Although we were sad to leave Verona, we were anticipating with much enthusiasm the adventures that awaited us in
Lake Como
.
Our fearsome foursome took up temporary residence in
Tremezzo
, one of the towns circling the lake. Travel from town to town happens by boat on Lake Como, so the Iaciofano’s heaved-to and set sail for
Lenno
one rainy day.
Our main purpose in visiting Lenno was to see the
Villa Balbianello
, an impressive estate that you may recall from such films as
(I forget which – one of the new films with that Jar Jar creature), and
Casino Royale
.
In order to get to the villa, we had to trek through a couple miles of woodsy terrain. I very much enjoyed this, even in the rain, but The Box was not a fan.
“Are we there yet?” He’d ask… and, “I’m turning around and calling a cab.”
Needless to say I was not amused. I was, however, floored by the grandeur of Villa Balbianello once we finally made it onto the main grounds.
Impeccably manicured and coiffed, ivy coiled around the columns and the trees were manicured within an inch of their lives. We entertained ourselves for quite some time, until I got very cold.
Did I mention it was raining? So, we hailed a water taxi (one conveniently pulled up to the back door of the villa’s grounds) and made haste back to the main center of Lenno, where in spite of the cold, we all had gelato at
La Fabbrica del Gelato
.
This wasn’t the best gelato John had sampled – he much preferred the gelateria in Bologna. BUT it was very pretty, and they got extra marks for their display of tiny colorful gelato scoops.
Now I was REALLY cold. And the state of my hair in the rain…let’s just say Marmo and I were picking up
and RAI Due station feeds.
Also, we were hungry. Yes, we just had gelato, but gelato does not a meal make. What does is meat and cheese. And wine. So we headed back to Tremezzo and located a local wine bar,
Cantina Follié
.
Perched atop some bar stools, and wearing The Box’s jacket for warmth, I commandeered the wine list. I selected the wine pictured below based on the label design. I do that. I’m a sucker for pretty design. Also, I was cold, hungry and out of patience.
Luckily, the wine proved to be delicious. Marmo and I started to calculate U.S. shipping as we devoured a plate of local meats and cheeses, included a personal favorite formaggio of mine: TALEGGIO.
Stuffed full of meat, cheese, wine and gelato, we headed back to our hotel for…. a NAP.
Hey, we needed to conserve energy for dinner.
