Thursday, 8 May

Bellano, Lake Como - Bellagio 

Weather: Overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon. Max 14c.

We had a great day. The weather forecast of afternoon showers determined what we would do. We decided to make the most of the clear morning and take the ferry to Bellagio, an hour’s ferry ride to the south of Bellano, have a long lunch (my favourite activity) and then decide the afternoon’s activities when we saw what the weather would do. 

We chose a new place for breakfast. This time it was the Wonder Cafe in the centre of the little town. The Crema Croissant that Henk and I had with our cappuccinos were so good. Brian had a Pistachio Croissant and he said it was very moorish. Whilst the cafe didn’t have the busy ambience of the railway cafe with the locals, we loved the croissants so much that we decided we would return tomorrow.

After walking around Bellano we caught the 9.40am ferry to Bellagio crisscrossing Lake Como calling into Varenna and Menaggio. The ferry was packed with tourists of all nationalities and we managed to get seats on the top level of the ferry so we had great views of the villages and hilltop towns as it was such a clear morning. 

Bellagio is quite a contrast to Bellano and is considered “a must see” and has many more visitors than all the other towns situated around Lake Como. There were many steep, stone stairs linking the lower shore to the upper part of the town to the Via Garabaldi. 

Catering for the many tourists  were many high-end shops, cafes and restaurants. As the morning progressed more and more tourists arrived on the frequent ferries. We loved the many steep staircases which served as the streets for the town. 

We walked the streets and climbed the many stairs until noon and after only having a croissant for breakfast we felt quite quite hungry. We decided on going “full tourist” and have lunch at the restaurant, Torre de Gusto in the Piazza del Chiesa. It was quite chilly but we chose the high outdoor area separate to the restaurant. We overlooked the church of San Giacomo, the central fountain and the shops and cafes which circled the plaza. Our choice of main meal followed by the Tiramisu hit the spot. So did the bill! 

Following lunch and with the forecast of wet weather not eventuating we caught the 2.30 fast ferry to Bellano returning at 2.45pm. We were keen to visit the Orido de Bellano, a natural gorge in the town whilst it was sunny. This gorge was formed over 15M years ago and at its deepest point is 50M high. It is impressive with the force of the aqua green water that gushes through it.

At 4.00pm we returned to our apartment via the local grocery store and picked up some further supplies for a light dinner. Jet lag got the better of me and I had a Lima Lima Delta (LLD - Little Lie Down) for about an hour and slept like the dead. Henk joined me for the LLD and Brian resisted the nap as he thought he would sleep until the morning. We prepared nibbles and poured the wine and sat on our balcony overlooking the water for about ten minutes when the afternoon forecast rain arrived. We hastily retreated to our warm apartment. The views over Lake Como are forever changing. This morning’s calm waters were replaced once again with wind blown waters in the late afternoon with threatening skies. 

Dinner was ciabatta, salami and cheese followed by Italian biscuits. We had a few more tastings of the Montepulciano wine as well.