My Driving-Vacation to Lake Como, Italy - Part 3

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Drive to Como Town

After a few hours of relaxation at Bellagio, I set the navigation system to Como, one of the biggest towns on the lake. I decline the navigation system recommendation to take the ferry route. So, I follow the street sign to Como till the navigation system picks SS583 to Como. This road hugs the coastline all the way to Como.

SS583 is not a wide street either. It is about as wide as the 18-wheeler truck, but it is a two-lane road without the middle lane marking. It would not make sense I guess to put the middle marking because the two halves would be so narrow that only Smart cars would fit. Even more interesting this road literally cuts through old towns. From time to time, I see similar color and architecture on two opposing houses. I just get the impression that I am actually snaking through what used to be their living room.


Skinny Fiats and Renaults, tiny milk trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles rule this road! They rampage this road at a very high speed and they take aggressive maneuvers. I apply all skills I have learned, at the end, I still have to pull to the side because grandpas and grandmas on rustic Italian outdoor cafes are flagging me with the blue with yellow diagonal stripe handkerchiefs.


SS583 is similar to Le Mans track where there are multiple classes of vehicles competing; the skinny cars, the tiny trucks, the motorcycles, the bicycles, and the regular cars. No wonder they are so many Italian names in the Grand Prix history. They are born racers. Even grandpas and grandmas drive at blistering speed on this winding road. Someday I will understand how the most serene and content people of Bellagio turn into aggressive drivers once they are behind the Fiats and the Renaults.

For the moment, since my ego cannot handle the defeat easily, I blame the narrow road. It turns out the Italian drivers are the ones with the unfair advantage. They don’t have to slow down when there is oncoming traffic. They just keep their rapid speed constant through the zigzags, and switch backs. Maybe they slow down by 2 km/h for the hairpins.

All in all, it is a very fine driving adventure, especially after I take time to bring my heart beats to normal by enjoying the postcard perfect scenery from the various vista points along SS583...@driving-vacation

More pictures...

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