Blogs from Como, Lombardy, Italy, Europe
December 13th 2011
Why hello everybody! There aren’t many pictures that actually go with this blog, so I’ll add some from Italy and Spain :) My last day in Italy was relaxed and fun. Chiara and I slept in…again, haha, and then I got a bit more studying done for my finals this week. We stayed in our pajamas until about 3:00pm and finally had to put on real clothes to go over to her grandmother’s house. Every Sunday Claudia and her three sisters, Luisa, Pierangela, and Silvana get together with their mother, Anastasia, and aunt Giuseppia; have tea and some cake and just catch up, which I think is really awesome. Chiara said she usually goes about twice a month. They are just a bunch of really sweet ladies. I had met one of Chiara’s aunts, Pierangela, Sunday ... read more
The Adventures of Chiara and Devin in Italy!
Published: December 11th 2011Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Como
December 11th 2011
Hi everyone! We have another birthday in the Fam! Happy Birthday Sean!!! I hope you have a lovely day today! :) Well, there is a lot of Italy to catch up on! On Tuesday Chiara had to get up very, very early to go to school, so I stayed home and slept in. After breakfast, Claudia asked me if I would like to see their garden. I hadn’t even noticed the gate at the end of their drive way. I expected just a small garden with a few veggies and herbs, nope! It’s huge! It’s like a whole other backyard! They don’t just have plants either! They have a little aviary with a few very colorful birds, and they even have chickens and roosters. Now, unlike in Cadiz and in Costa Rica, these birds and roosters ... read more
December 5th 2011
Hello again from Italia! First off, there is another Birthday! Happy Birthday Grandma Barbara!!! I really hope you have a wonderful day and I am sending you a Birthday Hug from here in Italy!!! Yesterday was another wonderful day with Chiara’s family! We got to sleep in again because Chiara’s friends were coming here for lunch and so we didn’t have to get ready to go anywhere! Chiara, Laura and I had already done our part of helping out with the lunch today by getting the Christmas tree up. Chiara is a master at setting it up, perhaps we should send her over to Nebraska to help my Dad since he has to keep inventing ways to get our Christmas tree to stand straight ever year, hahaha! But the important thing is that it is up…it’s ... read more
December 4th 2011
Why Hello Everyone! Welcome to my first blog from Italy!! It was an early start, but well worth it! From the moment I stepped off the plane and was greeted by a kiss on the cheek from Chiara’s mom, Claudia, I felt so at home. Chiara’s Mom and Dad were very kind to come and pick me up because Bergamo is about an hour away from where they live in Lurate-Caccivio which is about 20 minutes outside of Como. Even though it was cloudy out, Italy is still beautiful! I actually like the cold weather a bit because it reminds me of being at home in Nebraska at this time of year! Although, I think it is actually a bit warmer here than in Nebraska right now, and they don’t get quite as much snow. When ... read more
September 13th 2011
Today we visited the town of Como, more of a city really. We have struggled to get away early in the mornings, and then invariably find ourselves waiting 40 mins for a bus, so we arrived just as siesta started at mid day. We enjoyed a walk around the town looking at buildings, the Duomo and beautiful streets as always. Many Como residents ride push bikes and people were whizzing up and down the alleyways. We were wondering where those who do own cars park as there was very little room in the streets for parking. Then we started to notice the big double door entries to the apartments, some of which have a little door cut in for walking through, open into courtyards, where some cars where parked. We have been blessed for weather, ... read more
May 7th 2011
Contrary to my usual ramblings, this is actually going to be just a short post. I took the day to visit Como which many of you know because George Clooney has a home here in a little town on Lake Como. It is about an hour's train ride from Milan and apart from the Duomo there is nothing particular to visit (or at least anything that I was interested in visiting). There is some incredible shopping to be had though. My day was really spent walking around the small streets of the town. I had thought of taking the boat trip out to some of the other towns that lie on the shores of Lake Como (like Bellagio) but this would have involved a two-hour boat ride just going (there is a speed boat but even ... read more
November 2nd 2010
Uma tarde no lago 9h da manhã, a janela molhada com a chuva revelava, entre um túnel e outro, a bela paisagem montanhosa dos Apeninos. A cabine estava cheia, mas todos estavam adormecidos – muito provavelmente para eles aquele trajeto não era novidade. Tentei resistir o máximo que pude, mas logo fui vencido pelo sacolejar suave do trem. Fechei os olhos e, quando me dei conta, nossa chegada a “Milano Centrale” era anunciada. Milão estava longe de ser uma das minhas escolhas de destinos na Itália, mas tornou-se uma escala necessária, pois de lá pegaríamos o vôo de volta à Bordeaux, às 13h do dia seguinte. A idéia de passar 24h perambulando pela “capital da moda” italiana não me causava nenhum frisson, logo rapidamente arrumei um plano B: uma visita ao Lago di Como, 40 km ... read more
October 8th 2010
My expectations of what Lake Como would be like were way off the mark. I had expected the lake to be huge ( it is ), but I wanted there to be flat shores with pine trails leading off from it, with lovely lakeside walks in dappled sunshine. There arent any. It isnt like that at all. At first, I was very disappointed, but have now modified my feelings. A little. In reality, the lake is surrounded totally by mountains, beginning immediately at the shores, apart from when there is a village. There are no beautiful walks on flat land around the lake, because there simply isnt any flat land. We are staying in a lovely village nestled in the Y of the lake, called Bellagio. Its very quant and built on the mountainside with the ... read more
September 29th 2010
Had an awesome birthday in May when I headed to Lake Como with Jon and 13 other friends from London. It was only a weekend but it was a perfect amount of time. We stayed in fanatastic hotel in Bellagio, a short walk from the main town. We practically had a whole floor to ourselves and the views from every room looked straight over the lake. I had a miserable birthday the year before so I was determine to make this one great. Not wasting any time we walked down to the town and went straight for lunch in a cobble stoned alley way. Pizza and salad was all we needed and it was perfect. The 3am wake up call to catch the plane had taken it's toll so Jon and I settled straight into the ... read more
August 7th 2010
We arrived into Como and could easily see the stark difference in between Milan and our new place for exploration. We immediately agreed to check-in our hotel and go out to dinner. It was a beautiful time in Como and our day trip to Bellagio was excellent! We tasted great wines, ate the best Raviolis with Truffle and devoured enough Gelato to last the entire trip. ... read more
