Day 3: From the Shores of Lake Como to the City on Water

August 27th, 2015

Our last day on Lake Como.  We were already so sad to leave - Adam kept repeating that it might have been his favorite place he had ever been - but we were so excited because Venice was right around the corner!

We started the day at the "beach", a rocky little lakeshore spot right next to the grand old Hotel Victoria.  The water wasn't too cold, and it was a perfect spot for Boston to engage in his favorite activity, throwing rocks in water, and for CheyAnn and Solana to collect sea glass!  (Or I guess I should say, lake glass.)

Solana getting in on the rock throwing action.

Lake glass collection.

Boston, at home on the private dock.

Gail, whipping up a delicious Italian snack for the road!

One last look at our awesome view before hitting the road.

The drive from Varenna to Venice was pretty long - felt like around 4 hours - so by the time Solana spotted and yelled "Ikea!", we were all ready for a break.

Something comforting and familiar about Ikea.

So since it was Adam's and Gail's first time in Venice, we decided to spurge a little bit and rent a water taxi to make our grand entrance into the city, just like the movies.  It was so worth it!  On the same day where we felt like Lake Como was the coolest place we had been, we had the same feeling while cruising down the Grand Canal for the first time!

Kids chose to chill inside the water taxi. 

Welcome to Venice!

We were all so excited to be there!

Perfect!  A gelateria right outside of the apartment where we stayed!  The apartment where we stayed was steps off of the Grand Canal.  I wish we had gotten a good picture of the route we had to walk to it, but the narrow passage-way was so skinny that if I had stopped to take a picture, it would have caused a huge traffic jam as pedestrians flowed through single-file.

As always, happiest with gelato.

Well, we often heard the advice that you just have to allow yourself to get lost wandering through Venice.  Check.  Got pretty turned around trying to find a particular restaurant, and walking times take 3 times longer than expected with this wiggly crew!  But it was a really fun night in such an incredibly unique city!

Day 2: Afternoon in Bellagio

Because our first day in Italy (which began with boating on Lake Como) was just too good for one post, we're recapping Part 2 of Day 2 in a separate post!  So, we navigated our little motor boat back to the dock in Varenna, where we could see our little AirBnB apartment from the water (it's the one in the middle with the green shutters).  Varenna really was the cutest place ever - a mix of old worldy Italian style with the lakeside atmosphere and plenty of pine trees and other mountainous features.  Like being built right into the side of a mountain!

After the boat ride, chilling on the lake shore, throwing rocks into the lake!

So fun!

Varenna is full of these charming walkways, descending from all points of the town down to the water.

The entry to our apartment, on Varenna's one-lane "main street".

Best playground view ever?  (Maybe, although another playground later on our trip certainly rivaled it.)

The walkway along the water is called the Via dell'Amore. 

Gelato makes everyone happy.

Hanging out in Bellagio, eating gelato, window-shopping, and having a great time!

A recurring theme for this trip: Boston is happiest when he can throw rocks in water.

Right when we needed it most - tired, jet-lagged, hungry, and very cranky kids (at only 4pm) - we stumbled upon a random mini-park along the walkway next to Bellagio.  Soon enough, the kids were having a blast!

Solana caught the little dangling piñata-thing.  Her reward?  Another ride!

Welcome to Italy!

Boats boats and more boats.  Riding the ferry back from Bellagio.

One more time on the Playground dell'Amore!

Day 2: Lake Como on a Boat!

So, our first full day in Italy, we woke up and headed to the docks, excited for an active morning of boating in a beautiful place.  Little did we know that it would be one of the coolest things we have ever done!

It was a cool morning, and in the little town of Varenna, we only had to walk for 3 or 4 minutes to get to the boat dock, which is right in the middle of the town center.  I handed over some Euros, tossed our bags on board, and we were off!

We started in Varenna, boated directly across the lake to Menaggio.  Then, once we were on the other side, we followed the shore line from town to town, gazing at the perfect little lakeside towns, the amazing villas, including Villa Balbianello and Villa Carlotta.  From there, we crossed the lake again, heading back up past beautiful Bellagio, where we had to weave through the heavy boat and ferry traffic.  So fun!  Finally, we made our way back to the other side of the lake, where we cruised past the gardens of Villa Monastero and back to little Varenna.  It was a perfect morning - cool air with a warm sun, the open blue water surrounded by towering mountains, and a sense of freedom and relaxation unlike anything we've felt!

Boston LOVED the boat.  He sat there, super mellow, as my first mate for pretty much the entire morning, eventually nodding off as we puttered around the lake.

Coming straight from the busy-ness of New York, my job, and all of the life stresses, we suddenly felt so free!

The kids were perfect - and loved it!  We might have more boating days in our future.

This was the constant scenery - the blue water, perfect little Italian towns, and towering mountains.

The First Mate takes the helm.

Villa Balbianello - very cool!

My gorgeous girls!

We stopped the boat in a little cove to enjoy some sun and snacks, and as if the morning couldn't get any more magical, we were soon joined by a pair of swans swimming along side us, enjoying some of our snacks as well.  Solana named them "Swimmy" and "Swanny", which seemed appropriate.  So, boating on Lake Como with swans.

A perfect morning out on the water always makes you sleepy.  A pleasant and relaxing end to an incredible morning.