Lake Como, Italy

The last two months have been a whirlwind  of experiences, especially with the chaotic weather across Europe.Thank goodness we managed to get to all our holiday destinations and the only hiccup was a slight delay back to London at the end of the trip. I feel really sorry for all those people stuck at airports in the freezing cold, and were not able to see their loved ones especially during Christmas.

As for our holiday, where did we go for a couple of weeks in Dec? Well, it is a place that really should be paradise on earth- a town called Bellagio at Lake Como. I would love to come back during summer and enjoy the lake a bit more- maybe some fishing! But the place is also unique in winter with snow-capped mountains and the beautiful misty lake. Very surreal and peaceful to have a stress-free time. And whom better to spend some chill-laxing time there with a couple of mates.

We first flew to Zurich, before catching the train to Como the next day. The train journey (about 3 hrs long) itself is an experience on its own. The pics below will explain it all...

From Como, it is a 45 minute breath-taking ferry journey to Bellagio.

We stayed at this service apartment called Pescallo apartments. Very homey and has a well equipped kitchen and a fantastic lakeside view. The image below is taken outside the apartment at sunrise.

But what is a trip without food? And wine for the boys? We actually ended cooking many meals at home. There is a beautiful deli and fruit grocer that sells amazingly fresh pasta and antipasti. The quality of the fresh produce here is the best I have tasted. The most memorable was the yummiest persimmons I have ever tasted.

There were many persimmon trees around- interesting how there are so many fruits but very bear otherwise!

Other than over indulging in food, we made two side trips. One was to another lakeside town called Verrenna where we climbed to the top of the hill to take some magnificent shots.

The other day trip was to Milan, where we visited a really beautiful gothic church, the Duomo in Milan. As you can see, there was a Christmas market nearby as well. Loved the roasted chestnuts! The day was not uneventful when we lost our friends for about half an hour. Luckily we managed to find each other (thank goodness for mobile phones).

Definitely an experience to remember!