Blogs from Como, Lombardy, Italy, Europe - page 2

Day 24, Thursday, June 5 This is our last full day of spending the day in one place without traveling so we took the slow boat ferry from Como to Bellagio on Lake Como. The one-way trip takes 2 hours. The ferry makes about 8 stops on the way and it is a wonderful way to see all the small towns that are nestled right next to the Lake. Lakeside are very large villas and we overheard a guide tell his customers where George Clooney’s villa is and it was not long before everyone on the ferry was snapping pictures of a large home on the side of the Lake. For all we know it could belong to anyone but it made for a good story. As the ferry reached Bellagio we could see the five ... read more

Como 29th September Train to Como via Arth Goldau. We picked up the fast train from Zurich to Como (and beyond) at Arth Goldau. 95% of the journey was in Switzerland through dramatic alpine scenery. Unfortunately, very misty so we did not bother with photography as it would not have done it justice. Absolutely magnificent stuff. The Autobahns would criss-cross our train line regularly with sweeping loops disappearing into tunnels. In one location there was however a traffic jam that went for several kilometres beside the train and we felt quite smug in our fast moving cocoon. We are now in Italy! As the train draws into Como San Giovanni station we realise we are rather fatigued. Can we get a taxi? “Don’t be silly says Ron”. The hotel is very ... read more

Back in the 16th century there was a traditional rite of passage; so to speak, that many young aristocrats took throughout Europe called the Grand Tour. The Grand Tour consisted of exploring the Europe and learning new topics that books or professors could not teach. Through first hand experience, students on the Grand Tour would learn about foreign culture, languages, and history by immersing themselves in new lands. The tour usually start in England, then went south passing through France and Italy, then coming back up through Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. There was one city/region that was a little different from the rest. A city that was north of Milan in the Lake District, called Como. Como is a picturesque town that sits on the southern most tip of the Lake Como, and that is ... read more

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 sweet. 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

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