isola comacina

Isola Comacina is a tiny island right off the left leg of Lake Como-- probably less than 200 meters at the shortest distance from the main land. So we swam there.

Just kidding. I can hardly tread water (much to the chagrin of my former water polo-playing boyfriend), but we did swim and I did consider the idea. Giacomo was the only one who swam to the other side and made friends with the kids jumping off the dock.

I alternated between swimming and sunbathing on a big rock à la The Little Mermaid. (See large rock above).


It was a peaceful little island with beautiful views of the surrounding lake. I don't think I could get tired of it. Tiny hill-tiered houses against a backdrop of the Alps and the bluest water you've ever seen? Nope. I'd never tire of that.






So, for the concluding post of my mini Lake Como series, I'll leave you with this:

If I can have a life where I own the tiniest of boats whose sole purpose is to serve as my buoy while I nap in the sun on the shore of somewhere beautiful, I'll know it was a good life.

PS - Kim has been posting the most beautiful photos of her and Andre's trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. I make a little appearance in this post, this post, and this post! (We had a lot of fun together). Happy Weekend!

varenna

As I go through my photos, I'm still surprised that places like this exist. Lake Como is one of the few places in Italy I've been to that isn't bombarded with tourist shops and street sellers. It's easy to take a boat from lake town to lake town, stopping wherever you please to jump in for a quick swim.

Thanks to Rick Steves,* I got to read up on the towns before visiting them and learned interesting things like it's illegal to paint your home a shade other than what it originally was. This little town, Varenna, is Rick's favorite. It's got its own quiet charm that's different than Bellagio and Menaggio since it's smaller. We walked through the streets and saw almost no one except for a cute little cat.

It was pretty amazing.

*Seriously, if you guys are traveling to Europe and are looking for a quality, interesting guide: look no further than Rick. Also, if you want a good laugh I'd visit his website right now (readt: it's Christmas themed).

bellagio

Lake Como was like a dream. I drove up with my dear friend, Giacomo (my language partner while studying abroad in Florence), and we spent a few days visiting the tiny lakeside towns.

Bellagio is perfectly named (together bello and agio mean something like "beautiful ease"). It's called the "pearl" of the lake towns because of its nicer shops and hotels, but I thought it was a pearl on its own. We stayed away from the shops and went exploring. We mistakenly walked to the other side of town and took our first Lake Como swim among ducks and boats. Everywhere we went, we walked along narrow streets with quaint, colorful buildings. Small-town charm seemed to follow us everywhere and that was just the way we liked it.

lake como

Everything was so peaceful, so blue.

A little preview of the Lake Como (yes, where George Clooney lives) photos to come on Monday!
(photo by Giacomo)