villa carlotta - tremezzo

villa carlotta was also build in the 17th century with over 70 000 sqm of gardens !
one can spend a day just wandering the gardens. they are out of this world
so beautiful. i can't imagine the maintenance !
there is place for picnic and while i was there someone got married in the gardens
nice venue !

the villa, that is now a museum , is filled with art and sculptures and furniture

how stunning is the waterfall !?

my view while eating dinner
it is my last nite in lake como ...
the hotel had a special dinner for me and arranged for some fireworks later to celebrate my upcoming birthday
how sweet of them !


the local fish with polenta


spinach and ricotta ravioli with burned sage butter
:))))

XXXX

villa del balbianello -lenno

i took a ferry to this 17 century villa in lenno that this guy build as a summer residence with an amazing english/french/ italian garden overlooking lake como
really really stunning!

richard branson's house, i am told




dinner
a beautiful fresh salad with italian sparkling white wine :)

lezzeno heaven

the hotel in lezzeno where everything and nothing happens
if you want to do nothing, this is the place ! they have an amazing restaurant, water sports (!) and a deck were you can lounge for days on end...



ok, so this is the smallest room i have ever stayed in, but it was super comfortable
and who needs a big fancy room if you are always outside !



lunch (be warned, you are going to see a lot of delicious food)
pear ravioli with a mixture of local cheese sauce - to die for !



this is what i did for the first 2 days...
laying on a lounger, reading , sleeping and then of course go to the terrace for meals !
i love my life X

view from the terrace restaurant



dinner
tomato with buffalo mozzarella and basil :)

sunset over lake como

boat trip to bellagio

the boat trip to bellagio was a bit like the killers concert - it took 2.5 hours to get there, i walked around for an hour and then
the trip back was another 2 and a bit hours...



bellagio is a really beautiful little town, but is shockingly touristy

the trip along the lake was really stunning
i find it difficult to take pictures... it is almost too much to try and capture

my last meal at my 'local'
polenta with gorgonzola cheese- it was SO good !

walking on sunshine !

i took the photos to show the difference what a sunny day makes compared to a miserable day
no photoshop ( i don't know how , even i wanted to )


amazing !

i walked around in como and looked at all the 'sights' and then i took a boat trip to the nearest little 'villages' around the lake




cernobbio, one of the places i got off and walked around a bit

this quickly became my favourite light lunch, italian flat bread with tomato, salad and cheese- toasted
yum

how is this for parking ! :))

it is SO beautiful - everything looks like a cheesy postcard

ok, so i went back...homemade spagetti with wild mushrooms
the food is excellent, not just because i am/was hungry

brunate , lake como

i am staying in a little 'village' on top of a hill, called brunate
this is the view from my room
the weather was miserable when i arrived. cold rainy and windy - very cape town !



there is a cable car (funiculare) between brunate and como
this is the view down to como form the top


you get the idea...
i ventured down to como to walk around, but i lasted about 2 hours
my umbrella went inside out about 20 times and i was soaking wet - not fun at all