(Another post from November that I’m just getting around to finishing now…)

view from the ferry ride on Lake Como

The weekend after I met up with my parents, aunt and uncle, and cousin and cousin-in-law in France I went to Italy to spend another weekend with them at the beautiful Lake Como. This trip also involved a lot of steps (bus to Sevilla, flight to Madrid, flight to Milan, train to Como, ferry to Bellagio), but luckily no overnight bus trips like the previous weekend. And it was my first time going to Italy so I was pretty siked.

I flew out of Sevilla at 7am and arrived in Bellagio on Lake Como at about 2 in the afternoon. It was cold, but absolutely gorgeous! The lake is surrounded by mountains with colorful houses built into the sides of the hills. It seemed like fake scenery from a movie.

I’d be lying if I said the weekend revolved around anything other than eating. Within minutes of my arrival we were sitting at a restaurant getting lunch. I think I was as excited to eat authentic Italian food as I was to just be in Italy. I have been enjoying Spanish food, but it’s just different from what I grew up eating so I was glad to be getting back to my basics, if you will. Since I hadn’t eaten much at all that day (a few granola bars and an apple) I scarfed an entire pizza for lunch. It was good, but years of eating Tony’s in Fairfax set my bar for pizza pretty high with their greasy, thick-crusted deliciousness.

Mom and Dad and the town of Bellagio and the sunset in the background

After lunch we walked around the town a little bit, but many things were closed since it was nowhere near high tourist season. We caught the sunset over the lake, though, which was amazing. And I managed to take a blissful nap before it was time to eat again.

Since it was off-season our choices for restaurants were pretty slim. We went to a place called “Far Out Bellagio” where I enjoyed  gorgonzola pasta, red wine, and creme brulee. There wasn’t much to do after dinner so we window shopped for a few minutes then called it a night.

Saturday morning I lead the fam on a walking tour of Bellagio (meaning I read from a brochure we picked up at the hotel, not like I made up my own walking tour of the town). The weather was gorgeous: sunny and not too cold. We were doing well on our route until the Moms got sidetracked by a grocery store that they had to stop in and pick up random Italian snacks (like small breadsticks). The tour ended by taking us through the Melzi Gardens, which unfortunately are closed from November to March, so we had to take the alternative route–walking along the shoulder of a curvy, scary road. Luckily no one was hurt, but it was unnerving for a few minutes as cars blew by us.

Dads and Daughters on the ferry: Uncle Jack, Ally, me, Dad

In the afternoon we took the ferry to Varenna, a town just across the water from Bellagio. It looked super cute from the water, but again, most of the stuff was closed since it was November. We walked around a bit then sat at a cafe and enjoyed coffee/hot chocolate/wine/prosecco.

We also did a little bit of shopping on Saturday at the few places that were open. The Moms went on a bit of a scarf shopping spree, buying the one woman out of a particular style that was very pretty and soft (I benefited from said shopping spree so of course I will praise the products).

In the evening Ally and I went to the store and picked up some cheese and wine/beer for a little happy hour before dinner (like I said this trip revolved around food). We randomly selected some parmesan cheese (I think) from the cheese counter and it was fantastic, so fresh. I can still taste it now as I write about it. The parents wanted to rest a little bit after happy hour but the kids were not ready to slow down so we returned to “Far Out” to grab a cocktail before meeting the parents for dinner.

We went to dinner at one of the other two restaurants that were open in the town. I was not disappointed at all with my selection – fettucine with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.  I think the picture speaks for itself:

mmmmmmmm

Sunday morning was rainy and dreary, a perfect backdrop for a sad ride into town to catch the train back to Milan to get my flight. It was particularly sad because it was the last time I would see my parents until June (potentially, but hopefully they will come visit Spain before then) since I wouldn’t be going back to the U.S. for Christmas.

family out to dinner on the last night

But I had two great weekends with my parents in Europe (doesn’t exactly make up for all those Sunday/Monday dinners I’m missing by not living in VA anymore, but it’s a trade-off I suppose) so I was glad to travel with them a bit, even for a short time.

I also really enjoyed hanging out with my cousin Ally and her husband Alex two weekends in a row. Since they moved to Germany last September my time with them has been sparse, but always enjoyable when we do manage to get together. But now that I’m living on their side of the pond I’m looking forward to traveling with them/visiting them more in the spring.

Overall, my first trip to Italy was fun, if quiet, and I can’t wait to go back after Christmas when I’ll head to Rome, Florence, and Pisa!