Map of Lake Como
Day 4: Today, Keith and I went from Milan to Varrena on Lake Como (Lago di Como) via train, then by ferry to Bellagio and another ferry to Como. Varrena, Bellagio, and Como are circled in red. Lake Como is the third largest of the northern Italian lakes.
Map of Lake Como
Varrena
I wanted to visit Bellagio on Lake Como and the easiest way to get there from Milan was to take a train to Varrena from Milan’s Central Station. We left the station about 9 a.m. The train ride takes about one hour. Hint: Get into a middle to front car; if you don’t, you may not see the station name when the train stops––the stations are not announced. We did get off at the right stop as we asked a conductor who was walking by when we would reach Varrena. There are not great views of the lake from the train.
Varrena
Varrena
According to Rick Steves, there is not much to see in Varrena, so we made our way down to the ferry boats. That is Keith in the photo, finally finding me. I wanted to use the toilette, but decided against it when all there was was an enamel hole in the ground. Keith went off to check something out and I didn’t see him, so I started to walk down to the ferry.
Varrena
Varrena
Down at the lake.
Varrena
Varrena
A beautiful villa in Varrena.
Varrena
Varrena
A pretty hotel near the water’s edge in Varrena. We checked its menu prices––much lower than Milan’s prices.
Varrena
Varrena
Here comes our ferry to take us across the lake to Bellagio.
Varrena
Varrena
Varrena from Lake Como.
Varrena
Varrena
A close–up view of Varrena.
Varrena
Varrena
I actually took that last photo through the windows on the opposite side from where I was sitting on the ferry. I was too nervous about slipping to stand outside.
Varrena
Bellagio
Arriving at Bellagio.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Bellagio is one of the “hot” places to visit on Lake Como. Many tour groups come here, either by boat or by bus on the roads on the sides of the lake. They come to view this very pretty town and also to visit it many shops. The tour groups were here in full force today. But I really wanted to visit Bellagio because of its, I assume, connection to the Hotel Bellagio in Las Vegas. To explain, the most elegant, in my opinion, hotel in Vegas is the Hotel Bellagio and I wanted to see what features of the real Bellagio were incorporated into it. However, the “real” Hotel Bellagio does not seem to be one of them. Expedia has it listed as a 1 1/2 star hotel.
Bellagio
Bellagio
If you stay at this Hotel Bellagio, you are going to have to drag your suitcases up these stone steps.
Bellagio
Bellagio
At the Piazza Mazzini, along the waterfront, are hotels, cafes, and stores.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Some of a cafe’s dessert offerings.
Bellagio
Bellagio
The town of Bellagio is on a hill, described as an “intricate network of lanes, some steep, some cobbled, that rise from the lakeshore.” Photo: Some of those steps.
Bellagio
Bellagio
But there is also a hill without steps that can be climbed to get to the top of the town. We took this. Photo: The Grand Hotel Serbelloni Bellagio.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Cute sidewalk cafe on Garibaldi, an upper level street.
Bellagio
Bellagio
The church of San Giacomo, part of it 11th century Romanesque and part of it later Baroque.
Bellagio
Bellagio
The Piazza Chiesa on Garibaldi.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Looking downward to the lake.
Bellagio
Bellagio
That’s Keith in the photo––black jacket and jeans. We just left a store selling wine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, grappo, etc. One of Keith’s purchases was 15–year–aged balsamic vinegar. They also had 25–year–aged balsamic vinegar. Something new I learned about balsamic vinegar: The balsamic vinegar that you usually buy in the market has only been aged a few months. But any balsamic vinegar that is legally labeled “aceto balsamico tradizionale” is aged at least 12 years. The longer the vinegar is aged, the stronger is its flavor and also the smaller amount of vinegar you need to use for flavoring. The aging is done in barrels, so that lets out just buying a bottle of it and storing it in a cupboard for 15 or 25 years.
Bellagio
Bellagio
The main scary stone steps without a railing down to the lake. I said “no way” and went back the way we came. Keith took the steps down and then the steps back up––he said they were somewhat slippery––and caught up with me on the hill going down. But while you are on the top of the hill, you may want to take some of the pathways down to the other side of the hill from Bellagio, such as to the fishing village of Pescallo. My cousin Meg told me about this as she had spent a week at Bellagio. I didn’t want to do any extra walking today.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Back down at the Piazza Mazzini. The Hotel du Lac.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Where we had coffee and ice cream for me. For some reason, we weren’t hungry today for lunch and skipped it. It was a good spot for some interesting people watching.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Some of the coffee (caffes) on the menu.
Bellagio
Bellagio
The Hotel Metropole on the Piazza Mazzini.
Bellagio
Bellagio
One of the cars at the old European car show on the piazza.
Bellagio
Bellagio
The ferry ticket station. It was time to leave Bellagio and head toward Como.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Sculpture in front of the station.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Looking over to Varrena from Bellagio.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Bird on a post on Lake Como.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Close–up of the bird.
Bellagio
Bellagio
One of the ferry boats.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Maybe this is our boat coming.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Leaving Bellagio. The next photo is of the Hotel Bellagio in Las Vegas. I think that you can see the resemblance of these buildings on the waterfront of Bellagio to the little villas surrounding part of the lake of the Hotel Bellagio in Vegas. Of course, the lake in Vegas is Lake Bellagio, not Lake Como.
Bellagio
Bellagio
Hotel Bellagio (on the left) in Las Vegas, on Lake Bellagio.
Bellagio
Bellagio to Como
We took a passenger ferry with an open area on top from Bellagio to Como, stopping off at about 11 ports. The trip took about 2 hours. It remained overcast until close to Como and I had wished that I had brought my heavy coat and scarf with me––left at the hotel. We followed the route shown in the first photo of this album and having a close–up view of all the towns was very exciting. I have put the photos I took on a slide show on this site: Go to Slide Shows, Western Europe, Italy–1, “Lake Como: Bellagio to Como.”
Bellagio to Como
Como
This was a Sunday and the weather was warm and sunny in Como and it was a complete madhouse. We had coffee there and walked around just a little bit. At least I got to show Keith the Como basilica before we realized that we didn’t want to fight the crowds. However, on my 2005 trip to Italy, I took many photos of Como, which will appear on this site in the near future. From Como, we took the train back to Milan, about a 1/2 hour trip.
Como
Serravalle Designer Outlet
Day 5: I was to be on my own for the next four days as Keith would be busy with his convention. The tour that I had signed up for to Bergamo, a medieval town, was canceled. I could have gone there on my own by train, but I couldn’t convince myself that I wouldn’t fall down on some cobblestones and have no one to rescue me. So I decided to taken a safer tour that Zani Viaggi, the tour company, was running: a shopping trip to the Serravalle Designer Outlet. We left Milan at 10 a.m. and arrived at the outlet about 11:30 a.m. Zani Virggi also offers a tour to another designer outlet, the Fox Town Outlet, in Switzerland, which is closer to Milan.
Serravalle Designer Outlet
Serravalle Designer Outlet
No shortage of designer discount shops here––about 100. Here is Dolce & Gabbana on the left and Versace on the right.
Serravalle Designer Outlet
Serravalle Designer Outlet
Roberto Cavalli on the left and Salvatore Ferragamo on the right. There was also Bruno Magli, Bulgari, and Furla and many, many designers that I did not recognize. One I did recognize easily was Levi’s––one of the American “designers” with stores here. Don’t laugh––Levi 501’s have “designer” prices in Italy and in other places in Europe: regular price, 90 euros (about $125.00 U.S.); discount price, 53 euros (about $77.00 U.S.). I believe you can buy them in the U.S. on sale for about $30.00 U.S.
Serravalle Designer Outlet
Serravalle Designer Outlet
More of the Serravalle Outlet. A good description of its architecture would be “faux Italian,” even though it is located in Italy. Except for the buon giornos, the prices being in euros, and that you could take your dog shopping with you (including inside the stores), it resembled an outlet mall you would find in the U.S. It even had a Burger King. Most of the clothes here were not only still very expensive, but also too heavy weight to wear in Los Angeles. But I did buy a beautiful pair of Italian red leather women’s driving gloves––something I had been looking for for a couple of years and couldn’t find––and some very good quality Italian silk ties for gifts. I had fast food Italian pizza and a coke for lunch. We arrived back in Milan at 5:30 p.m., I took a taxi back to the hotel, and ate dinner (a hamburger) in the hotel lounge.
