Europe '13: Bellagio 1-4July

Here we are in beautiful Bellagio for some R&R after our 2 1/2 weeks in sunny Spain. There is still no rain but a few clouds & perfect weather 25-28 degrees.

We had a long but uneventful day getting here at1700 after leaving San Sebastián at 0700. We were still unable to use our eurail pass on any of the days travel, which is a bit of a joke.

Settled into our hotel, Hotel Metropole with a G&T from our balcony over looking Lake Como which was stunning.

Bellagio is on the tip of a promontory at the end of the chain of mountains where the lake bifurcated overlooking the SE & SW branches of lake Como. Here are many hamlets scattered on the hills. There are cypresses & pines growing on the shore, vines & olives on the slopes chestnuts & conifers in the mountains.

Our 1st full day, (Tuesday 2nd), I went to the Villa Melzi d'Eril gardens which stretch out along the lake lined with plane trees. There is a chapel & history museum, formally the Villa of Melzi, containing precious historical artefacts from the Napoleon period. Also many sculptures, an oriental garden & hedges of camellias, & woods of azaleas & rhododendrons which sadly finished flowering in May! There were a few huge magnolia trees that were flowering.

Michael took a different route & we met for a beer back at the hotel.

That afternoon after a ferry ride, we had a 1+ km walk from Lenno to see the Villa del Balbianello which is a magnificent Villa built in 1787 on a monastery site. In 1974 it was bought by the explorer Guido Monzino, who lead an expedition to the North Pole & Mt Everest, a smoker who died at 60 from a heart attack! The Villa was left to the National Trust. A number of scenes for movies such as Casino Royal & Star Wars were shot at this Villa. The rooms were beautifully furnished & our guide gave us a good history lesson with reference to all the statues & artefacts. Google it as it's quite beautiful set on the tip of a peninsular over looking Lake Como.

Had a very classy meal at Suisse Restaurant near our hotel, with a good bottle of red-E28 (getting use to ordering now)!

Wednesday -3 July

Walked our breakfast off to the Eastern side of the peninsular of Bellagio. Actually had a few sprinkles of rain which disappeared very quickly. Found a laundromat, great feeling having clean clothes!

I found some goodies & knocked up a ploughman's lunch in our room in front of Wimbledon. All very relaxing. Head off tomorrow for Varenna by ferry to catch our train to Venice (via Milan).

It is so picturesque looking out the window or sitting on the small balcony overlooking Lake Como. The lake is busy with many ferries (car & people) to'ing & fro'ing from small towns along the lake adjacent & opposite us, people ski-ing, fast boats, sea planes & water taxi's going up & down.

We are thoroughly enjoying a bit of quiet time reading & watching the men's 1/4 finals before heading out for more walking, food & grog! Del Potro, Janowicz, Murray & Djokovic were the winners.

Pasta dinner at a small restaurant in the town square (much small than those in Spain). Tried the most expensive Chianti, sadly no better than 40 years ago!

Ferry ride from Como to Bellagio taking 2 hours.