Menaggio - 18 May
We have been at Lake Como for about nine days and the time seems to be flying by. The little towns and gardens around the lakes are beautifully quaint. We are adjusting to Italian life but our limited grasp of the Italian language has created a few challenges, but generally we find that we can get by with English. The main problem is in the super market when we try to find things and sometimes asking directions.
The weather has not been perfect, we have had a few rainy days and a few mostly sunny days, but most of the time has been mostly cloudy with a little sun in the afternoon. We have had a few days with thick mist on the lake in the morning. We talked to our neighbor Mario and he helped us order firewood. A couple of days later Franco arrived in his little three wheel pickup truck with way too much wood. With a lot of hand waving, picture drawing and consultation of the English-Italian dictionary we ended by buying half the wood. We have been putting it to good use on the rainy days when we spend time reading our books, the Harold-Tribune and watching CNN International. We even rented a DVD to watch on the computer one night.
We have been very pleased with the house exchanges approach to traveling. It worked well in Venice and has been very good here. We have two bedrooms and a large living room/ dining room/ kitchen (with, as I mentioned, fireplace and satellite TV) and a garage for the car. There is a dish washer and washing machine for the clothes and Itailian clothes dryer (a clothes line, since any self repecting Italians prefer the freshness of clothes hung on a line). It has a beautiful patio and garden overlooking the lake. We have found, that in, in addition to saving hotel costs, we have significant savings on the food bill since we generally cook breakfast and dinner in the condo. We usually have lunch (the larger of the Italian meals) out in mid-afternoon.
One of the greatest challenges here is driving. The lakes are surrounded by steep mountains and through some of the small towns the roads are very narrow (if a bus or truck is coming it is necessary to stop and let it go through). In fact, Menaggio has a stop light that allows one-way traffic to alternate through the town. The roads have many bridges and tunnels and over the hills there are steep switchbacks. It becomes a little stressful after a few hours of driving. There are good toll turnpikes (Autostrasse) to Milan and major cities but the closest connection is at Como about a half hour drive from Menaggio.
Since our last report we have visited several towns and gardens on Lake Como (Bellagio, Varenna, Como, Villa Carlotta, a Picasso exhibit in Como). We have been getting some serious walking exercise on the hills, which is a good thing. Last Sunday we went to Milan (to avoid traffic and to be able to find parking for the car, which can be a nightmare during the week). We visited the very impressive Cathedral, La Scala opera house and did a little shopping. We plan future trips to Milan (about 1.5 hours away) but will probably go by train. Yesterday we drove to Lugano, Switzerland, and to Lakes Lugano and Maggorie. The most impressive thing we have seen yet was Isola Bella in Lake Maggorie. This island is just off the shore has very impressive palace and gardens. It was started in the 16th Century by a Count and designed in the shape of a ship (see http://www.borromeoturismo.it). Both the villa and garden are beautiful and there is a bedroom where Napoleon slept and a room where negations took place in 1935 to try to prevent WWII. The place is very impressive, indeed!
The weather is forecast to be good for Thursday and Friday so we plan to drive to the Mediterranean coast and spend the night south of Genoa and take a hike through Cinque Terrea (“Five Lands”), which is highly recommended by people we have spoken to. Our friends Nerra and Danni from Israel are arriving Sunday and will be straying with us for about ten days. We are beginning to put the details together for the next leg of our journey through Eastern Europe.
- Cheers, Dahlia and Lance
The weather has not been perfect, we have had a few rainy days and a few mostly sunny days, but most of the time has been mostly cloudy with a little sun in the afternoon. We have had a few days with thick mist on the lake in the morning. We talked to our neighbor Mario and he helped us order firewood. A couple of days later Franco arrived in his little three wheel pickup truck with way too much wood. With a lot of hand waving, picture drawing and consultation of the English-Italian dictionary we ended by buying half the wood. We have been putting it to good use on the rainy days when we spend time reading our books, the Harold-Tribune and watching CNN International. We even rented a DVD to watch on the computer one night.
We have been very pleased with the house exchanges approach to traveling. It worked well in Venice and has been very good here. We have two bedrooms and a large living room/ dining room/ kitchen (with, as I mentioned, fireplace and satellite TV) and a garage for the car. There is a dish washer and washing machine for the clothes and Itailian clothes dryer (a clothes line, since any self repecting Italians prefer the freshness of clothes hung on a line). It has a beautiful patio and garden overlooking the lake. We have found, that in, in addition to saving hotel costs, we have significant savings on the food bill since we generally cook breakfast and dinner in the condo. We usually have lunch (the larger of the Italian meals) out in mid-afternoon.
One of the greatest challenges here is driving. The lakes are surrounded by steep mountains and through some of the small towns the roads are very narrow (if a bus or truck is coming it is necessary to stop and let it go through). In fact, Menaggio has a stop light that allows one-way traffic to alternate through the town. The roads have many bridges and tunnels and over the hills there are steep switchbacks. It becomes a little stressful after a few hours of driving. There are good toll turnpikes (Autostrasse) to Milan and major cities but the closest connection is at Como about a half hour drive from Menaggio.
Since our last report we have visited several towns and gardens on Lake Como (Bellagio, Varenna, Como, Villa Carlotta, a Picasso exhibit in Como). We have been getting some serious walking exercise on the hills, which is a good thing. Last Sunday we went to Milan (to avoid traffic and to be able to find parking for the car, which can be a nightmare during the week). We visited the very impressive Cathedral, La Scala opera house and did a little shopping. We plan future trips to Milan (about 1.5 hours away) but will probably go by train. Yesterday we drove to Lugano, Switzerland, and to Lakes Lugano and Maggorie. The most impressive thing we have seen yet was Isola Bella in Lake Maggorie. This island is just off the shore has very impressive palace and gardens. It was started in the 16th Century by a Count and designed in the shape of a ship (see http://www.borromeoturismo.it). Both the villa and garden are beautiful and there is a bedroom where Napoleon slept and a room where negations took place in 1935 to try to prevent WWII. The place is very impressive, indeed!
The weather is forecast to be good for Thursday and Friday so we plan to drive to the Mediterranean coast and spend the night south of Genoa and take a hike through Cinque Terrea (“Five Lands”), which is highly recommended by people we have spoken to. Our friends Nerra and Danni from Israel are arriving Sunday and will be straying with us for about ten days. We are beginning to put the details together for the next leg of our journey through Eastern Europe.
- Cheers, Dahlia and Lance
posted by Dahlia and Lance Riley @ 7:44 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:21 AM,
Anonymous said…
Lance: Got your wonderful pictures but have not read the text yet. Everything here is fine. We were in NYC last weekend and did the usual stuff. Denise is going to use the apt on Memorial Day weekend and Meredith in coming then. I'll be in San Diego for a few days next week at a convention. Mom is well - I haven't seen her since you left. Getting a few things done on the house. Spending time in the gym. Not much, as you can see.
Love,
Dave
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