We were lucky enough to visit the exquisite gardens of Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo at arguably their most spectacular during the glorious displays of spring (see here for last week’s “Taster”). In April the azaleas and rhododendrons are a profusion of wonderful pinks, reds and soft creamy whites. We had a lazy lunch …
After last week’s brief preview here is an account of our wanderings round Varenna – one of our favourite towns amongst many delightful places around Lake Como. Originally a fishing village, it dates from the 11th century and still retains the character of its humble beginnings despite its evident charms as a tourist attraction. …
Last week we had a lovely lunch overlooking Lake Como in Varenna Jewel By The Lake Part 1 (see here). Part 2 will be delayed by one week because of a few family crises that have occurred this week. All nearly well now, so here is a taster photo. Hoping for a more …
Heading back to Italy this week to finish off the posts about our Italian trip! I wrote about Varenna a few weeks back (see Streets Of Varenna here) but one short post doesn’t do this delightful place justice! Varenna is a gorgeous old fishing village built into the side of a cliff on …
After our lovely cruise on board the gorgeous old Milano (see here) we set off to explore the ancient Abbazia di Piona. Highly recommended by our tour guide, Julia, (from our day out in St Moritz), it is not as well known as other places on Lake Como and on this particular April afternoon we …
The attractions of Lake Como go without saying! We used the ferries to travel round the lake stopping off at pretty towns and villas along the way. Not only practical, they are a great way to admire the stunning scenery in a leisurely fashion. One of the loveliest trips we took was aboard one of …
Our last stop on our incredible day out from Menaggio (see here, here, here and here for the previous instalments) was the charming Italian town of Chiavenna. We were dropped off outside the rail station (a small branch line connects Chiavenna with Colico near the head of Lake Como) and headed off to …
After our lovely interlude in St Moritz (see here) we rejoined our coach for the return journey to Menaggio. Having arrived in the Engadine Valley via the stunning Bernina Pass, we travelled back towards the Italian border on the south west route via the Maloja Pass. We’d never been this way before and it was …
After a memorable train ride through the Bernina Pass we were met at Diavolezza Station by our trusty tour driver, Hermes, and rejoined the coach for the run in to St Moritz (see here and here for the first couple of parts of our day trip). We could just about make out glimpses of the …
Tirano  marks the southern terminus of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Bernina Express line run by the Rhaetische Bahn Railway. We’d been on the famous railway that links the northern side of the Alps with the sunnier and warmer south a few years ago whilst staying in St Moritz and were excited to …
Le Chic En Rose 