A very early start meant a drive into the sunrise for an early flight back from Bergamo airport.
Day Fifteen – Menaggio to Halifax
Day Fourteen – Menaggio
Our final (very hot) day at Lake Como was spent playing crazy golf and eating ice cream!
Day Thirteen – Menaggio
A drive out to the mountains, where we found narrow roads, cows, a local lunch and we crossed the border into Switzerland.
Day Twelve – Menaggio
A really surprising walk starting only minutes from the accommodation, into a hidden valley with waterfalls and an old walkway.
Day Eleven – Menaggio
A trip on the ferry across Lake Como to Bellagio.
Day Ten – Menaggio
Another quiet day at the accommodation.
Day Nine – Menaggio
A quiet day, spent at our accommodation and walking round Menaggio – it was incredibly hot!
Day Eight – Venice to Menaggio
An early morning walk around the area near the hotel, then another amazing hotel breakfast, and we found the water bus to take us to our hire car, for the drive to Menaggio on Lake Como. Our self-catered accommodation at Sant’ Andrea Deluxe was extraordinary – a massive duplex apartment with 3 bedrooms, a huge living area, two garden terraces, and access to a large pool, all with a beautiful view over the lake and beyond.
Day Seven – Venice
Breakfast was amazing – everything was cooked and presented perfectly. We headed back towards St. Mark’s Basilica, and into the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale). Ornate rooms, a military museum and dungeons, where we also found the Bridge of Sighs. Lunch at Birreria Forst, before walking to the fascinating Libreria Acqua Alta book shop.
A walk over to Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo and a climb up the circular tower, before walking back to the hotel, then to the Squero di San Trovaso (gondola boat makers). We wanted to take a trip in a gondola, but this proved a lot harder than we thought. We either couldn’t find a gondola station with waiting gondolier, or they didn’t want to go out because it was raining gently and quite windy on the main canals. As we were giving up and walking back to the hotel, we found one at a small gondola station in one of the main shopping areas, and had a really enjoyable trip with a very talkative and amusing gondolier.
Dinner was a random choice, in what turned out to be a rather overpriced tourist-oriented restaurant.
Day Six – Florence to Venice
Before leaving Florence, we took a walk to a deserted Ponte Vecchio picking up breakfast on the way back. A short walk to Firenze Santa Maria Novella station, and another train journey to Venezia San Lucia. On arrival we found the water bus stop needed to transport us to near our accommodation, Suite735. The hotel was extraordinary – the rooms were luxurious, just 4 or 5 in total, with a view over a very quiet canal.
A walk into the busier parts of Venice, we first crossed the famous Accademia Bridge before heading to St. Mark’s Basilica to see the interior and Pala d’Oro, then the Rialto Bridge. Dinner was at Rosso Pomodoro before heading back to the hotel.
