Lake Como

The three of us decided to go to Lake Como on a whim. It was Thursday night and I was drinking at Arcobaleno with Jordan (Ohio), John (New York), and a few other friends. 

"We should really go to Lake Como sometime, before it gets too cold," one of us said. 

"How about tomorrow?"

Though our itinerary had been decided that evening, had Jordan not woken up at 10:00 AM and sent me a text message reaffirming our plan, it's unlikely that we would have actually carried it out (while Jordan stayed in on Thursday, John and I joined some others at King's Pub, our favorite establishment in Milan, and thus, were more susceptible to sleep the following morning). But sure enough, the three of us were awake (if only partially) and downstairs at 11:00 AM and on a train bound for the city of Como an hour later. 

The trip to Lake Como, a destination renowned for its natural beauty, is only 1 hour from Milan and approximately 4 euro each way. John and I slept the whole way there.

We arrived in the city around 1:00 PM and really had no idea what to do. The only thing we actually knew about Lake Como is that 1) there is a lake there, and 2) that George Clooney inhabits a home somewhere nearby. (Unfortunately there were no Clooney sightings that day). We were told that taking a boat around the lake is what we needed to do - so we found a ticket place and purchased a ticket to Bellagio, the only city we sort-of, kind-of recognized as important. Our boat took off at just after 2:00 PM, and it was a 2 hour ride to Bellagio. 

Before I go any further, I need to admit, the trip was kind of a boring one. After 30 minutes of gazing out at the calm water, surrounded by beautiful hills, I kind of got the idea and wanted to actually arrive somewhere. For us, this was not the case, and we had to wait patiently, hoping to be impressed by Bellagio. But don't let me downplay the splendor of Lake Como. It is a huge lake, spread out over 40 km, never actually getting too wide across. The cusp of the water is met by hills that head steeply toward the horizon, and with the sun beating down, a thin mist rose just above the water. Small towns speckle these hills with shades of pink and yellow and white, reminding me of the vibrant villages of Cinque Terra. But again, 2 hours of sitting on a boat with a rather chilly wind blowing across bare arms can quickly become less enjoyable. 

A little after 4:00 we arrived at Bellagio. Approaching the city, we were kind of disoriented - to us it looked like every one of the 8 or so towns we had already passed by. Maybe we need a history lesson, but we still don't quite understand what makes it well known. We got off of the boat and walked by the touristy restaurants near the water. Taking some turns, we found a set of shops adjacent to a wide set of steps rising with the hilly landscape. We walked up these, then discovered that once they ended, there really wasn't too much more. Determined to discover something impressive, we continued into the more residential part of town, and found another set of steps, enclosed by two narrow walls, and decided to figure out where these led. On this small journey, I took a cool picture of an ivy covered arch along the way, but this was probably the highlight of the walk. The path ended at a small private beach, deserted except for the quiet boats in the shore and a number of ducks coasting along the water, dipping there heads underneath every minute or so. 

We headed back to the boat - the final ferry left at 5:00 PM - and slept in the indoor section of the vessel on the way back. We had seen enough of the lake.

Back in Como, we walked around to find a place to eat. A small cafe with reasonable prices met our fancy, and we sat down to a dinner of pasta and coca-cola. The food was OK, but the location was what made it nice. A small piazza complete with statue and passer-bys accompanied our quiet meal, and completed our evening. We got on a train heading back to Milan at 7:45 PM. 

I think our inexperience, time restraint, and student budgets prevented us from getting the most out of the venture. There really are some beautiful hotels in the city of Como and I'm sure, had we the means, an overnight stay and some morning kayaking would have pleased us more. I think the problem was that 80% of our Como experience was in transit, and even beautiful transit can get old after a while. But the scenery was splendid and I have never seen a lake like it. While on the boat, we briefly passed a group of swans gracefully skimming along the water, illuminated by sunshine passing through mist, and I thought I might just be able to sell the postcard. I didn't pull my camera out in time, but the memory will always remain.