No wonder George Clooney vacations here!

Lake Como, Italy... breathtaking, beautiful, elegant and soooo Italian! 

We walked around the lake, took in the local sights, and then took the ferry from Verena, where we were staying, to Bellagio.  The lakeside city that inspired the famous Las Vegas hotel was very high-end, full of jewelry stores and the latest Italian fashions.  It also had great gelato, but was missing the  music synchronised fountain show...? 
 

 

Back in Verena, we hiked up to the old fortress ruins at the top of a VERY steep hill, feeling the gelato and focaccia weighing us down.  It was worth the huffing and puffing for the beautiful views we were treated with at the top of the hill.  The old fort was graced by mature olive trees, very beautiful, and eerie ceramic statues...so creepy!  As a matter of fact, when we rounded the corner and I saw the first one, I just about had a heart attack.

 


















Again, the food was amazing!  Our favorite thing to do in the afternoons was to sit on our balcony, the lake sprawled out in front of us, with an amazing spread of prosecco, cheese, bread Italian cold cuts.  Dad always treated Mom and I to this spectacular indulgence.  He would go out to the local markets and buy the best selection of treats, and then would come back to the hotel and set it all out for us to enjoy.  I felt like an absolute princess. 

 

 I found more inspiration for the bakery I will open someday!

For our last dinner in Lake Como, we dined at a small, family-run restaurant in the mountains.  The owners actually picked us up in the town square and drove us up to the restaurant, and that was an E-ticket ride.  Once there, the very personable man of the house and head chef greeted us and took us through the menu.  We all chose the same thing, the "Chef's Special", which was a coursed dinner comprised of their most popular and succulent dishes.  It started with cheeses, meats and breads, moved on to risotto, raviolis and salads, then finished with our protein of choice.  Amazing food, prepared with love and tradition the way good Italian food is.  What an experience!  And the best part was that the family loved what they were doing, they were passionate about their craft, and they loved sharing it with their guests.  I was inspired.

Leaving Lake Como was horrible.  I was saying goodbye to Italy and my parents all at the same time.  Mom and Dad were going on to Florence and I was going back to Dublin.  I shuffled onto the train reluctantly, trying to keep a positive smile on my face as I took my seat and waved goodbye.  Once the train was out of the station, tears started rolling down my cheeks as the empty, lonely feeling overtook my stomach.  Thankfully, when I reached the Milan train station and went to catch a taxi to the airport, the queue was a mile long and put me into time-management-panic-mode, which snapped me out of the sorry state.

Thanks Mom and Dad for an unforgettable vacation!  Thank you for the adventure, the gelato, the lakeside views, the afternoon cheese and prosecco, and most importantly, for being there for me, always!  XOXOXOX