A bus ride today began with a trip to Lugano, which is just over the border in Switzerland. In order to get there, our bus was rerouted from a congested area on the motorway, and we happened to drive through the outskirts of the town of Como, to which we would return later.
It was a beautiful day. We arrived at Lugano, and were given several hours of free time there.
We explored some of the walkable streets, gazed longingly into some of the store fronts that displayed beautiful Swiss chocolate, and ended up in a large department store. Our goal going to the large department store was to find an inexpensive suitcase, so we had one more piece of luggage for our trip back. We were quite successful in that pursuit. It was a beautiful store, reminded me of some of the lovely department stores here in the United States, the ones that used to be situated in downtowns of cities. Most of them are gone, thanks first to malls and then secondly, to online shopping. But there’s something to be said for being in such a store being able to see not only what you went for, but things you didn’t know you need until you got there!
Among the things we also shopped for were, as you might guess Swiss Army knives for the men in our family at home. We found a number of beautiful ones, and were glad that we did. Now here’s the thing, when we went to get on the plane from Milan to New York City, one of us had forgotten to put those in our checked luggage. So the airport gained from our loss. Sigh.
We continued our day, unaware of what was to come in that regard. And we strolled along the lake side. There were many lovely benches, just beckoning for us to sit and enjoy the lake view. Which we did, but only after going to the little stand along the lake, where we bought some wonderful gelato. If ever you are in Logano, I would say be sure to stop at that stand. Rather than stand at that stop. OK that was bad but there you go. The gelato was very good.
Before long, we joined our group, boarded the bus, and were on our way to Como.
The last time that Judy and I were in Italy, we were in the city of Como, but only long enough to get off the train, and transferred to a bus that would take us along the Lake shore up to Cadenabbia. So we really couldn’t say that we had seen the town of Como at all. Unless you want to count the train station, which I would rather not do.
This time was so pleasant. Upon our arrival we made our way to the small piazza in front of the cathedral, where we had an alfresco lunch. Eating outdoors was one of the many pleasant activities we quickly became accustomed to, in Italy.
The highlight of our visit to Como was a boat tour on the southern section of the lake. And it’s true, you can see more of the villas from the water than you can from the streets. These villas is dated back for hundreds of years, and they are every bit as desirable and popular now as they were then. Of course, when they were built, most of them were built for Italian nobility and similar. Nowadays, we are led to understand that most of them are owned by Russian oligarchs. I guess they’re the ones that can afford it. Of course, we were also aware that one of our favorite actors has a villa on the lake. Specifically, George Clooney. Did you know that he bought his villa from John Kerry? Kerry sold it about the time he was running for president. He owned a number of houses, and I think deemed it appropriate to own fewer as he entered the campaign, to avoid criticism about that.
We also saw a villa where Napoleon was want to stay. And alongside the villa, in the trees, there is a large obelisk, which was placed there in memory of Napoleon’s favorite dog. I told Bendix not to expect an obelisk in his honor. Snuggles and treats are more on our level.
The last time we were in Italy we decided that Lake Como is our absolute favorite of the many places that we saw. It’s still very very high on the list. But I think it’s quite possible that the Isle of Capri has managed to eclipse it, if only slightly.
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