12th Oct 2015
Lakes, windy
roads, and almost in Switzerland.
We ended up
staying a second night beside Lake Como because it was just very pleasant, and
it is always good to stop occasionally for a few hours. It was a sunny day, so we enjoyed a cooked
breakfast for the first time in a while, and then just lazed about, catching up
on things that needed doing. In the
afternoon we went for a walk into the local village, taking our life in our
hands as we walked along the narrow road where there is no sidewalk, or even
any room for one – You walk along single file and keep your eye on the
traffic. The motorcycles you can usually
hear coming, so they are not the problem !
We wandered in the little village, bought a gelati and enjoyed it sitting
on a bench overlooking the lake, and then wandered back to the camp site. A pleasant and quiet day.
Monday morning
was a bit overcast, but still no rain for a while, so we slowly packed up and
prepared to head towards Bellagio. Not
sure where George Clooney lives, but it is somewhere round here – But I think
he would arrive by helicopter !! We eventually set off and headed north along
the arm of the lake towards Bellagio – This road is seriously narrow in places,
and you just have to be ready to meet anything – coaches, cement trucks, or
bikes and Fiat 500’s on the wrong side of the road…….!!
We came into
Bellagio at about 10.30 am, and after missing the turning, doubled back and
dropped down through an archway into the small town. We found a parking spot that we could fit
into (not always easy in these little towns as we are quite long since I have
spare wheels and my bike on the back) and went for a wander through the little
town. Needless to say, it is very
upmarket with plenty of expensive clothes, wine, and jewelry shops everywhere, plus
of course many hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops. There are steep alleyways leading up from the
water front, lined with more shops, and overall it is very pleasant. For a change there were not too many tourists
around, so we had quite a pleasant half hour exploring.
At the far end of
the town was the very exclusive Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni – All big gates
and “Guests Only” type of place. Outside
on the wall is a menu for their waterfront restaurant, equally expensive and
exclusive……Yet the blurb for the restaurant looks like it has been written by a
3rd former who missed English lessons year 2 due to chicken pox
!! What can’t places that are so
exclusive afford (or is it “bother” ?) to hire someone who can speak and write
English so that their forms don’t bring a wry smile to people’s faces ? Maybe I should hire out my services……..?
Back down through
town, it was a pleasant morning, and we stopped for coffee at a little
waterside café before heading back to the car.
At the car, various people were looking at the car and taking photos, a
couple of them being from a nearby restaurant – The Carillon. After they returned to the restaurant, I
wandered over to one of them for a chat, and the guy greeted me with a big
smile and invited me back to his little restaurant / bar for a prosecco. His name was Nando, he owned the restaurant,
and had actually met his wife Eveline in Sydney Australia back in New Year 2001
– She was in fact from Verona, and on holiday in Australia like he was, so it
was ironic that they should meet there and they have a soft spot for
Australia. Nando welcomed us into his
little restaurant and we had a good chat about things for half an hour or
so. A very pleasant interlude – Thank
you Nando, and good luck to you for the future.
Anyone going to Bellagio should go to his restaurant for a drink /
coffee / meal, and if you mention Australia you never know what might happen !
Eventually we
managed to escape from several other passers by who wanted to chat about our
trip, and we headed out of town. I
spotted an underground boat harbour – This is quite common round here due to
lack of space, but in this instance there were a number of nice looking boats
parked in there. No Riva Aquaramas (my
all time favourite wooden hulled boat from the 1960’s that are typical Lake
Como “runabouts” worth about $1 million nowadays !) but some nice boats, all
the same.
As we drove on
round the edge of the lake towards Como, it really is a very beautiful spot on
this earth, but the roads are so winding and narrow, one can only imagine what
it must be like in August around here !
I think everyone would travel by boat or water taxi if they had any
sense ! We were lucky in that only once
did we get a big 40 seater coach in front of us which slowed everything down
because it had to stop in every small village when the roads got too narrow for
ongoing traffic to pass. Can you imagine
when the coaches are everywhere ?? Yuk.
On round through
Como itself at the SW end of the lake, where the road then turned north again
and we continued to follow it on up beside the lake. As mentioned, it really is very beautiful,
but after an hour or two, it all becomes a bit repetitive. Yes the Lake is beautiful. Yes, the road it amazing. Yes, the houses are charming. But eventually we just blurr – And start to
wonder about mountains and Switzerland.
If I was going to come to Lake Como for a holiday, I would need to have
a house on the water, arrive by sea plane, and have a little speed boat in
order to get around to restaurant’s and stuff (there are no beaches, remember
!!). If one could do it like that, then
I am sure one could have a very pleasant week or two, but if one had to use the
roads or normal transport, I think it might all get a bit too much after a day
or so !! Just IMHO, of course…….
We stopped for
lunch at about 2.30 pm at a sunny parking spot beside the lake – Only to find
there was quite a chilly breeze blowing !
So we rugged up and made our sandwiches, feeding some local swans and
ducks while we ate. Shortly after that,
we found ourselves on a slightly wider road a bit higher up from the edge of
the lake, but decided that was fine – We had had enough of the snail trail
along the edge of the lake ! We
eventually reached the northern end of the lake, and turned eastwards along the
edge of the Swiss border and the Alps, towards Sondrio. It was a busy and industrial road, so not a
lot to see, although it was nice to see some light snow up on the mountain tops
– Mountains and snow always bring a smile to my face !
We stopped for
fuel (how much is fuel in Switzerland ? Should we refill in Italy first ? Will
they accept Euro’s in Switzerland if we camp there ?) and also found a
Carrefour
A tough day
negotiating Lake Como. A beautiful spot,
really enjoyed seeing it, but glad I am here in October and not August ! There are other places that are more scenic
and inviting in our opinion – Lago di Garda being just one of them. Unless of course you have a nice house like
Mr Clooney, then I am sure it could be very pleasant here !!
On to St Moritz
and a little luge work tomorrow…………
Pics are here :- https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0380LakeComoToTirana?authkey=Gv1sRgCOXxiLr14ejbcw
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