Lake Como...Bellagio...Milan

Another beautiful and relaxing day here in Italy. The students got up early and headed for Venice. The faculty and 1 student decided to take it easy and stroll the beautiful streets of Como and Bellagio. Como is north of Milan and a comfortable train ride away. I couldn’t help think of the similarities between the metro system and train system in Boston Mass and Milan. It is strikingly similar. I felt like I was having a flashback to the Boston to Salem train. It’s funny the parallels you find when traveling.

After arriving in Como we took a ferry ride on Lake Como. Wow what a beautiful sight. Gorgeous villas and towns with colorful churches dot the shoreline.

We arrived at Bellagio and strolled up and down the streets. It is the off season so there are many closed shops and construction, but it was still absolutely charming. We ate lunch at a wonderful brick wood oven pizzeria. I don’t think I have had a more delicious pizza. The crust was perfect and the ingredients so fresh.

We went to the church and listened to the bell tower chime. After a stop for Gelato (which is becoming a daily staple), we lounged around and then took the ferry back to Como.

Como was having a sort of carnival. There were tons of people and little children dressed up in costumes. Many were holding bags of confetti, silly string and streamers which they threw on each other and many unsuspecting passersby. A cute little dragon approximately age 2 threw a nice handful of confetti my way. He was the cutest dragon. It was fun to watch the people in such a festive atmosphere.

We took the train back to Milan and tried to find a quick bite to eat. We ended up back at the Duomo. I was so glad because the stained glass windows were absolutely breathtaking at night. Scenes from the bible and other important Catholic stories were crafted into those giant windows.

All in all it was a wonderful night full of strolling and enjoying quintessential Italy. No rush, no worry.