Tremezzo to Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare), Italy, Thursday, July 1

The drive to Monterosso took us through (or rather around) Milan, and the air seemed to get even more hazy as we approached Milan.  I became somewhat convinced that smog from Milan was the culprit making the air so hazy in Lake Como.  As we left the Milan area the air cleared somewhat, but not as much as I had hoped.  It was still hazy, but the air was still hot and very humid, so I think the humidity was part of the problem.  As we climbed up and over some mountains driving toward the sea, I had hopes that the air would clear even more, but no luck.  When we got our first view of the Mediterranean, it was still very hazy.  What should have been a gorgeous view of shimmering blue sea was more like gray water with a hazy gray sky, even though the sun was shining. 

Another Autogrill in Italy

 The area through Genova seemed more populated than I expected with what appeared to be numerous apartment buildings populating the hillsides.  Many, many tunnels later, we finally took the turnoff to Monterosso al Mare.   This is the Italian Riviera, so of course more of my favorite kind of driving, switchbacks.  Many curves later we began to get gorgeous views of Monterosso below.  

Mountains on the drive

The haze did not seem so prominent and it was beautiful.  As we descended the mountain toward Monterosso, there were many, many cars parked along the road.  I knew that having a car in Lake Como and Cinque Terre would be a hassle, but it was more of an issue in Cinque Terre.  We drove as far as we could (there’s a gate keeping all except specific cars out of Monterosso), then Jim went on foot in search of our hotel and to try to find if there was a way we could drive into the city.  About 20-30 minutes later he returned, and as we expected, we were not allowed to drive into the city even to drop off luggage.  So we unloaded everything while Jim went in search of parking.  Apparently some of the parking along the road is free, but much of it you have to pay for.  Very fortunately for us, there is a small parking garage just outside the gate and Jim was able to find a space there.  Had we arrived on Friday rather than Thursday, I have a feeling we would not have been so lucky.  Of course this convenient parking comes with a price, and Jim had to go back each day to pump more money into the parking “meter,” but at least he didn’t have to park too terribly far away. 

Jim looking at the family from the top of the parking deck just outside of town

Grumpy Travelers walking the luggage into Monterossa Al Mare, Italy

Maddie just inside of Monterossa

Streets of Monterossa Al Mare

I swear we are almost to the hotel

Our hotel was not that far inside the city gate (Monterosso is really small) and as expected (based on the reviews we had read), the hotel was underwhelming.  But, because we waited too late to secure accommodations, it was basically the only hotel in Monterosso that had space.  The room was pretty small, with a very small bathroom, but the location was excellent, right in the heart of the old town and only a couple of minutes walk from the beach. 

Finally get to Albergo Stella Della (our hotel)

Mac on the roof of our hotel

We got settled into our room, cranked up the AC and the wifi, and then went straight to the beach so the kids could go swimming.  The beach in the old town is divided into the “private” beach, which you have to pay for (21 Euros for two people, which basically gets you a couple of chairs and an umbrella) and the public beach, which is just a regular beach anyone can use.   I (and Maddie in particular) was somewhat offended by the private beach concept.  It just seems so undemocratic.  But the water on the public beach was just as clear and beautiful as the water on the private beach.  And just as cold.  The kids (and Jim and I, but less so) swam for a short while, then went back to our room to change and then to dinner at a lovely spot overlooking the beach.  

Plaza just outside our hotel

Kids playing football by the beach

Public beach

More public beach

Maddie and Mac swimming

View of private beach

The food was delicious.  I got the salmon, which was good, but Jim and McIntyre got the spaghetti Bolognese, which was amazing.  I eat tomato sauce on pasta, but mainly because I know you’re supposed to.  I guess I tolerate it, mostly.  But this tomato sauce was unbelievable….the best I’ve ever had.  I so wish I knew how to make it like that. 

Tracy chatting it up with the waiter

Delicious Pasta

View from restaurant

After dinner, we went to the little playground near the beach so Mac could burn off some steam.  It’s a nicely enclosed playground with an oh-so-modern spongy surface underneath.  There was also a swing ride (very similar to one at Carowinds that is round and swings the kids out), so McIntyre of course had to ride that.  The guy who ran the ride used a sort of fishing pole to dangle a doll that the kids all tried to grab as they went by. 

Mac trying to get the banana

We loved the Gelato

Heading back to the hotel

Maddie hanging out at the top of our hotel

By the time we were done with this, it was very late and back to the room for some shut eye.

Tremezzo, Italy, Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The apartment we rented in Bellagio was only available for two nights, so we rented a hotel room in Tremezzo for our third night in Lake Como. Tremezzo is across the lake from Bellagio, so we took the car ferry again this morning (after retrieving the car and doing a little souvenir shopping) across the lake. Tremezzo looks somewhat like Bellagio, only smaller, but this time our hotel was up the mountainside a little rather than right in town.

Scarf shopping was popular with Tracy and Maddie

Tracy, Maddie and Mac on the ferry boat to Tremezzo

View of Bellagio from the ferry boat

Ferry boat that took us and the car to Tremezzo

View of Tremezzo, Italy from ferry boat

Albergo Villa Edy was very nice with beautiful grounds and a lovely swimming pool, which the kids were keen to use. We immediately got into our bathing suits and swam for about an hour or so before drying off and heading to the hotel snack bar for lunch. The hotel has a lovely terrace overlooking the grounds with a small area that has a view of the lake, and the staff was kind and gracious. The kids had been dying to swim so much after getting a taste of it this morning that we just spent the afternoon doing more of the same. Maddie has not even been to our pool in Charlotte so far this summer and McIntyre has only been a few times. He’s getting much better at swimming and using the pool gave us a chance to try out the water wings that we bought to use in Cinque Terre.

Albergo Villa Edy

Hotel pool

View of Lake Como from the hotel

Tracy and Mac hanging at the hotel

More views from the hotel

We didn’t see much of Tremezzo, but then again there’s really not all that much to do other than admire the scenery, visit villas (not something the kids were interested in, and again, George Clooney forgot to invite us to his), so we were fine just having a day of fun. After swimming, we just showered and went into Tremezzo for dinner at a restaurant on the lake front called Il Timon, then back to the hotel. The kids hung out in the room (which was a little stuffy due to no AC) and we hung out at the terrace having wine and using the wifi to blog, check email etc. (the wifi did not work in our room).

A floating pool in Tremezzo, Italy

Tracy doing some late night blogging.

Bellagio, Italy, Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Bellagio is a charming little village, and although it is perhaps the most well-known and touristy town on Lake Como, it is charming and quaint nonetheless. It was somewhat crowded, but not overly so, and there was a combination of Europeans and Americans there. I actually loved it and thought it was an excellent base for our stay on Lake Como. The streets (mostly not open to cars and not much more than alleyways with steps) are narrow and filled with quaint shops and restaurants.

Views of Bellagio, Italy

Not a lot of room for driving a car through the streets

Local wildlife on the streets of Bellagio, Italy

More wildlife on the pier

I’m sure there is plenty to do and see around Lake Como, but at this point in the trip, the kids were most interested in going swimming. So that’s what we did. It turns out that swimming at Lake Como is not all that popular, and with good reason. The Lido, the beach closest to Bellagio was closed for renovation, so we drove to the other public beach near San Giovanni. Beach is a loose term here, because it was really just pebbles and pretty small. But the kids had a good time swimming in the cool water, finding various types of rocks, skipping stones, etc.

Looking for the free beach access

Sign to the free beach

Mac swimming in Lake Como. Notice how clear the water is.

Beer on the beach.

Rocky public beach near San Giovanni in Lake Como, Italy

Maddie's collection of rocks from the beach

On our way back to the apartment after swimming, we took a wrong turn but it turned out to be a good thing because it sent us up some roads high above Bellagio and gave us some spectacular views. Afterward we had a late lunch by the lake, then we went back to our apartment (it was a small studio) and set the kids up with a movie so we could go do laundry. I have to say it is so convenient that Maddie is now old enough to babysit McIntyre. I wasn’t entirely comfortable leaving them in the apartment by themselves in a foreign country, but we were just a couple of blocks away and checked on them several times. Doing laundry was expensive but reasonably simple and we met a nice older couple from Chapel Hill in the laundromat. This also gave us a little time to dosome souvenir shopping.

View from the hills above Bellagio, Italy

After completing the laundry we went for a walk on the promenade at sunset. This has some lovely plants including an unusual type of tree that I really liked (still don’t know what kind it was) and some gorgeous views of Bellagio, Lake Como and the surrounding mountains. It truly is a beautiful area, even if George Clooney forgot to invite us to stay in his villa.

View of the promenade

View from pier

View from promenade across the lake

Tracy loves this tree, but what is it called?

Maddie and Mac on the promenade