Sue and Gerry's Europe Trip 2012: Lombardy - Milan, Lake Como & Bellagio

Our back-to-back train journey from Lucca to Milan via Florence went almost without a hitch, except that we almost got on the wrong train at Florence when they switched platforms 5 minutes before departure time. Mad rush to change platforms, not made any easier with cigarette-touting women who just feel the need to stand in your way. Italian travelling rule #35 : the more urgent your rush, the more women with cigarettes who stand in your way.

Arrived in Milan and a feature of our itinerary was that the hotel was “supposed” to be a 5 minute walk from the station. Unfortunately, road construction activities prevented us from crossing the road and we couldn’t see how to get across. So we went back to the taxi rank, but the taxi driver refused to take us : “It’s-a just-a cross-a da road-a round-a da corner-a – 5 minuta”. So we set off on this famous 5 minute walk and after half an hour, had to admit we were lost and stepped into a lunch bar to ask for directions, sweat streaming down our faces. We finally got to the hotel, not before I thanked God that I had at least asked a taxi driver. Imagine the reaction from my red-headed travelling companion if I had taken it into my own head to do the walk? “I told you we should have taken a taxi……..” for the next 5 years.

Anyway, we made it on time to our pre-booked city tour and had a fabulous tour, including a visit to La Scala, the main "Duomo" cathedral (one of the most impressive cathedrals we’ve ever seen) and, of course the highlight, Da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper”. No sign of the code though.

With still some juice left in the tanks, we started the city shopping tour at 6.30 pm lead by guess who, before finally conceding defeat for the day a couple of hours later by falling into a homely-looking restaurant for dinner.

Friday morning, I did a dangerous thing : I agreed for Sue and I to separate for 2 hours – she was going to do the shops while I went up onto the roof of the Duomo. Luckily, by the time we met at 1.00 pm, neither of us had done much damage (to either ourselves or our wallets). So, a quick lunch, back to the hotel to pick up our bags and this time a true 5 minute walk to the station (having done a dry run without bags in the morning).

After much confusion, we got onto the right train to Saronno, where we changed to a train to Como. At Como, we bought our bus tickets to Bellagio and patiently waited for the bus in front of the green benches, as advised by the ticket lady. Only after we missed the bus did we realise there where green benches on both sides of the road! Durr….. Anyway, the next bus came 35 minutes later and we had an adventurous 50 minute ride to Bellagio. The roads are so narrow and you think the bus is either going to collect the oncoming car or else the rock face on the other side.

Lovely stately hotel, 50 metre high ceilings, marble stairs, timber paneled foyers and a room with a view over the lake – postcard-like. Found a lovely restaurant on the edge of the lake – only the violins were missing, but the fresh fish from the lake weren’t so lucky – Gerry ate them.

Bellagio and Lake Como are like a continuous postcard – magnificent mountains rising majestically out of the lake with houses and villages dotted all over the place, especially along the lake’s edge.

Saturday : Walked the shops and streets of Bellagio and took the high speed hydrofoil to Como. Strolled the streets and met Julie Carn for lunch (she’d travelled all the way from Verona to met up with us for the day). Back to Bellagio by bus and had great pizzas, handicapped by 300 steps to get to the pizzeria.

Sunday (Sue’s birthday). Had a “day off” and took a leisurely river cruise down Lake Como to a small village called Torno that has a lovely restaurant on the shore (recommended to us by hotel clerk in Milan). Beautiful lunch in a postcard setting, followed by a cruise back to Como where we again caught the bus back to Bellagio after the hydrofoil failed to start (mechanical problems). We are starting to get used to the 1 hour hair-raising bus ride.

This ends our sojourn in Italy with a big travelling day tomorrow – Bellagio to Vienna, relying on bus, train and ‘plane connections to all work. Watch this space……