Parkhotel Villa Nizza Meiringen

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 ...

... kind of deep fried meat and french fries. Awesomely American. The boys went off after lunch so the girls and Meghan and I played cards. I had grapes that had to be for wine, they had such a deep taste and stained my fingers purple and the grandma brought us cookies and dark chocolate. We went back home and Meghan and I took their dog, an incrediby fat yellow lab, for a walk. It was another gorgeous fall day, we walked through vineyards, a forest with vegetation ...

Ciao Bello,<br><br>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! <br> Tonight is our last in Lake Como. We had originally planned to stay the last night in ...

Hi Everyone:<br><br> We just returned from an amazing day with Luca and Mary, our friends who live in Figline Valdarno (20 mins south of Florence), who drove for 7 hrs (actually they were stuck in lots of traffic along the way) to visit us in Varenna. We had lunch lakeside, and then took a ferry to Bellagio, strolled around the Gardens of Villa Serbolini, ferried back to Varenna for dinner at Vecchia Varenna. They just left for what Luca aticipates ...

... br><br>Sue<br><br>We transferred from the bus to a boat to do the tour of the Lake. They pointed out the particular houses of royalty and film stars - and how many millions their houses were worth. The views were spectacular, the houses really like castles, and they would have no trouble having privacy, that's for sure! Another wonderfully pleasant surprise! Some have their own cable-cars to get down to the water's edge. (Funicular)

... 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. <br><br>We've never been to the Bellagio in Las Vegas, but I'm sure we'd be sorely ...

... 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.<br><br>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.

... told the whole area around the lake does get snow in Winter and is very cold. Bellagio being very touristy was quite expensive so we had a look around and then drove around the lakeside coast down again towards Lecco and back to the campsite. It was a beautiful day and the drive challenging with hairpin corners and very narrow roads where one must be very focussed as there is only inches between the oncoming traffic. I found this difficult being ...

... that could never be confused for Italy. This really was still the same country I lived in.<br> <br>The difference was obvious as soon as we crossed the border. The autostrade was a little bumpy and the fog became smog as we passed through 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 ...