First Day in Italy

We traveled from Ontario & NY to Atlanta to Milan, Italy on an overnight flight. Although we were delayed we did not have too many problems other than our airplane seat shade broken, seat rocking and seat light bulb going out. Along the way, we feasted on fresh apple bread, rice and gim (sea weed laver) provided by Brian and Esther (thanks!!) From the airport we were able to take the Malpensa Express train to the town of Como, Italy. It took about 2.5 hrs to the last station Como Nord because we had to wait one hour at a transfer stop and one hour at a stop that was miscalculated. From Como, we then embarked on a ferry to the little town of Bellagio on Como Lago (Lake Como). The ferry was a wonderful opportunity to see the various towns coloring the borders of the lake. From sunny weather to Como, a sprinkle in Lenno, to a storm in Bellagio, the weather definitely got quite fowl on us. Even with the rain, Bellagio was a beauty at first sight with luxurious villas decorated with elegant topiaries, columns, ivy with manicured gardens and with the calmness of the alps hugging the hazy lake. Due to its close proximity to Switzerland, you can definitely see the influence here compared to other areas in Italy. We checked into our apartment at Il Borgo, a small family run apartment rental only 50 meters away from the harbor. Flavio is a generous man who was our personal “concierge” while we acclimated to our new abode. We walked a lot of stairs on our trip!

Our first meal was just around the corner from us at La Fontana a small mom and pop restaurant where Grace enjoyed gnocchi and Isaac had the lasagna which was the daily special, both were delicious. We explored the town a little, pursuing the shops and stopping by the local cathedral to say our prayers, but we were stopped short due to rain (forgot to pray for no rain… ☺. We both felt so jetlagged that we fell asleep around 6pm and woke up around 2am hungry but well rested. We ate more apple bread and played cards till 5am!