Lake Como

The next stop on the Hicks-Pugliano tour of Italy was Lake Como.  What a drastic difference in terrain and overall 'feel' from Tuscany!  Unfortunately our weather was not cooperating.  We had a steady drizzle when we arrived in the afternoon.  However, the majesty of the mountains were not dampened.  The views were truly breathtaking from the terrace of our hotel.  We stayed in the little town of Bellagio, which is probably one of the more popular towns in the area, however we were before peak tourist season and with the weather the town seemed pretty quiet.

The little town of Bellagio is the very definition of romance with it's cobblestoned streets that wind up the hill.  We had dinner at a restaurant located up one of these streets that came recommended by a friend of Kristi's.  The cuisine in northern Italy is much different than the Tuscan fare we were used to at this point.  It was a very welcome change and looking back on the trip this may have been our favorite meal.  Don't get me wrong, the food in Tuscany is delicious....but it can be a little heavy.  The restaurants in the Lake Como area specialize in dishes featuring fish caught from the local lakes. 

The next morning was actually clear and we decided to get out and explore our natural surroundings.  There are hiking trails all around the lakes and one just needs to pick one and start walking.  And that's exactly what we did.  The views were beautiful and amazing the higher we climbed.  At one point we came across someones 'home' which consisted of a small shack built into the mountain, an outhouse, fire pit and lounge chair.  We never did see the actual resident but kudos to him for figuring out how to haul his belongings up there.

After awhile Kristi and I decided to walk back down while the guys continued on.  After a warm shower and some even warmer coffee we headed out for lunch.  We were told to go towards the marina.  The only downside to this plan was that it started raining.  But we walked on and finally found the restaurant we were looking for.  We had a sampler platter of fresh, local fish and a delicious salad.  It was exactly what I needed after days and days of pasta.  We also splurged and had a glass of Amarone.  Yum!

It was a full-blown downpour when we finished our lunch so the only thing left to do at this point was drink more wine!  We knew of a wine cellar in the heart of Bellagio and headed there.  On the way we ran into our husbands while they were having their lunch.  We shopped with them for a bit and then went on to the wine bar.  The guys decided to continue shopping....you know they're wined-out if they would rather shop!  The wine cellar was exactly what were were hoping for.  In a basement, low brick ceilings and wall-to-wall shelves of wine.  We did a tasting of 4 different wines, then ordered a glass of wine and then bought bottles of wine to take home!  It was one successful day for the cellar owner.  :)  By the time our husbands came to our rescue we may have been a little intoxicated.  But that just made us more fun!

We took a ferry to Varenna, considered the most romantic of the Lake Como towns.  We had reservations at a restaurant in the middle of town however our cab driver didn't seem to understand the address we gave to him.  It was still pouring so walking wasn't a desirable option.  We ended up on top of the hill at the Castello di Vezio.  I'm sure this castle would be lovely to view when a) it wasn't pouring and b) when it wasn't dark.  We eventually made it to our destination...a trendy little place down a narrow Varenna street.  This is the first restaurant in Italy that we've been to that I'd describe as 'trendy'.  Most places are in old buildings, actually all are in old buildings, but most keep their natural decor which gives it a rustic sort of ambiance.  This restaurant had been renovated and reminded me more of 112 Eatery or maybe even Nami in downtown Minneapolis.  Following dinner the rain had lessened so we walked to the town square for gelato and cappuccinos.  It was the perfect end to our Lake Como vacation.

Il Perlo

Bellagio

Hiking

Varenna

Tuscany

While we may have all been a bit stressed due to weather and driving in a city like Florence (thank you husband!), it was all worth it once we got into the Tuscan countryside.  The day cleared up and we arrived in the village of San Gimignano just in time for a simple and tasty lunch at a darling little ristorante located in a cellar.  After lunch we spent several hours exploring the town’s shops and walking its charming streets.  San G (as we like to call it) is a walled medieval town that only allows foot traffic.  San G is most famous for its architecture in that it still has 14 of its original 22 towers still standing.  The town is up on a hill and its towers can be seen for miles on a clear day.

San G has numerous art shops, a few torture museums (we didn’t check those out) and of course wine shops.  Kristi and I ducked into one that was advertising tastings and after we were ‘missing’ for a time our husbands found us and joined in the fun.  We met the owner of the shop and winery as well which is always a nice touch.

Our hotel was an agriturismo which is an organic farm.  The name of the farm was Fattoria Voltrona.  I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful and charming this farm was.  I’ll have the let the pictures give you an idea.  The farm grows crops as well as grapes and they produce their own wine.  So for dinner we did a wine tasting and a meal paired with their wines. 

The next day we rented scooters to tour around the countryside.  Let me just say that this was probably the best decision we’ve made since moving to Italy.  There is just no other way to do it!  The farm only had 2 scooters so the guys drove and we girls just hung on.  We scooted from San G to Volterra (Voltrona).  For Twilight fans, this is the home of the Volturi and the scene where Bella goes to Italy to find Edward.  I was disappointed to find out that none of the movie was shot here.  The town of Montepulciano is where the movie was filmed.

I really can’t say enough about the scooter ride.  The roads were curvy but not too curvy.  There wasn’t a ton of traffic so we didn’t feel like we were in the way or being run off the road.  I think the ride was just over an hour but the time flew by.

Volterra isn’t quite as popular with the tourists as San G but I enjoyed it just as much if not more.  The town seems to be up higher than San G and the streets are hillier.  We had some great views from the town’s walls.  One thing that really stood out was the ruins of a Roman theatre.  They sort of appeared out of nowhere when we rounded a corner and I was somewhat in awe of them.  But I get into archeology and old stuff so this was right up my alley.

On our way back from Volterra the guys dropped Kristi and I off at a winery while they went to fill the scooters up with gas.  5 tastings later we’re buying wine, pasta, biscotti and salami!  I tell you, those wine tastings are brilliant.  If I ever own a winery I will give all the free tastings people want!

For dinner that evening we opted to check out Siena.  Siena is a university town that seems to be similar to the size of Verona…..but don’t quote me on that.  We thought it would be relatively simple to drive into town, find our restaurant and have a nice, relaxing dinner.  We thought wrong.  The thing I keep forgetting about driving in Italy is that it just isn’t the same as driving in the US.  You’d think that would be a pretty easy thing to remember right? Here there are cities within cities.  While we can drive into the newer part, we can’t drive into the old, historic part.  So finding parking was a challenge but also figuring out where to park in close proximity to our restaurant was almost impossible.  I have to give thanks to my patient and long-suffering husband.  He drove around and around and really none of us could help him much.  We did finally find a place to park and then started our trek into the old city to our restaurant.  I can be a little tunnel-visioned at times and I was sure if we walked to the main square that we could find the street that would take us to our restaurant.  That didn’t work out very well.  We walked, doubled-back, walked some more and turned around before we decided to just give up and go with the next good place we saw.  We ended up having a lovely dinner!  I wish I could remember what everyone had because we all loved our meals.  Sometimes it’s better to just deviate from the plan I guess.  J

After dinner we walked to the Piazza del Campo, the town square.  This is by far the largest town square we have seen in Italy.  Or maybe it was just the way the square was sloped and the stones were laid.  But it was huge and gorgeous.  The pictures don’t do it justice.  There were restaurants lining the square along with groups of college students sipping coffee, wine or eating gelato.  We found a gelateria, which now seems to be our after-dinner routine and strolled through the city back to our car.  So what was a little stressful at the start turned into a lovely evening on our last night in Tuscany.

Fattoria Voltrona

San Gimignano

Volterra

Siena