Our journey from Florence to Bellagio took pretty much all day. We had to jump on and off trains with 16 people of varying speeds (hurry, hurry, only about 7 minutes!) We had way too much baggage and some folks couldn't really manage on their own.
We lent some muscle and Karen organized everything - like Tetris with all the bags in the standing area of the train. Then in Milan, we had to do it all again, to change trains for Como. Finally, in Como, after navigating a very tiny elevator in the station on both sides ofthe track, we got on a bus for an hour-long ride on a super windy and narrow road with a CRAZY driver. I mean NARROW - only one car usually - but then..... it was ALL WORTH IT!
It was the only travel day on the tour where all we did was try to get someplace else. Note to self and any others - there is a hydrofoil as well as ferries from Como to Bellagio! There are also lots of super cool James Bond type shiny wooden boats if you want to spring for them!
We are staying on the 4th floor of the Hotel Metropole with a view of the lake and Bellagio looking north. We sent Mom a picture and she said that she and Dad had stayed in the same hotel on the 3rd floor looking south! We were so happy to hear that and love our room. We had a dinner that night on our terrace but of course, we jetted out to explore, eat gelato and shop. At least we are consistent! There are several steep, flower-filled, alleyways leading up from the water, lined with restaurants and shops.
Bellagio's 12th century Basilica of San Giacomo is simple and beautiful inside. We enjoyed our lunch on the terrace at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni which is at the north end of town and spectacular.
We had a few activities during the last few days of our trip but lots of free time to hang out, explore, eat, and figure out how to repack all our loot! We took a ferry ride to Varenna, a quieter and smaller town where we learned about rugs (with Prosecco of course!) and had a nice sunset dinner at the Hotel Royal Victoria.
We also went to Como for the day to visit the silk museum (waaay too many photos of that but is was so cool) and then to the Villa Sucota, where we got a private tour of Antonio Ratti's extraordinary collection of antique textiles - more than 30,000 pieces from all over the world in temperature controlled vaults – with a collection of 7800+ volumes specializing in textiles, fashion, visual arts and crafts. I think almost all libraries are amazing but this one got Karen excited too!
It was a really wonderful place to end the tour, and the days flew by. On our last day - we had a quick travel day to Milan, where we are staying at the Malpensa Sheraton right at the airport. I'll save that for the final entry! Enjoy the photos!
2025-02-17