It was lovely not to be up at the crack of dawn, we actually had time for a proper breakfast today! Back to our favorite bus stop for the last time as we bid farewell to the lovely Hotel David and Florence. Errol has been doing reviews onTrip Advisor, and Hotel David certainly earned a good one. Our train left at 10, taking us to Milan around 11:40, a short stop over, then on to Lake Como, arriving at Varenna around 1:20, onto the ferry and into Bellagio around 2.
What a beautiful place!! The lake is huge, surrounded by mountains, with villages dotting its shores. There is a constant flow of small to medium boats of all types - no wonder it is so popular with the international community.
This is our down time, we have seen and done so much already on our holiday, and this will mark half way, so it is time for a break. We checked into the hotel, then went out for a wander - decided to have a light lunch at the hotel restaurant, on the waterfront - see photos below
We went for a stroll along the lakeshore, checked out menus at the restaurants, looking for somewhere for dinner. Finally decided to do the easy thing and eat at the hotel - many other restaurants are a little back from the water. Booked a table for 7:30. We are loving the daylight saving - it is still light at about 8, and not really dark till 8:30. In Venice, the restaurants didn't open till at least 7pm.
Back to our room to catch up on rest, emails and blogs. We do have a view of a small section of the lake, if you stand right beside the window and peer round to the right!! It is called a 'side lake view' room!
Dinner was great - we had a table right by the water. Took our time and really enjoyed watching the night close in over the lake. Feel more relaxed already!
Sunday 8th September - Bellagio
Today is our quiet day. We didn't even get to breakfast till after 9. Breakfast was again on the front deck, overlooking the lake - just beautiful, a great way to start the day. As this is our down time, we have decided to do a 2 day blog - we aren't doing that much to report on.
We decided to go for a stroll around the streets before it was too busy, and look at the streets up the top of the hill where we hadn't ventured yesterday. Nothing starts early in Italy, there were hardly any people around. Took a few more photos to add to the thousands! We were caught in a short shower of rain while we were out, and decided to head back to the hotel.
Rain didn't last long, so we walked along to the Villa Melzi (built in the early 1800's) and wandered round the gardens which stretch along the lakeside. You can't get into the villa, entry to the gardens is €6.50 each and the old 'orangery' (the family used to grow citrus trees in here during the winter) is a small museum (very small compared to the ones we have seen). At one spot, there were a few cyclamen growing wild in the lawn, like a daisy would at home - smaller flowers than you usually see, but very pretty nonetheless.
We had a light lunch at a cafe up the hill, and sat by the water for a while, just watching the passing traffic. But it started to rain again, and we opted for the dry room with the 'side lake view'. There have been a few showers this afternoon, but they haven't lasted long. The forecast for Switzerland is not looking so promising, but we will wait and see. It has been lovely not to have to race off and be somewhere. Blogs are up to date, photos downloaded, emails have been sent to family, and Skype used where possible.
For dinner tonight, we climbed the cobblestones steps outside the hotel to Trattoria san Giacomo. This was very well reviewed on Trip Advisor, the advice included 'don't be late'. We were there at about 6:55, and by 7 they were turning people away. The food was traditional, and wonderful. My homemade pasta with ragout was delicious, as was Errol's with tomato and basil. As a lactose intolerant person, I am accustomed to not being able to have dessert. But, I must give thanks to Walkabout Tours - our dessert on the Best of Tuscany tour had been almond biscotti which you dip in a liqueur, and this was on the menu tonight - divine!!
A delightful end to our 'quiet time' in Bellagio.
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