We have settled in very well to our little house on the hill in Bellano on the shores of Lake Como. We have great views of the Lake from our balcony and lounge room and we also have a small garden to relax in. The only downside is the walk to the village. A 15 minute walk DOWN via a cobblestoned walkway , BUT its a 25 minute HIKE up the hill to come back home, and with a belly full of pizza and a few drinks , its a tiring walk home!

We like the village , it has all the essentials we need, good coffee places, in particular a Brunettis for Sunday mornings, great butchers for sensational prosciutto and salami, but the best thing about it is it not overcrowded with tourists, just what we like!

We have spent a couple of days ferrying around the Lake. The first ferry ride was for the “obligatory ” lunch at Bellagio, but we first stopped off at Varenna , the next village down from us, for coffee and cake for morning tea.

Views for morning tea were sensational , and our Risotto with perch and a bottle of rose for lunch was as we expected …fantastic…..however the fight through the crowds to get a seat at both morning tea and lunch was a “proverbial pain in the arse”. But it is tourist season so it is to be expected. The early ferry rides are the best but once it gets to around 11am they are packed!!!

Our village of Bellano is most famous for “Orrido di Bellano”. It is a “natural gorge created 15 million years ago by the erosion of rivers and glaciers which have shaped the rock into gigantic potholes , dark ravines and caves.” There is a pathway of footbridges anchored on the walls overlooking the water. It was rather spectacular and well worth the 5 euro entrance fee!

We decided to take Pippo back for a day trip into Switzerland to visit the town of Lugano. There were beautiful buildings on the bank of Lake Lugano. It was quite a surprise. The only downside of our trip was when we decided to have a drink and they wouldn’t take credit card or euros and we had no Swiss Francs so Greg had to find a bank and change euros to Swiss Francs….for a fee…..how backward was that! We gave Pippo a surprise and took him on the ferry back home. It was a great day.

We spotted a very cute little stone church wedged between 5 star hotels so had to check it out. The 16th Century Church Santa Maria degli Angioli was incredibly beautiful inside with its frescoed nave.

Our second trip on the Lake was an early ferry ride to escape the crowds to the rather upmarket village of Lenno, a lovely village on the Western shore. Its extremely elegant appearance is probably due to the many sumptuous villas that adorn the hills and Lakeside.

The Church of St Stefano in Lenno had beautiful 14th Century frescoed walls but the most interesting aspect was the 11th Century underground chapel and crypt which floods according to the water level of Lake Como.

On the trip to Lenno there were many quite flashy mansions, hotels and villas. This is not George Clooneys village though, we will be visiting there this week so may see if George is home so we can pop in for a drink!

Because our village is not the touristy one , it doesn’t have the ferries running constantly like the other busier places. But it’s fine because we can get a ferry to Varenna (picture below) , the next village down , and it’s a 1.40 euro train fare back home, so it works well.

We are waiting patiently for Judy to arrive “very early” next Saturday for 3 weeks , so in the meantime we need to rest up ! Not that it’s hard to do for Greg!

So its that time again.

And by the way it’s still around 30 degrees and the sun is shining. Makes for good drinking weather.

Ciao ciao

Greg and Rhonda.