Why not finish on a HIGH ......

Morning,

And what an early one it is for me.  I'm not used to this getting up with the birds lark.  It's been 2 weeks of relaxing mornings, with coffee by the lake while we decide what we're doing/where we're off to that day.

Oh well (BIG sigh!).  All good things must come to an end so they say.  So ......  it's stupid o'clock, the birds are singing, and I'm blogging!!! Just wanted to fill you in with the last of my Italian Adventure.

Well I said we were going to make the most of yesterday, didn't I    Where did we end up then - ST MORITZ!   That's right, we had a 'quick' drive over to Switzerland.  Stephen wanted to see some real mountains, so we headed into the Alps.

Oh boy!! He certainly got mountains.

We drove up to Bellagio and caught the ferry across to Varenna, then we drove the 100 (ish)  mile trip across the Italy/Swiss border and headed up the Maloja Pass to St Moritz.

What a fabulous drive, breathtaking scenery all the way ......

and lots of mountains ........

I wasn't too sure about the pass though ....... I don't really do heights ......

You can see how the road winds it's way up.  We were already pretty high up but this thing went up to 5955 feet - now that's high!
But, we drove up there .......

wiki picture

Steep climbs, and hairpin bends at every turn, I'm glad the other half was driving.  Eventually we reached the top .......

Wow!!! Stephen saw his mountains.

We had dinner in St Moritz, then of course we had to drive back.  I didn't fancy going back down there in the dark so we didn't have much time to look around.   We headed off back to Lake Como ....

And there it is ........ My Italian Adventure. 

The bags are all packed and it's time to say Goodbye to Lake Como and leave for the airport.  It's been a fabulous 2 weeks, we've really enjoyed the break - seen a few places too.  It's back to the UK and time to plan the next one.

Thanks for sharing it all with me, and for the last time ......

Arrivederci!

Un sacco di amore dalle rive del Lago di Como xxx

Have a great weekend.  hope the sun's shining when I get there.

Hugs

Linda

xx

What a busy couple of days ........... !!!

Buongiorno!!

Where do I start!?
What a busy couple of days we've had.  Talk about making the most of our time here,  I think we've done our best (considering I'm still hobbling on this bad ankle of mine).

The last time I posted I think I said we were off to Lake Garda, with a possible trip to Venice - WELL!!! ........  we decided to drive straight by Lake Garda (catch it on the way back!), and head for  our first stop -  the city of Verona.  Known as one of THE places to see the Opera.  Unfortunately opera season doesn't start until late June so that was one thing we couldn't do whilst we were there (such a shame).  However we did take a trip around the Arena, the giant roman amphitheatre bang in the heart of  the city.  Stunning from the outside ....... (the Arena, not hubby!)

This is the only section of the original outer wall that remains.  Earthquakes in 1117, 1118, and 1183 destroyed the rest of the wall leaving just this 3 storey section of 4 arches.

It's even more breathtaking inside ........

It's enormous!!  Apparently, despite 3 earthquakes, two floods and a fire, the inside survived pretty much unscathed.

There's 44 tiers of pink and white marble, that seat 30,000 people!  It's amazing to think of what's actually happened in here over the years - gladiators (I could just picture Russell Crowe battling his way round), duels, public executions etc. etc.  In fact the word 'arena' derives from the Latin for sand or dust, which was sprinkled in shed loads after the shows, to soak up the blood - yuck!
Today though, it's home to Verona's grand Summer Opera season, and you get fantastic views over the whole city from the top.

Here's me reading my guide book, where I get all my info from 

Piazza Bra - one of Italy's largest squares (we had a nice beer here in the afternoon)

We had a good old wander around the streets, sat at one of the cafe's in the main Piazza for a while and watched the world go by, and of course I had to go and see  Casa di Giulietta ('Juliet's House') or rather an old brick house in a courtyard off one of the main streets.
It's all completely fake, but it is one of the main tourist attractions. (Shakespeare himself must be having a right old giggle at what his story has inspired)

You enter into the courtyard and there it is - the balcony!  All freshly done up in Gothic style (in 1935!)
"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" and all that.   How he possibly reached up there I've no idea - there's nothing to climb!

Underneath the balcony there stands a modern bronze statue of Juliet, and legend has it that if you rub her right breast you'll have a new lover within the year ....... hmmmm.  I wasn't taking the chance, and Stephen wasn't allowed near either!

For a fee, you could actually go into the house and stand on the balcony but the queue went on forever - I think once couples got up there there was no shifting them.  I'd seen it, took some pictures, that was enough for me.

We decided then that we were going to head for Venice.  I'd packed an overnight bag so it didn't really matter what time we got there.
It's about 200 miles from our Villa, and we got lost at one point but eventually we parked the car, got on a water taxi and went into the city.

I love Venice!!!  The last time we were there was 11 years ago - Stephen took me for my 40th birthday and I just fell for the place.  It's so beautiful, so romantic, and so flippin' expensive!!!!  The weather was  a little better this visit too!

We booked in at the same hotel as last time, just off St Mark's square (Stephen can be romantic when we wants to be!)

It was so nice to be back.  We had a lovely evening, a nice meal, and then finished the night off sat in St. Marks Square listening to an orchestra playing live, with a nice bottle of red (another one!)  Well I am still looking for that really nice one for my brother.

It was such a romantic evening, then as if by magic, at midnight the music stopped, the Campanile bells rang and it started to rain.  Nobody seemed to mind though, it was still warm and it didn't rain hard, or for long.  A nice end to another perfect day in Italy.

I won't bore you any longer with my Italian adventure, I'm sure you've all got things you should be doing.
After our little two day trip we're having a nice relaxing day at the villa today. The sun is just about coming out, it's time for a spot of lunch, and there's a sunbed down by the lake with my name on it.  I've a book to finish too before we leave on Saturday (I borrowed it from the shelves here) and I really need to start the packing (sigh!)

Have a lovely day and thanks for popping by.

See you all again soon
Arrivederci!

Linda

xx

The Italian Adventure Continues...

Morning folks,

We're having a bit of an early start this morning.  We're setting off for Lake Garda and hopefully a trip into Verona, to do all the Romeo and Juliet stuff.  We're taking an overnight bag with us so we may even get as far as Venice, who knows.

Isn't it funny how the first week of your holidays seems to last forever, then as soon as you hit that last week, time just flies.  We still have so much we'd like to do so these next few days are going to be a bit hectic I imagine.

Yesterday we decided to take a look at the Lecco side of the lake. In case you don't know Lake Como is like a big upside down 'Y' shape .........

It's huge!  We're staying about half way up the Como leg, in a place called Pognana Lario, so yesterday we set out and drove down to Como, across countryside to Lecco, then up the right-hand side all the way to Varenna.

What a beautiful little place this is, some say it's the nicest spot on the whole lake.  There's no through-traffic, it's all diverted around the town.  Down by the waterfront, there's hardly any souvenir shops, just a cluster of really pretty old houses,  cafes selling the most fabulous homemade cakes and ice creams and a couple of local restaurants.  Of course, we had to stop and try some ........ nom! nom!

The village is split into two halves.  From Olivedo, where the boats and the trains arrive, there's a lovely scenic walkway along the lake to reach the main part of the village .......

Narrow lanes climb up from the old harbour ......

.......... and twist their way around the hotels

up to the main square, where you'll find hotels and cafes and the 13th century church of San Giorgio

Even the trees were pretty,  just look at the bark, reminds me of camouflage ....

After a leisurely afternoon wandering around Varenna, we took the car ferry across to Bellagio and finished the day with another fabulous meal in a lovely Italian restaurant tucked away in one of the old lanes ........ Barchetta 

Apparently this place has been here since 1887 - changed a bit since then though!

Oh well, time to go.  Only 4 days left and soooo much to see.

Arrivederci! for now.  I'll be back on the Indigo Blu DT Blog tomorrow so maybe I'll see you there.

Thanks for popping by today.

Amore da italia

Linda

xx

One down, one to go!

Happy June everyone,

Another quick update on our Italian adventure............. 

Well,  the first week's over - sigh!  7 more lovely days to go though, before we have to board that plane to come home.

We've had a lovely week, and the weather hasn't been too bad.  We did have a storm the other night - boy did it rain (we even had hail at one point!) 

But, the lake is still beautiful even in the rain, with thunder rumbling overhead. 

We had a trip further up the lake and visited what I think is the prettiest part - Bellagio!

Just look at the scenery .......... yes that's snow on them there mountains - stunning!

We had a good old wander around the place, did a little shopping here and there.  Well, it would have been rude not to I think.

I love all the narrow winding streets, full of fabulous boutiques, wine bars and restaurants, each one leading down to the lake front

We took the ferry across to Varenna .........

Stephen managed to sneak a rare picture of me ....

Then it was across to Menaggio where the sun finally came out for us ....... (those mountains again!)

We finished the day back at Bellagio, with a lovely meal on the lake front, and I continued my search for that nice bottle of red for my brother ...... perfect!

Thanks for popping by.  I hope you have a lovely weekend.  

The sun's just coming out over the lake, looks like its going to be a nice day here.  I think we may just get in the car and head off towards Lake Garda. 

Arrivederci!  Avere una bella giornata

Amore da Italia  xxx

Linda

xx

Ciao!! From the banks of Lake Como

Hi everyone,

Just a quick post.  I thought I'd check in and let you know that we arrived safely at our Italian destination.  This is home for the next 2 weeks .......

http://lakecomobeachresort.com

..... the beautiful Lake Como Beach Resort and Villas in Pognana Lario on the banks of Lake Como.

Wow!!!  Is all I can say.  The place is just like I imagined, the scenery is stunning.  It was a bit grey and overcast when we arrived on Saturday, but just look at what we woke up to on Sunday morning .....

Apparently George Clooney has a villa on the lake, just across from where we are ........

I gave him a wave this morning, just in case he was home.  If I happen to bump into him whilst I'm here, you'll be the first to hear about it!!!

After a quick trip into Como itself, to stock up on groceries, plus a little stop for coffee ......

....... we spent  this afternoon sat on the banks of the lake, enjoying the sunshine with a nice cheeky bottle of italian red, followed by a plate of the local antipasti - this is the life!!

Thanks for popping by today.  I'll keep you posted on my Italian adventure.

Godetevi il weekend festivo. Vedi tutti a presto

Linda

xx