September 13-14 Lake Como

Doug, Susan, Ken and Sarah arrived in Como on Wednesday night and headed out for a quick reconnaisance of the town and to find a place for dinner. The hotel was simple but nice and most importantly was near the train station.

We found a lovely Italian restaurant on the Lake and took advantage of the "tourist menu" and the ample, inexpensive house wine.

It was an early start the next morning to get the boat for a tour of Lake Como. The weather was sunny but with a nice breeze to provide a relief from the heat. It didn't last but it was nice while we had it. We kept a close eye out for George Clooney and his Lake Como villa. Not sure if we saw it but were disappointed to hear he was in Toronto for the TIFF.

We enjoyed the boat ride and our first stop of the day was the impressive Villa Carlotta.

Ken was really excited to see what he thought were hummingbirds in the garden but upon closer inspection realized that they were some kind of insect. We named it a humming bee. Ken was horrified!! Later we found out it was a hummingbird moth.

After that it was a stop for water and prosecco and the ferry over to Bellagio.  

We took the fast ferry back to Como as it was late in the day. After an extensive search for an elusive supply of mustard, we stumbled upon what we thought was a new restaurant for our last evening in Como. After being promised a courtyard seat near the lake we ended up at exactly the same restaurant as we ate the previous night. Oh well, the service was great and the meal was excellent....again....as was the complimentary lemoncello. :)

Tomorrow it was off to Torino via Milan.