Author Archives: admin

La Bella Vita

Posted on by
4

On Saturday, we continued our “Best of Lake Como” tour with Andy and Nash. The weather angels continued to bless us with sunshine and mild temperatures, and we spent the morning walking along some of the prettier parts of the Green Way trail. We then assembled the requisite picnic fare (wine, cheese, bread, honey, pesto, prosciutto, fruit…you get the idea) and spent another great afternoon cruising the shoreline of the lake in our own little rental boat. Back home for a nap, and then off again to the little town of Sala Comacino for a magical lakeside dinner.

Off for another morning hike and then to the boat for a cruise of the lake.

No hiding Andy. Everbody gets their picture taken!

Need more deapth of field in this shot. Sorry.

.

Courtyard grapes. Very handy.

Checking the water to make certain the day is nice enough.

Seriously Andy. Is it too early to start talking about dinner????

Nash really started to get his shutter finger limbered up.

Look. Up in the Sky! Its the baby’s stuffed animals.

 

Transfering into the rental boat we cruised the shoreline to get the water’s edge view of many of the towns.

Can you take us to the yacht?

 

Late afternoon sun on the stucco walls.

This looked like fun.

Darn it! Another place fully booked!

Major case of boat envy. 🙁

Almost home.

Safe and sound on dry ground and looking forward to dinner.

The restaurant was in a small piazza right on the water and the best dish was a lemon ravioli.

Have a seat. Your table is almost ready.

Can I take it for a spin?? Pleeeease????

And who better to share it all with?

 

 

A Baker’s Dozen Plus Three

Posted on by
2

Nash and Adrea flew into Milan at 9 on Thursday morning.  We drove down to meet them at the airport and whisk them up to our lakeside and mountain view apartment.  The first stop though, would be the town of Como at the south end of the lake to slowly introduce them to the wonders of northern Italy.  We visited a small market fruit stand next to the cathedral before venturing inside.  Nash then declared it was ‘espresso time’ which caused us to have to walk all of 100 yards to the opposite side of the piazza in front of the Duomo and grab a table.  After the caffiene buzz kicked in and some bruschetta intake we were delightfully energized and moved on to the neighboring streets and shops.   The city delivered with visual treats for us.  We managed to find a little food shop we had gone to a few days earlier to pick up some ravioli.  A stop at a bakery for fresh bread.  Then a stop at a gelato shop for what else.  The theme for the visit had been set by this time.  Food.

Laura, Andy, and Nash took the rapido boat from the dock in Como. They made it up the lake to Argegno before I could get to the apartment, drop off the luggage and drive back down to town to pick them up.  We got settled in and eventually went out to dinner.  More food!

Our major planned activity for Friday was lunch, sandwiched in between two outings so that we could justify the caloric intake.  We drove up the valley above Argegno beyond the town of San Fedele to the area we had hiked a couple of weeks earlier.  This was just a very brief introduction to the top of the hills around the lake and the ladies wanted to see some horses and cows.  We were treated to early yellow leaves on the birch trees and our first sighting of some deer along the roadside.  Lunch was at a lake side restaurant and after 3 courses of food and 2 bottles of wine we waddled out of the restaurant and headed to the funivia to ride up to the little town of Pigra.  It was deserted of people as we strolled through the narrow streets.  Even after an hour long walk we decided that dinner was not going to happen after the huge lunch.  We sat on the balcony with a fire in the fireplace and watched the lights twinkling along the shore before turning in for the night.

 

Como Duomo interior.

We could hear this man from about half a block away.   Not sure what this instrument is.

We have successfully finished the first gastronomic delight and are ready for bed! Especially Nash and Andy. What troopers.

Sunrise of the first full day. At least one of us was up to document it.

We traveled up the valley away from the lake to show off the alpine hiking area and check out the “manger”.

Except for the manured floor it was pretty cozy for a cow!

We “raced” down the mountain and took in a 2 and a half hour lunch just because we could. Then it was off to the funivia at the edge of Argegno to ride the cable car back up the mountain to the little village of Pigra. Andy called it the neutron bomb town. All the buildings intact but absolutely nobody was around.

The master at work.

“il modello” The model. Sitting at somebody’s courtyard table. The begining of numerous tresspasing events! What a radical after some wine.

It is fall!

Don’t worry I turned it off when I was done with the photo.

The faded paints throughout the village reflected the feeling of the place. Quiet and subdued.

This has been a couple of different establishments over the years.

I was REALLY impressed to think that this little town at the end of a road had its own Opera house.  Then Laura Google translated “Operaia”.  Means “working”.   The saying is now Company Working and it is a card playing club for the locals.  The Italian version of poker??

I stayed up to catch the moon rise over the lake. A beautiful ending to a fantastic first day with our dear friends.

One Ringy Dingy!

Posted on by
4

There are lots of bicycles here in Italy.  There are lots of people riding their bicycles here in Italy.  Here in Argegno on the shore of Lake Como you primarily see the road racing types on the edge of the road, squeezed in with the cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles.  But when you go into the larger cities like Milano, Turino, or Como the two wheel landscape changes and gives way to more simple bikes used primarily for transportaion in and around the city.  All these riders, who are sharing the streets with throngs of foot travelers, have a need to let each other know where they are.  Thus the bicycle bell.  Most bikes have them.  At times the streets chime with their soft ringing as the riders weave along and head toward their destination.

This photo theme got going and has grown as we moved from city to city.  I thought I better get it started and sharre with you all before I ended up with hundreds of images.  Get you bell thumb ready and cruise the pics.

The first one. Little did I know how out of hand this would get.

This is the simplest design and very common.

.

Some vintage style.

Traveling with a saint always helps in traffic.

Modern boredom in blue.

Not if they sold more than one of them!

.

I guess size counts even in bike bells?

.

This one has been on the streets a long time!

The red version.

.

Royal Bells

 

.

Riding topless.

A fairly common form.

.

.

 

.

Buggy.

The Comet version with rust.

.

That is obvious.

 

The only brass bell so far.

Flower Power!

Maybe more like “ring the bell or die”!

Finally the last one.

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Pleasures

Posted on by
Reply

Wed. October 3

We had some apartment cleaning to do in the morning in preparation for a visit by our dear friends Andrea and Nash.  With that completed, we decided to run up the shoreline and take a little taxi boat over to Isola Comocina.  This charming little island is only a few hundred yards from shore, and except for a couple of houses and restaurant, is the setting for ruins dating back to the Roman times with later churches built atop those.  We had the place to ourselves again (hooray, it appears that tourist season is finally winding down!) and walked along the shoreline and up the hill to see what we could find.  Laura took the camera from my hands to document that I was actually on this trip by taking a few photos of me!

Full moon over Lake Como on the previous night.

Yep. There he is. See Laura was not traveling alone.

Big bad wildlife!

There is a 17th century church built atop these medieval and Roman era ruins.

.

No this was not our taxi boat. Ours had a motor.

Float plane tours are available on Lake Como, although we weren’t tempted. This guy buzzed by while we were waiting for the return boat.

At this point the bench is staying right where it is.

 

The owner needs a better plan than just the tarp. This would be gross to deal with.

The outcrop in the distance almost looks like clouds.  Looking eastward toward Isola Comocina.

 

A Night at the Opera

Posted on by
9

Monday, October 1st was a much anticipated day for us here: this was the day we were to return to Milan to attend a performance of La Boheme, at the renown theater La Scala. Even better, a group of Houston travelers including our dear friends Jim and Patricia Allen were also to be in Milan and we were looking forward to meeting them there.

The thought of attending an opera performance came to us nearly a year ago, when we realized that our time in northern Italy would coincide with the La Scala season. When we learned that La Boheme (Laura’s favorite opera) was scheduled,  we were ecstatic! Individual tickets would not go on sale until months later, in July, and we marked the calendar and scheduled iPhone reminders to make sure we remembered to order them. What we didn’t think about was that July27 came 7 hours earlier in Milan than it did in Michigan, and by the time Laura logged on to purchase the tickets, there were only about 30 seats left! We snagged the two best available, and crossed our fingers that they would be decent seats. We had another near disaster waiting for the tickets to arrive in Houston (the fine print of the purchase order stated that tickets would be mailed no less than 3 weeks prior to performance, but we planned to leave Houston 5 weeks prior…those tickets arrived in the mail the Saturday before Labor Day, the last possible delivery day before our Tuesday departure!

Our “night at the opera” was picture perfect. The evening was mild and we met the Allen party for a wonderful pre-performance dinner, al fresco. La Scala was gorgeous on every level and it was truly profound to experience Puccini in a venue so rich with operatic history. Oh, and our seats ended up being great! In the morning, we met the Allen’s for hugs and coffee and a bit of people watching in the Piazza del Duomo.

You just can not use that title and not include a shot of Groucho!!

My own resident soprano looking damn chic. Love her.

The Teatro La Scala from our seats. Even I had goose bumps. Pretty darn cool place to be.

Let the music begin.

Opening act of La Boheme…Mimi and Rudolfo are about to sing what Laura believes is the most beautiful love song ever written.

Every opera needs a horse on stage!  Look closely, this scene is staged with a second story. Wow!

Delivery Italian style.

Where is the espresso?? And brioche??

Piazza del Duomo scenery.

Little kids + pigeons! They are made for each other.

This lady had a sidewalk stand sewing names or sayings onto aprons and  bibs.

There is a story in the wheel and I don’t think it ended well.

Tre migliori amici (three best friends). One barber. Apparently.

The End of the Trail

Posted on by
4

These are just a few shots from Moday morning’s walk on the northern end of the trail above the lake.  We were going to do this in the morning before traveling back to Milan in the afternoon to meet some friends and go to the opera.  It seemed like a good way to divide the day between the two extremes of hiking and culture.

This was the most remote walk that we have done along the lake .  The path winds up above a very shear rock outcrop rising out of the water. The area is clearly a rock climbing destination, based on the presence of clips attached to the rock face at various points to aid in ascents up the walls.  We had the trail to ourselves this morning and there was little evidence that it gets much use.

This little guy was moving slowly across the steps leading up to a church.

Nobody was home and the doors were locked.

There was a small grated opening on the left side that did allow a peak at the interior along with a bid for donations for the restoration of the church.

Why there is a ‘street address’ way the heck up here on this path is beyond me.

It was a little damp due to the recent rains but surprisingly good footing. You did have to watch for the occasional thorny hanging vine and errant spider web.

.

We are a long way above the water. The path goes above that rock face and we are looking back in the direction from which we came.  The view to the south over the lake was well worth the effort.

Beyond the wonderful scenery there is also some great geology to view from up here. The extension of the shoreline toward the upper left of the photo is the result of a delta that was deposited.  Erosion removed some of the mountain along the ridge on the right hand side of the photo and rivers transported that material to the lake shore.  The town is built on the delta since the land is flatter, easier to build on, and crops can be grown in small gardens that do not need to be terraced as dramatically as on the mountain slopes.  OK.  Geology class is over.

This is a Google Earth image related to the above photo. That photo was taken from the yellow “Location” pushpin and looking down the coast to the “Delta” pushpin where the town of Menaggio is built. Now class is over. I promise.

 

Hiking the Lake Como Green Way Trail

Posted on by
4

This ‘trail’ is by no means out in the wilds of the Italian countryyside.  Instead, it contours through either the upper reaches of a number of the lakeshore towns or down along the shoreline itself.  We have opted for the higher portions to get away from the road traffic and business of the towns.  In this way you get a much better impression of what the real world of Italy is like and how day to day life is carried on.  Our previously very accurate weather dude was off the mark this morning.  While we toted the umbrella on his advice we arrived back at the car wishing we had opted for shorts and t-shirts insted of what we had worn.

The fact that the sign advertises the telegraph service might give some idea as to its age.

The older parts of the towns are identifiable by their very narrow passages and rougher building materials.

My bet is it hasn’t been opened in at least 50 years!

 

Pruning the orange berried pyracantha bushes is tough enough duty because of their sharp thorns. Mixing it with a cacti is absolutely masochistic!!

Honest! Really! We found these panties right where they are photographed. Some folks had a interesting “hike”.  Their blog may be more interesting than mine?

We initially thought “Wow, look where this sunflower grew!” Then we saw another dozen flowers growing out of small niches fashioned into the wall. Still, pretty serious gardening by the owner.

Because of the steep nature of the ladscape and the lack of deep soils, cemetaries are sometimes quite remote but are always snug accomodations. We are drawn to them because they are also so interesting. Often times the plots will be dominated by only a few family names.  It is obvious that many times marriages did not stretch far on a geographic scale.

Very occaisionally the funerary art is beautiful.

This is a reminder of just how difficult life often was 150 years ago. This grave is a testament the the grief this family went through. Six children within 22 years. Cesare; 6mo. Paolo; 4yrs,11mo. Cesarina; 4 yrs, 9mo. Adele; 4yrs. 10mo. Maria; 6yrs, 7mo. Scipione; 14yrs, 5mo.

The views down into town.

This is an amazingly old arched arcade at the upper limit of one of the villages. I am definitely going back to this location.

The potted gardens are always a surprise in the nooks and crannies of the houses.

A pair of water taxis leave the dock with their passengers.

Just as we returned to the begining of the walk a small group of folks were starting their outing. The panties were still at the gate and I just waited for the people to walk up the path until they found them so I could see the reaction. I am certain there were some interesting conversations among the group.

 

 

Across the Lake to Varenna

Posted on by
1

We escaped the rainy weather at the lake and went to Torino where it was supposed to be sunny and mild.  The weatherman was right on!   The forecast for the follwowing day back at the lake was supposed to be sunny, so we decided to put all our bets on it and planned a day on the opposite shore, at the little town of Varrena.  It was perfect!   We had the ferry boat almost to ourselves.

The eastern shore of the lake is definitely quieter than the western side where we are based.  Varenna is a picturesque town with a handfull of small hotels, one quite posh in an old villa, and a small amount of shopping.  Nothing is overdone and the little piazza above and separate from the shoreline is very charming, with a few small restaurants, a church, and some large sycamore trees lending greenery and shade.  On the south end of town we toured the beautiful botanic garden on the grounds of the Villa Monastero.  There were still lots of flowers still in bloom, and the statuary and setting immediately above the water were stunning.

We had a wonderful lunch in the piazza and watched as a wedding party pulled up in a vintage red Fiat and took some photos before racing off, to the church I presume.  Afterwards it was exercise time and we chose to hike up the hill to the small castle/fortress overlooking the town.  It was only 750 feet away as the crow flies and 550 feet higher in elevation.  This should be easy.  The cobblestone path wound up the hill through some dense woods, eventually emerging next to a small cluster of houses at the foot of the stone walls.  We poked around for a bit,  Laura played warrior queen, and we made it back down in perfect timing to catch the boat back across the lake.

Where is everybody? Did we miss the announcement?

Often times we can see from either our apartment balcony or while traveling on the lake quite serious plumes of dense smoke . I am not certain, but think they are from small smoke houses preparing meat.

A portion of the town of Varenna.

This is the business end of a classic street sweeping broom in Italy. There is actually a small bush grown here which supplys the branches that are then bundled to make the broom. I was saddened to see that green plastic had replaced many of these. Green plastic makes for ugly photos.

.

Here I am! Take my picture.

The gardens are directly above the walled shoreline of the lake.

.

Really, I wasn’t thinking about fishing the shoreline. Not!

Did I say the weather was nice this day?

.

Not exactly a limo. But oh so Italian.

Did anyone tell the florist about air cooled engines???

Off to the next stop!

I need one of these at the ranch house.  I like the varying rind of color and moss above the water line.

I am not even sure what to say!

Heading back home before the gelato shop runs out of cones.

 

A Road Trip to Torino

Posted on by
2

After three days of non-stop rain in Argegno, we were a little desparate. Weather.com informed us that the sun was shining just 2 hours west in Torino, so we were off, and Torino delivered sunshine and other unexpected treats.

The city was remarkable for it’s tree lined river front, cafe culture,  and varied and beautiful architecture. But an even more exciting surprise is that Torino is home to the “third most” important Egyptian exhibit in the world.  The exhibit was amazing and more extensive than anything we had ever seen–we absolutely loved it.

While on a walk along the typical cemented cobble “streets” and smaller vocolas of the town I finally figured out why there often is a line of cobbles running roughly down the middle. They locate the water pipes buried below. Ta Da!!! Another great mystery solved.

 

Just a bit of fall color is begining to appear in some of the vines.

For the cat lovers following the blog. Here is one for you.

The typical street architecture in Torino.

Many of the buildings have interior courtyards that can be quite lavish and landscaped. You have to keep peaking in doorways and arches.

We found a Vespa exactly like the one we have at home!

There are always churches to visit and every one is different.  The surprise never ends when you open the door.

Laura loved the patterns in the marble of the columns. I just think they reminded her of a gelato flavor she likes!

Saint or not, who is going to take him seriously with that name???

 

We were not real sure why this place had to have the scary faces on the facade.

There are many examples of buildings as grand as this throughout the city.

 

We found three arcades like this. Small when compared to that in Milan but no less beautiful. This also served as the “lobby” to a movie theater off to the right side.

 

The quality and depth of the Egyptian exhibit was a total surprise to us.

.

.

This is bread. I am certain it is stale, but for 4000 years old what do you expect?

Everybody needed a crocodile in the next life. I guess.

.

There were three rooms with statuary like this .

.

The overhead wires are for the street cars and rail service which criss crosses the city.

One last stop at the end of the day in a very nice little desert and coffee shop before the drive back to the apartment on Lake Como.

 

 

Just Kicking Around

Posted on by
6

The past few days have not been Chamber of Commerce Brochure weather days at Lake Como.  It is overcast with intermittent rain and a bit on the cool side.  We have filled the days with a wide variety of activities as the photos will show you.

There is an easy walk called the Green Way trail that meanders quietly through the towns above the lake and, in places, supposedly follows the original Roman road to the north.  You get to walk among houses and small gardens and get views of the town and everyday life that are not available from the main road lower down the hills. We plan to walk more of this trail before we leave the area.

Later in the day, we ventured to the opposite end of the experience domain by joining a couple of Houston business partners who are staying at the elegant Villa d` Este, just to the south of us in the little town of Cernobbio.  This historic villa is quite grand and as Laura noted during our first short visit there, can definitely be the “place to hang” for the rich and famous.  Our friends invited us because on this day, immediately below the hotel terrace restaurant, The Italian Gran Prix power boat races were being held, and we got to enjoy the excitement while we lunched. (Here, that translates to 2:30 in the afternoon).

Yesterday, in spite of intermittent rain, we started the day at the street market in the town of Lenno just north of us a couple of miles.  It was a classic Italian market with goods ranging from wonderful fresh and cooked meats, cheese, bread, fruit, vegetables, kitchen ware, and clothing.  We are now well stocked with meat, bread, and veggies in our little refrigerator.  We will be eating in for the next few days.  After lunch, we drove back down into Como for a bit of shopping which resulted in a new pair of shoes for me, and two pair of gloves for Laura.  That makes three pair for her so far! The girl loves her gloves.

There is always somebody in the neighborhood who does not understand the color scheme. Easy to find though.

We are not sure what the significance of the bundles of twigs and yellow ribbon are on this entry way.

Maybe the Romans really did use this path.

Great views from up in town.

Itty bitty narrow stairs abound for getting up and down from one level to the next.

This might be why the owner of the house in the first photo chose his color!

Laura read that only 1% of Italian households have clothes driers in them! As a result there is always an array of fabric drying, or this week trying to, hanging from the racks on the balconies. We have found out that this makes your terry cloth towels a little bit crunchy!

A day at the races complete with helicopter filming crews.

Yeah the Villa d` Este is a bit schmanzy! I did find a bit of grass that needed trimming.

This is a Sycamore tree on the grounds of the VdE that is supposedly over 600 years old. The trunk has a diameter of 8 feet!

Enough high brow stuff. We are off to the market and food shopping! A little more of reality here.

Chickens, turkey breast, and sausage on the spit. There is no way you can walk past these guys!

One of those. Two of those. And half a dozen wings please.

.

The market even comes with entertainment but getting him to smile must have cost extra. Lots extra!

Ravioli almost too pretty to eat.

And if/when it rains there is always some place interesting to duck into to stay dry.