Hotel Origlio Country Club Lugano

... from the point there though which was cool.
Ferry back from Belaggio to Como was a lot quicker (and more expensive) and had some great views of the various places around the lake.

Back in Milan that night discovered the happy hour buffets that I'd read about - 6 Euro for a drink and all you can eat.

Buffet is nothing special, but ...

When I finally found Lake Como (after a train, then a bus, then a ferry and then a very confusing walk) I was surprised that it was so empty. It was raining (I think the rain is following me around Europe) and there was no one about so I was able to do my exploring easily. Lake Como is a very small place with not too many things to ...

Ciao Bello,

We have finally hit a day of rain...so we thought we should stop off at the nearest internet site to say hello. We have visited a few of our neighboring communities in the last few days. Varenna, which claims to be the diamond of the lake, while Bellagio is only the pearl of the lake. No George Clooney sightings. Varenna is a cute and quiet town with steep hillsides and walkways. Bellagio is also ...

... the world as an explorer and mountain climber. Through his travels he had collected art from Africa, Asia, South America and other parts of Europe. The Villa was a museum dedicated to his travels and collections. Very interesting!
Tonight is our last in Lake Como. We had originally planned to stay the last night in ...

... The balcony where Romeo and Juliet declare their love is a magnet to tourists and they allow people to write and pin love notes to the wall which are cleared every three months so the process can start again.

The relevance of Como for me ended up being from my childhood when Dad subscribed to a weekly series called the History of World War 2. I couldn't wait for each series to arrive and I remember one story of how ...

... overload.

We toured Villa Melzi and its beautiful English-style giardini (gardens) with groves of azaleas, gigantic rhododendrons and perfectly manicured hedges all which sit on the lake's banks. We enjoyed a panini on the waterfront, lemoncello on la terraza, and just took it all in... this is a place one must experience ...

... The weather was absolutely perfect the entire time we were in Lugano and it wasn't easy to leave behind. Every place I visit in Ticino, the Italian region of Switzerland, I love, so I am sure I will be back to see more of it soon.

On Monday morning my Canadian friend left us in Lugano on a train for Milan. I wish him a safe journey and an amazing experience on his first backpacking trip ever, and his first time outside of North America.

... in this part of Europe. Anne and I took a short nap and headed out for a walk around the lake on the paved walk way. We can see in the near distant the Swiss Alps covered with snow. There are small shops set off from the lake one of which was a caffe for which we could not resist. We sipped an expresso and wondered why this smooth rich type of expresso is not available in the State.

We slept late this morning. Like in Geneva, we kept the window open so that the air and the city noise would lull us to sleep. The trains rumbled past on the tracks quite often between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., waking me out of nightmare-filled sleep. A loud late-night conversation in French on the next balcony didn't help. I like siesta sleep better--the afternoon noises melt into a dull din to complement naps, much ...

... the unsightly industrial core of northern Italy around Milan. Continuing on to Modena we got off the motorway and headed for the small town of Maranello and, with the afternoon fast disappearing, we looked straight away for a place to stay for the night. We found a centrally located and quite modern hotel, and the man at the reception desk proudly announced he had one last factory-view room. Now this wouldn’t usually be a selling point for most hotels, even in places ...