We went to Lake Como and Milan for AnM’s 30th. After a plane, bus, train and taxi we ended up in Como, on the shores of Lake Como.
The same day we took the funicular railway to the top of the mountain – this is a view of Como.
Amazing views from the top, we had Prosecco at a cafe overlooking the valley.
And then took the funicular down.
The next day (Sunday) the weather wasn’t so great, but we took a bus ride to Bellagio, the town that’s at the fork of the lake (the lake is Y shaped). Bellagio had very steep stepped cobbled streets and lovely shops!
For variation we caught the ferry back – purposefully selecting the slow ferry that stopped at all the towns along the lake.
On Monday we went to Como cathedral in the morning before catching the train to Milan. We then went to the Duamo, which is the huge cathedral in Milan. It took 500 years to build and is still constantly being worked on.
Inside the Duamo.
They allow you onto the roof of the Duamo, which is a very long way up (this is only from the lower roof).
On the upper roof we spent some time sunbathing, which felt a little odd, given that it was a cathedral, and we were on the roof tiles…
On the way down, admiring the architecture.
A bar was spotted from the roof of the Duamo – we went for cocktails, and had the fortune to get there just as Happy Hour started, which meant for every drink you got a bowl of crisps, a bowl of olives, pasta, and three large canapes (tomato mousse on biscotti, a sandwich or spring roll thing, and a mozarella and ham roule). So that became our dinner! N asked for a surprise cocktail, and got this…
As we meander home, the Duamo in sunset.
The next day, Tuesday, we went for a bike tour of Milan. It was very hot so ended up with a headache, but was fantastic idea – would heartily recommend it! They have a good attitude to bikes in Milan, in that everyone has equal right of way, so cars don’t automatically try to kill you, but the combination of being on the wrong side of the road AND assuming the cars will be like London traffic meant it was still hair-raising at times. I didn’t take many photos but this is the Basilica of St. Ambrogio, who got lost in Milan.
Then we had lunch (I had pizza every lunchtime, pasta every dinner, and at least one gelato a day – stracciatella of course) and made our way to the station, where S left to get an earlier flight. We went back to Bergamo via train, got a taxi to the Old City and spent the evening wandering around a bit and having dinner. Then caught the bus to the airport and home!
All in all a thoroughly lovely break and further convinces me that Italy is one of my favourite places to visit. The people are friendly and chatty, even if you only speak little Italian and keep accidentally thanking them in Spanish, the transport links make sense, and it’s just so laid back. Fantastico!
One Response to Como e Milano – andiamo!