lake como!
making the most of our babymoon fail

IMG_2767

a few months ago, i got a wee bit obsessed with crafting an ideal finale trip for the boy and i to enjoy before our lives change forever in july. obviously we’ve had plenty of lovely and exciting opportunities to travel together pre-baby, but i was just a little over-excited about the whole “babymoon” concept and got my heart set on a super warm, relaxing, and bonding vacation over the holiday weekend at the end of may.

i spent way too many hours trying to decide where we should go, trying to weigh prices and weather and accommodation options and flight paths and preferences. i put off the decision, and flight rates went up. the boy and i discussed all kinds of different possibilities and finally i just had to choose – so i bought tickets to milan one morning and was determined that spending four days at lake como would be juuuuuust right.

i feel like we have really lucked out in so much of our traveling when it comes to logistics and weather and timing working out really well. but our determined-to-be-perfect babymoon has been, to be blunt, quite an epic fail. ha! so many things have seemed to go wrong that it’s become kind of hilarious – a total comedy of errors (which is just especially ironic because usually i am pretty laid-back about the logistics of traveling, but for some reason i got so stuck on this trip happening a certain way!).

we are currently sitting inside our hotel room. ian is studying for the cfa (which we didn’t factor enough into our plans…) and i am looking longingly at our perfectly lovely terrace perched over the gorgeous lake – it’s pouring rain outside. the forecast for the next thirty-six hours that we are here? 80-100% chance of rain and/or thunderstorms every single hour. i mean, you just have to laugh at that! and speaking of laughs, i might get a few when i go swim in the pool and lounge on the beautiful lawn chairs on the nice little beach at our hotel – in the cold rain. because we splurged to stay at this nice place, and nothing is stopping me from enjoying the amenities, gosh dang it! :)

rain or shine, and despite any missed boats/messed up best-laid plans/lost opportunities/pregnancy-hormone-induced weepiness/seeming wastes of money/logistical frustrations, we are so fortunate and happy to be in this magical place and to have some special time together before our family grows. and we’re giggling at the mishaps and appreciating the mystical beauty of the low-hanging clouds draping along the lakeside mountains, and so appreciating glimpses of colour and charm through the fog.

click through to see some pictures from our first couple of days on the lake! saturday was quite sunny and warm before the rainstorms rolled in, and amaaaazing gelato made up for a plethora of mishaps! and on sunday we really loved attending church in italian, eating pizza and spaghetti under a big awning in lecco town square, exploring the devastatingly charming narrow streets of verenna under our umbrellas, and driving along the entire far-east side of the lake en route to our hotel in gravedona. we even got ~an hour of no rain at dinnertime last night to stroll along the waterfront and admire the misty mountains as it got dark.

and now … i’m headed out to on the terrace with every intention of enjoying my rain soak :)
some photos from our speed boat ride from como to bellagio:
(so many darling and beautiful scenes were whipping past but the boat was extremely crowded and the windows were not very accessible! i managed to snag a few snapshots!)
IMG_2539IMG_2524IMG_2528IMG_2543IMG_2549IMG_2553IMG_2565IMG_2558 IMG_2568
i may forever have a soft spot in my heart for this gelateria that we found within ten minutes after our boat docked at bellagio. it was incredibly delicious, and we totally went back for more a few hours later (after we’d missed the last boat back, and bought our bus tickets!). we were both in heaven eating that stuff!

bellagio certainly charmed us, despite the low-hanging clouds that prevented us seeing the famous views to the snow-peaked alps. our bus ride back to como was long and crowded and sweaty, but afforded some fantastical views across the lake.
IMG_2572IMG_2574 IMG_2581IMG_2586 IMG_2607IMG_2593IMG_2598IMG_2595
IMG_2591IMG_2610IMG_2618
^^ see the road on the left curving along the mountain cliff?! ^^
IMG_2627IMG_2640IMG_2641

some photos from our drive from lecco to verenna to gravedona:
IMG_2650 IMG_2664IMG_2656IMG_2671IMG_2675IMG_2683 IMG_2717IMG_2691IMG_2695IMG_2697IMG_2703IMG_2724IMG_2732IMG_2735IMG_2738IMG_2750

and some photos from our hotel terrace and evening stroll in gravedona:
IMG_2756IMG_2773IMG_2777IMG_2780

Comments

  1. Sounds like excellent preparation for parenthood; devastatingly beautiful and endlessly frustrating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! So true!!! So many things out of your control - that you wish you had control of - as a parent.
      The pictures of this place are gorgeous though and will undoubtedly bring back very fond (and funny) memories. (I'm thinking that could be some kind of metaphore to parenting as well...) :)

      Delete
  2. Hey I think you are staying in the same place we did! I can't remember the name of the hotel, but it was in Gravedona with a terrace and a pool.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charity - I have never commented but enjoy your blog. My husband and I have been fortunate to travel all over the world, and it is oftentimes the mishaps that form our best memories. Our first trip as a couple to Paris resulted in 4 days of pouring rain but it is still one of our favorites. Interestingly we have been to Lake Como twice and shared your experience with the rain both times (once even in mid summer!) Keep traveling and keep laughing at the things that just don't work out -it is all an adventure that results in wonderful memories

    ReplyDelete
  4. it sounds like you need to go to the Trattoria del Glicine in Cernobbio. Sooooo lovely. The gnocchi is just out of this world. Please go!
    http://www.trattoriadelglicine.com/GlicineEng/index.html

    Also, if you are up for a little excursion, we had lunch one day at the Leopoldo Hotel just outside of Lugano. It was truly spectacular.
    http://www.leopoldohotel.com/en/13/default.aspx?l=1

    We also took a short drive to this restaurant for lunch, which i had read about. It looks like NOTHING from the outside, but the meal was fantastic! If you go and it's warm enough, ask for a table on the terrace. This place is an unassuming little gem. We drove up and I was a little skeptical, but it was excellent!

    http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187835-d4316788-Reviews-Trattoria_alla_Costa-Como_Lake_Como_Lombardy.html#photos

    Enjoy this comedy of errors! And best of luck to Ian with all of the pressures of studying and this big, monstrous test.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i got this comment at the airport on our way home to london :( thanks anyway for the suggestions! i'll file them away for next time :)

      Delete
  5. I would love to know where you stayed in Lake Como! Need some ideas. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we stayed at hotel regina in gravedona. we thought it was a perfect little place - tucked away from the town but still within short walking distance, and the terraces and pool and little pebbly beach were lovely.

      Delete
  6. That gelateria looks wonderful. I bet it tasted lovely:)

    Just curious, can we buy Gelateria here in the UK, if so which shops would I buy it from?

    I'll have to google it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we have been to a couple of gelato places here in london - not sure if you have any where you are! but nothing compares to eating gelato in italy!! :)

      Delete
  7. Love the references to parenthood! So true! You managed to get some pretty awesome pictures which brought back so many memories. Remember when we were there briefly on the first MFME? Dad and I went there too and rented a small condo that was a former villa of royalty. Not a great place but with such a beautiful view sans rain! Dying for real gelato!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment