I only had to go two stops and get off, but how do I get off from the middle of a packed subway car? When my stop came I pushed as hard as I could and, while I didn't know what was said, could hear Italian curses. But I did get off. Once outside the station I could see the imposing edifice that was the Colesseum!

The building was much larger than I imagined it. I had a hard time trying to take pictures and not get rain on my camera. Surrounding the Colosseum was a world of antiquity. The only one I knew was the Arch of Constantine. It was built in 312 AD to commerate Constantine's victory over Maxentius but for some reason it looked almost new, despite its almost 2 millennium existence.

There were obvious archeological digs going on as well as resorations and lots of "deferred maitenance". If Rome can put it off for 2,000 years, why not California Parks. (An inside joke for DPR folks.) But the area was indeed filled with ancient Rome. And, despite the contant rain, the area was filled with tourist from all corners of the globe.

Looking at my Rome map, I could see so many areas that I would have liked to explore, but my time in the city was pretty much limited to a few early evening hours. Fortunately the historical monuments here don't close early like they do in California.

My ride back to the hotel was somewhat less crowded at 8:30 than it was earlier. And while I enjoyed seeing the beautiful colosseum (remember that Bruce Lee killed Chuck Norris there), I already missed Lago di Como. Hopefully I can return to my Northern Italian roots in the future.

The Canceled Flight

On Monday morning I took the slow ferry down the lake to Como for my last, long look at the lake. Tomorrow I was due to fly out at 8:30, so I decided to get to Milano by Monday night so I could get up early and easily make it to the airport. In Como I took the train directly to Milano and changed trains once in Soronno, and ended up at the Malpensa Milan Airport. Once there I took a shuttle to my hotel for my last night, or so I thought, in Italia.

Tuesday morning I boarded the shuttle to the airport, found the ticket counter, and discovered that my flight had been cancled. I was pretty bummed out until the agent asked me if I would be willing to fly to Rome and spend the night there, Delta's treat. I jumped on it!

So I got my ticket to Roma and made my way to the uscita (gate). Wow, it was only about 10 AM and it was only about an hour flight to Rome...I would have most of the day to quickly discover Rome.

The jet took off and as soon as it reached altitude it just as quickly descended to Rome. From the window I was surprised to see how close it was to the Tyrrhenian Sea. After disembarking I walked up to the first information center I could find to ask where Delta's ticket counter. They told me that it might be closed because they only have flights out in the early morning. After about an hour there I was directed to Alitalia. The first counter I went to was for domestic only (I was international), so I had to go to another terminal for the Alitalia ticket counter. Now it was just about 12:30 and I was burning daylight and getting perturbed! When I got to Alitalia I was told that they would help me get my hotel and meal voucher from Delta. The very kind and helpful agent kept calling for about another hour when finally they got someone. My story was told and the Delta agent said my vouchers would be there in 5 minutes...or about 1:30. After another hour wait the English speaking Delta agent came over and was made at me for making him walk all the way over to the Alitalia counter! I asked him how to get to the hotel (the Satellite Hotel), and he said go outside, down to the first level and look for a silver bus. Okay, now I had wasted all morning, at least I was going to my hotel. Once outside and down to street level I found a 1/2 mile long area for busses filled with either silver or white busses! Walking up and down the line I asked each "Satellite Hotel?" and the driver shook his head and point to the next bus. Finally I found the right area and the sign said "bus every 30 minutes". After an hour I called the hotel and they said one would be there by 3pm. I arrived at my hotel at 3:30 extremely tired from standing and waiting. I hadn't eaten since 7:30 am and was famished. So I went to the hotel restaurant and they made me a special lunch in between their open hours.

Menaggio Piazza

This is a short video of the Menaggio Piazza. The Tourist Information Center is located here. It was a great place to get tons of free information of hikes, tours, history, etc of the area. Each town has them. The Cafe Pess was a where I ate lunch most days, or had an afternoon Americano Caffe Nero and Gelato later in the afternoon. At the beginning and end of the shot, you can see the tower and part of the church of San Stephano.