Italy Travel 2023: Day 7 - Exploring Lake Como, Bellagio, Lenno, Tremezzo

We awoke to a quite and glassy lake. Even Monte Crocione seemed to be sleeping.

I went for a short walk to capture some of the steep and narrow lanes that lead from the main road, SP 72, down to the harbor.

This one led uphill. Imagine climbing up and down that a couple times a day!

I returned and met Kathi to pack and then go for breakfast. That was in the main Albergo Milano building on a terrace overlooking the lake. We were early so go one of the best tables with a spectacular view. The cappuccino on demand is something I could totally get used to!

After breakfast, we took our bags and left them in our car still parked in the on-street free parking spot. That's where everything was going to stay until we were done touring for the day and then we would take the car ferry to Bellagio where we had an apartment up in the hills for our overnight accommodations. As we made our way to the ferry docks, I couldn't help admire the Villa Monastero and its gardens again.

The tiny little harborage at Molo Riva Grande.

The perfect selfie spot along the Largo Enzo Venini promenade.

The Varenna ferry station lies ahead...

At the ferry station, we purchased all day pedestrian tickets so we could go where ever our fancy took us. We did have one "must see" location and that was the Villa Balbianello near Lenno. It's lovely gardens and lake views were chosen for a number of films including Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith (when Anikin Skywalker pledges his love to Queen Amidala) and one of the James Bond films (Casino Royale - where James recuperates).

Here's our preferred mode of travel for the day...

Underway...

Upper deck, in front!

Our first stop on the tour around Lake Como was Bellagio. Below is the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni. We passed it on the way to the town ferry station.

On our way to Lenno

On the way, we passed Tremezzo and the Villa Carlotta.

And the Grand Hotel Tremezzo with it's floating swimming pool!

We passed the church "Chiesa San Lorenzo"...

Before finally arriving in Lenno.

We disembarked the ferry and started walking down the Via Carlo Lomazzi towards the peninsula where the Villa was. Tucked away, this private devotional was worth a pause.

Lenno stormwater drainage...

Looking back towards Lenno...

Before long, we arrive at the gate to the trail that would lead us to the Villa Balbianello.

We started climbing the switchback path only to find another gated perimeter fence, but this one was LOCKED with a sign that said 'closed Wednesdays'! What bad luck to be there on a Wednesday! As I walked back down the path to inform Kathi, I contemplated coming back the next day before leaving for Milan, but the more we thought it over, the more it seemed it would throw a wrench in our plans.

Alora, we decided to visit the Villa Carlotta instead - also famed for its lovely gardens. So back to the ferry station we went and back to Tremezzo we steamed. We entered the gardens and immediately came upon a lovely fountain and a carefully framed view of the villa.

We followed a map of the villa to an area dedicated to cactus ...

... and then a lush forest surrounding a man-made stream named the "theater of greenery"

We passed distinct botanical ecoystems and signature trees with names like "the fern valley", "the camellias", the "olive tree grove" until we arrived at the villa's educational center. There were a bunch of school children conducting some sort of class or field trip so we continued on.

Next we came upon a pond at the base of the "bamboo Garden" where 25 species of bamboo are standing watch over little waterfalls, streams, and stone structures.

Some of the bamboo was enormous!

The view from the garden path...

The walking tour of the gardens eventually led back to the Villa itself, below looking at the side courtyard.

The back entrance...

Inside on the main floor, there were four large rooms extending off a central lobby. The first I explored had a lovely 1819-1824, Cararra marble sculpture: "Cupid and Psyche: Love According to Canova" (Canova being the sculptor)

In the next room, the floor was decorated with a lovely pattern...

The ceiling wasn't too shabby either, a large gilded chandelier providing light to the room...

On the wall was a painting from the 1823 showing what the shoreline looked like - mostly undeveloped, but with the Villa Carlotta commanding a strong presence along the shoreline.

A view from the room to the gardens outside...

More ceiling decoration...

The view from the central lobby out towards one of the five terraces which face Lago di Como.

Leaving the villa, we continued our tour of the garden dedicated to hydrangeas.

Circling back to the villa's main terrace for a view to the gardens below and the lake beyond.

Kathi hamming it up at the fountain. Notice the turtles' dismay.

After our tour of the Villa Carlotta came to a close, we hopped on the next ferry to Bellagio where our thoughts turned to lunch. I had read about a cool place, the Ristorante La Punta, on the point of land beyond the town of Bellagio itself. It was hot, but still, only a 15 minute walk from town.

Arriving at La Punta...

The restaurant was lovely with an open air view of the Parchetto della Punta (park) and the lake.

For lunch, I stretched and embraced the local cuisine and had perch from the lake on top of rice and Kathi had Ravioli burro e salvia - with butter and herbs.

After a relaxing lunch we lingered to explore the tiny harbor...

and its stone pier, the Punta Spartivento, extending out into the lake.

We retraced our steps along the Via Eugenio Vitali back into the town of Bellagio . We climbed up the hill along the Via Roma to explore some of the back streets and window shop. I was on the lookout for just the right pair Italian loafers and Kathi looked at some leather goods and handbags. Along the way, we ducked in to check out the Basilica of St. Giacomo.

Inside, small, simple, ornate, beautiful!

Our exploration of the side street continued. Here's the flavor...

The second floor of the Ristoro Forma E Gusto was one of the bar/restaurants I had seen on videos of Bellagio and it did look like a cool place to hang out. If we had more time in Bellagio, we definitely would have checked it out.

It was getting late in the afternoon so we grabbed the next ferry back to Varenna to retrieve the car and then take the car ferry back to Bellagio to drive up into the hills where we rented an apartment for the evening.

On the ferry, we met a family who were planning on visiting Cinque Terre so we chatted about the hiking trails, places to stay and things to do. They introduced us to the differing concepts of vacation vs. travel. In their minds, vacation is what you do when you go one place and veg out and relax. On the contrary, travel is when you go from place to place to see and do a lot of things. By that definition, we were definitely traveling! I think Kathi likes vacation! I need to do a better job of planning for a blend.

Walking back from the ferry terminal, we saw this fisherman using a traditional "tenkara" style rod hoping for some lake fish.

Before grabbing the car, Kathi and I stopped for one last apertivo in Varenna. This time, we opted for the bar at the very swanky Hotel du Lac. It kinda felt like w were sneaking in, which made it all the more delicious!

What's not to love about an Aperol or Hugo spritz?

We got the car, lined up in the car ferry queue, boarded, and then bade farewell to lovely little Varenna. We'll be back!

After disembarking in Bellagio, we drove the car up into the hills, snaked through a very narrow, one-way, walled lane and found our rented apartment.

A public fountain in the alley...

Flowering vine-covered walls framing the windows along the lane...

We went through a complicated choreography of ducking under security gates, using wifi to access security codes, access site keys and unlocking doors to finally gain access.

The apartment was spacious with a full kitchen, small living room, full bedroom and bathroom. We weren't used to all this space! I showered and went for a walkabout while Kathi relaxed. I think I followed some signs to a cafe down the Vial alla Spiaggia, which paralleled a stream, and ended up on the lakefront. As I approached it was apparent that there was an incident occurring - some young person, probably inebriated, had fallen and gotten a gash in their head and emergency services were there attending.

Taking my attention from the incident, I surveyed the "Riverside SnackBar" and thought it might be a nice place for a nightcap.

I tried to call Kathi, but was unsuccessful in raising her. I thought she might be in the shower so I cruised back up to the apartment and asked if she wanted to go back down to the lakefront. She did and so we retraced our steps.

Fishing along the lake must be a popular pastime because the shoreline was lined with anglers.

After we ordered drinks, I watched attentively. Some anglers were actually quite good, stockpiling their catch.

Sensing my interest and shyness, Kathi offered to use her wily ways to get one of the anglers to show off their catch for a photograph.

My guess is that these were _----------. We continued to sip our drinks and watch the sun go down. It was a simple, unassuming, "workaday" spot as Rick Steve's would call it, but we appreciated it all the same.

Later, we were to discover that we were perhaps a 5-10 minute walk from the Ittiturismo Ristorante Mella, made famous (to us) by the Netflix film on "Dogs" and as the home to Ice, the yellow Labrador retriever, who fished the lake everyday with his master and sat at the table in his own special chair for dinner. We would have loved to stop by because Ice was such a lovable dog; what a missed opportunity!

As night fell, we made our way along the stream up the hill, admiring the forest of butterfly weed, and back to our apartment for bed. We did some pre-packing and then retied for the night, with fans on, but never quite figuring out how to turn on any lights in the bedroom.