10/12/21: A “Ferry” Fun Day on Lake Como!

Hey there,
Back with my last post on touring the rest of Lake Como via hop-on and hop-off ferry rides southbound from our base in Varenna. Trying to decide between exploring the house and grounds at Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello was a tossup as either would have been magical, I’m sure. We finally decided on the latter because of its southern location on the lake and the spectacular vistas no matter where we looked. What a fun day we had seeing magnificent villas along the lakefront both from the ferry and often from the shore, too. I hope you’ll also enjoy this virtual tour of a day ferry hopping on Lake Como. Click here to read on our main blog https://bergersadventures8.blogspot.com/2021/11/101221-ferry-fun-day-on-lake-como.html

All the best to you and your loved ones, Annie in Sorrento just before leaving for Naples and then Rome

In front of the church was another traditional Lake Como Lucia boat.

While on the ferry earlier to Lenno and the villa, we’d seen a fountain and balustrade by Tremezzo. After they had been separated from their villa by a public road, the owners donated them for all to enjoy. We spent close to an hour just reading and taking in the views from the steps by the lakefront. It was as close to heaven as I want to get for a long, long time!

A few steps further, was the early 20th-century Grand Hotel Tremezzo that was characterized by Art Nouveau elements. Shortly after opening, it was confiscated and used as a field hospital during WW I but, following an expansion after the war, it became a popular destination for wealthy international tourists.

One of the neatest things I’d ever seen was the hotel’s swimming pool floating on the lake. Can you imagine how much fun it would be swimming there with such stunning lakeside views in every direction?

Our hop-on and hop-off ferry pass didn’t include more expensive hydrofoil boats like this one that floated above the water and was, therefore, much faster than the regular ferries. 

Our final view of the Tremezzo hotel and its pool as we headed north:

I doubt we’ll ever return to Lake Como but if we do, a stop at Villa Carlotta would be on my itinerary.

Crisscrossing the lake, we had just spectacular views of some dreamy gardens.

Not quite as fun as a swimming pool in the lake but I’m sure this water slide would also be pretty exciting.

There were so many boats backed up at the town of Bellagio dock, our ferryman had to circle for a while just as if we’d been on a plane!

The Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio was a five-star property considered to be the second-most luxurious property on the lake. When we travel to exotic locales, Steven and I always try and walk through the world’s grandest hotels. So far, only Raffles Hotelin Singapore, home of the Singapore Sling, has denied us.

I read that the Serbelloni was ‘the place to go’ for aristocratic Russians in the 19th century!

The Grand Hotel was certainly grand, don’t you think?!

Wandering the streets of Bellagio, we stopped in briefly at the Basilica di San Giacomo with its magnificent gold, mosaic ceilings.

The basilica piazza or square:

Bellagio’s tiny lanes contained more gelato shops than anyplace else we had or would see, even in the next four weeks here in Italy and we’ve seen and stopped at a good number of gelato shops!

Bellagio was a delight, not just for its basilica and all the gelato stores, but for its shops selling silk scarves and ties made locally from the silkworms on Lake Como. 

Just a ‘bit’ of money in Bellagio as evidenced by the Ferraris and other high-end cars we saw.

On the final ferry of our day back to Varenna with the Grand Hotel Serbelloni in the background:

Approaching Varenna after a ‘ferry’ fun day on Lake Como:

Next post: On to magnificent Milan for the next three days.
Posted on November 19th, 2021, from Sorrento in southern Italy just before we drive back to Naples to drop off our rental car and take the train to Rome for our last night in Italy and then back home to Colorado in two days. It’s been scary to learn that our home state has the worst rate of hospitalizations due to Covid in the entire country – what is up with our unvaccinated fellow Coloradans?

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