Villa D'este — TRAVELS

Location: Lake Como, Italy

Date: October 2015

Give me 30 seconds:

Must go to Villa d'Este and have a drink and enjoy the views.
Off the ferry, stop in Bellagio and wander around to all the shops. They have beautiful silk items that are not crazy expensive.
Visit Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo.
Eat a lot of pasta.
Eat a lot of gelato.
Favorite Restaurant: La Colombetta, Il Glincine in Cernobbio
Currency in Lake Como is the Euro, €.

Relaxing weekend getaway trip with the girls as we said au revoir to Paris and Ciao to Milan. Coming directly from Milan via the Malpensa Express, we arrived in Lake Como in about 2 hours. With no agenda except relax and explore, we checked into our hotel and decided to take the ferry around the lake the next day. It can get a little confusing but I suggest just buying the day ticket in which you can get off and get on anytime at any of the stops which include Menaggio, Varenna, Bellagio, Cadenabbia, Tremezzo and Lenno. We boarded the Gestione Navigazione Laghi, got a glass of champagne and enjoyed the beautiful lake views.

Villa d'Este, Tivoli, Italy

When I think Lake Como, I immediately think of George Clooney. Sadly, I had no George sightings, but what I did see was equally as beautiful. Villa d'Este is a magnificent and opulent hotel overlooking Lake Como with sprawling manicured gardens, glorious statues and a floating pool right on top of the lake. We arrived a little before sun down, so we had a little bit of time to walk around the property grounds and enjoy the 25 acre gardens before sitting down for some cocktails and watching the sunset. We had planned to have dinner here, however, we saw people entering the dining room in gowns and tuxedos and given our outfits above, we were a far cry from black tie. Instead the concierge at Villa d'Este suggested a wonderfully delicious, albeit, hidden restaurant in town and we decided to give it a shot. Boy were we not in any way disappointed. Ristorante La Colombetta made us feel like we died and went to pasta heaven. Simple white tablecloths, no fuss silverware and glasses, fantastic service and exceptional pasta; it was everything we were looking for. I think I just drooled a little as I uploaded the photos and remembered how amazing the food was that night.

The Funicular, Lake Como

The Funicular is an excellent way to see Lake Como and surrounding areas from above. It has been in operation since 1894 and takes about 7 min to reach the town at the top, Brunate. There are a few little cafes in Brunate in which you can sit outside and enjoy the panoramic views. To get the best views, you sort of have to fight your way to the front so that you can see everything. On our way up, my friend and I got trapped with 50 school children so that wasn't going to happen, but luckily on our way down, we got the very front. Worth it to fight for the front. Cost to ride the Funicular is about 6 Euros round trip and it operates every 15 minutes.

If you are traveling in Italy and have a few extra days, definitely consider heading up to Lake Como for a little R&R. You won't regret it and you will be blown away by its beauty and serenity.

As always, go JETSETAWAY!