Blogs from Lombardy, Italy, Europe - page 10

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Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Lake Como August 7th 2017

We are staying in Lugano, Switzerland but we are very close to the Italian border. We decided to drive to Lake Como. The first town we come to is Menaggio. We stop here and walk through the town. I buy a Christmas ornament, a globe with pictures of Lake Como. It is a cute town with a promenade along the lake. We then head to Villa Del Balbianello, this villa has been used as a movie set for many movies including Star Wars and the Bond film Casino Royale. Darn the villa is closed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We decide to visit another villa in Tremezzi called Villa Carlotta. This is a beautiful villa overlooking the lake and has large gardens. We spend hours here checking out the villa and beautiful gardens. In 1843 Princess Marianne ... read more
Menaggio
Art in Menaggio
View from Villa Carlotta

Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Milan July 18th 2017

This morning we got up at 8:30, still pining for more sleep but conscious that we only really had on full day in Milan (as the night before we had booked the first train not covered by our Interrail pass, at 07:10 from Milan to Nice). We had 'breakfast' or at least a coffee and a croissant, at the hostel as it was included in our room cost. Then we headed out for the day starting with a walk down a large road which ran parallel to our hostel and lead to a large park. At the entrance to the park there was a large paved area with a 3 arched statue adorned with a figure controlling a number of horses. The sun was already high in the sky and it took us a while to ... read more
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GPTempDownload
GPTempDownload

Europe » Italy » Lombardy June 24th 2017

When we arrived at our current location we told our hostess we have come to rest and relax. Today we intend to do just that. We hope to relax because at 9:35 am Italy time the All Blacks have their 1st test against the British and Irish Lions rugby team. We have to read a commentary via the Stuff website. As the test match is being played out on a wet miserable winter’s night in New Zealand we are relaxing in the air conditioned apartment away from the 35 degree heat outside. We have the washing machine doing its chores, a late breakfast being consumed. Oh those blueberries are delicious. And we think about the rest of the day. By late morning we know we can really relax. The All Blacks have won, the washing is ... read more
Bellano
Bellano

Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Bellagio June 23rd 2017

We wake late to the sound of birds outside. What a great sleep. We’re not in a hurry but we need to be on our way early because today is going to be hot again. We have seen programmes on TV pointing out that this period of hot dry weather is starting to have an effect on pastures. The Po River and its associated irrigation systems are becoming affected by lack of water. Arable land is drying up, crops are suffering, Now we realize why many of the rivers we crossed earlier were dry. Italy has been quite dry since the beginning of April. Chores are done so we head off for our drive down the hill and on to Varenna to catch the ferry to Bellagio, a town on the point of land that separates ... read more
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Bellagio
Bellagio

Europe » Italy » Lombardy June 22nd 2017

After yesterday’s exciting drive over the Stelvio Pass you could consider today’s short drive boring. We are not expecting anything amazing but we need to get to Bellano for three nights of relaxation on Lake Como. Checking out the various routes we could take it was tempting to go via the Bernina Pass, St Moritz and the Maloja Pass. We have done that before. So the short route it is. We leave the key under the red carpet, feeling the eyes of a hundred grandmothers watching us, leave a thank you text for Jessica and head away. We stop briefly at a Lidl supermarket but the car park is full so we carry on. We’ll find some lunch somewhere else. The drive through to Sondrio is pleasant enough with many apple orchards on the flat and ... read more
Sondrio
Bellano

Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Milan May 28th 2017

We arrived in the seaside town of Santa Margherita in the afternoon of Wednesday 24 May and what a gorgeous place this is. My hotel room overlooked the ocean and I had a small balcony to stand on and soak it all up. Boats bobbing in the water, people swimming, the beach - pebbles not sand - and still the glorious weather. Romeo insisted on shouting us a gelato - unlike the rest of the crew I've only had the one so far but they are good, so many flavours to choose from. On Thursday we took a boating tour to Cinque Terre, an UNESCO world heritage site. I had been there before but saw it from an ocean perspective this time - last time I had arrived by train - seeing the five coastal villages ... read more
A week's worth of washing for this bloke!
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre

Europe » Italy » Lombardy May 27th 2017

The past week has gone so quickly and busily I haven't had a chance to chill out and blog! And this will be short-I will have to catch up when I have time! John and I left cold and wet Mt Gambier - having left our four chooks with our butcher on his property at Yahl - and had a pleasant but long flight to Milan via Hong Kong. John will be touring with Bikestyle Tours for 10 days cycling around the northern Italian Alps. I am doing an eight day coach tour of the northern Italian lakes and we will meet up again in Milan at the end of our tours. I left John at the airport and caught a minibus to my hotel and the other passenger was a woman from McLaren Vale who ... read more
The Galleries bull.
Monumentale Cemetery
Headstones in the Monumentale Cemetery

Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Varenna May 21st 2017

Lake Como is lovely and the scenery is magnificent, but there is not a lot to do here. The chief activities are hiking and riding the ferries around the lake. I opted to try the latter today and enjoyed seeing some of the elegant waterfront properties. I understand that filmmakers like to use this area, but I didn't see anything that looked familiar. I took a number of pictures, but rather than try to label them, I'll just show a few of them to you so you get an idea of what the lake is like.... read more
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Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Varenna May 20th 2017

This morning I walked around Milan a little more. I strolled down Via Montenapoleone which is noted for its high end shops. I have to admit that I was impressed with the names like Gucci, Prada, Cartier, and one called Paul & Shark Yachting. My favorite storefront was Hermes with a series of displays showing mannequins in the process of making various luxury items. (I took a picture, but it didn't come out well.) I checked out of my hotel and hit the road in my little Renault. I drove north into the hills of the Alps and am now ensconced in my room in Varenna, Italy. I have heard for years how beautiful Lake Como is and I can see now what all the fuss is about. I strolled through town and stopped at a ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Lombardy » Milan May 19th 2017

It rained intermittently today in Milan, so I spent a fair amount of time indoors looking at art. Fortunately, there are numerous art museums right in the city center. My favorite is the Duomo Museum which houses art having to do with the cathedral. Sometimes an original sculpture is damaged or too weathered and a replica is made to replace it. In that case the original may go on display in the museum. I liked the section where they showed how the art in the cathedral was made. For example, the seventeenth-century carved marble reliefs went through stages. First the artist created a monochrome painting of the Creation of Eve, then made a terra-cotta model that was based on the painting (see photo). The final sculpted marble relief was, in turn, based on the terra-cotta model. ... read more
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