Chapter 3: Como Sail Away

On Tuesday we left Paris for Lake Como, where we will spend seven nights before joining my uncle and his wife in Florence. All went well traveling with 150 pounds of luggage and a stubborn dog, although the 6-minute layover to switch trains in Zurich was…close.

We have a nice little AirBnb in the town of Como, which is a bit touristy but which holds the distinct advantage of being the lake town closest to the train station. Our apartment has a lovely balcony overlooking the narrow streets.

When we initially came overseas, we were under the assumption that we’d stay in France for a few weeks and then settle semi-permanently in England. Accordingly, we stuffed our bags full of items that we’d need to live and work in London: dress shirts, dress pants, dress shoes, dress socks, winter jackets, boots. Due to the myriad Byzantine rules for domestic and international airplane and train travel, we brought – I shit you not – three different dog carriers for Lily.

It’s. A. Mess.

As a consequence, we’ve ended up wearing the same blue jeans and t-shirts for the past two weeks while lugging a cache of unused dress slacks and cashmere sweaters through train stations and up four-story walk-ups, an increasingly untenable lifestyle. It’s not uncommon to hear one of us curse while pawing through our bag, then fling an objectionable item into the nearest trash can. Do I really need a brush for my beard? Nope. Do I need three pairs of black socks? NOPE.

So, the problem is slowly correcting itself, although at this rate I may arrive in London carrying just a red handkerchief pouch on a stick like a Depression-era hobo.

Como’s cathedral, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, is enormous and gorgeous.

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y, and the city of Como is at the bottom left tip. A boat ferry runs all day between several dozen towns on the lake, and on Thursday we took it from Como to Bellagio, where the two legs of the Y meet. The lake is just, wow, absolutely beautiful.

George Clooney famously owns a house on the lake, but surprisingly he was not on the same 12:15 weekday-discount slow boat ferry that we were on.

We rode past the Villa del Balbianello, well-known for its appearance in films like Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Casino Royale.

We stopped for a quick stroll on the Greenway del Lago di Como, a lakeside path connecting several small hamlets on the west side of the lake…

…then re-caught the boat and hopped off at Bellagio. By this time we were more than ready to find a wine bar for some adult beverages and a cheese plate.

From Bellagio, it was an hour boat ride back to Como, where we arrived exhausted and ordered pizza from a well-reviewed local spot apparently owned by Barack Obama’s long-lost Italian brother.