I look into the blue lakes...! (one)
I look into the blue lakes... ! (one)
This small trip at the end of April turned out to be practically only a "lake" one, however, as planned. You can read about Lake Lugano here: http://blogs. turpravda. en/hessen/99825.html
Plan for Lake Como:
Tremezzo - Lenno - Argegno - Como - Nesso - Bellagio - Bellano - Varenna - Lecco - Bellagio.
We lived here: http://www. booking. com/hotel/it/casa-olimpia. de.html? aid=202008; sid=9358ab7529ff... "
Not to say that I didn’t like this house at all, but I wouldn’t stay there the second time, so I won’t recommend it.
1. Location. Casa Olimpia Apartments
A little about Lake Como: this is the third largest lake in Italy, one of the deepest in Europe (up to 410 m), which has 3 arms - Como, Colico, Lecco and is framed by green picturesque mountains. At the time of our visit, the tops of which were still covered with snow. Along the entire coast there are resort towns, villas, piers and, of course, churches, and again villas, villas and villas of the most famous and famous personalities.
Our apartments are located in Tremezzo.
There is a mooring for all kinds of boats, and a ferry crossing 2 km from the house, and the place is in the middle of the lake, it is part of the "golden triangle". And it was not far from Lugano, so the location of housing in Tremezzo was very convenient for us. The only other option could be Bellagio, I didn’t even consider any other places.
As for the house itself. It is very difficult to find the way to it by yourself, it is at a dead end, where you cannot drive up with a "Google little man". The place is quiet, neighbors from neighboring houses were not seen or heard. A narrow road leads to the house, but while we were driving back and forth there, no one ever met us, well, we would have parted somehow.
And on the left side of this road is a cemetery, which we discovered almost before we left. Somehow we were not pleasantly surprised, there is not a word about this anywhere in the description.
When we arrived in this city, we called the hostess / manager, she arrived literally in 5 minutes, a very friendly, friendly woman, and walked us home. Well, there’s no other way, they wouldn’t have found it themselves, well, the keys had to be handed over too.
In regards to shops/stalls... there is nothing nearby. The nearest pizzeria is 400-500 m, we were not there. On the way from Lugano to Lake Como, we stopped at a large Billa supermarket, on the Italian side, where we bought everything we needed for all the days of our stay, so as not to waste time on any purchases later. Therefore, they were no longer interested in shops in Tremezzo, but the fact that they are not close to this house is for sure.
To the lake go 200-250 meters, according to the hostess, along a narrow path, which is located to the left of the gate of the house.
2. The house itself.
The house is two-story, the top floor was already occupied, our apartments were on the 1st floor.
The garden is quite large, there are sun loungers, a place for children to play, and parking behind a closing gate for two cars.
The entrance to the house is directly into the living room / hall, not from the side of the corridor, as is more usual. 2 bedrooms: one is bigger, the other is smaller. No. 1, which is bigger, it has a double bed, 1 chair, and 2 wardrobes, well, by the way, it’s enough. No. 2, which is smaller, not at all comfortable, it has 2 single beds and some kind of shelf with books, vases. Where to put clothes, and so all sorts of little things?
As I wrote in the first review that the three of us were traveling, our son was in bedroom No. 2, so the second free bed served him as shelves for clothes and everything else. What if you have two children?
The kitchen is ordinary, compared to our last apartment in Nice, it can be said that it is very poorly equipped. There were 2 frying pans, but for some reason without lids, no kitchen towels, no napkins, nothing else.
Well, in such cases, my traveling suitcase saves me: tea, coffee, mugs, napkins ...and everything else is always with us, if we are by car, of course.
The bathroom is a complete inconvenience, starting with a creaking, rattling door that cannot be opened or closed without grinding and clanging without waking someone up, and ending with a toilet and a strange shower. The toilet bowl always staggered, as if they had just put it in, but forgot to fix it.
As such, there is no shower cabin, there is not a large bathroom and a shower is fixed on the wall, with my height of 1.64, the water flowed below shoulder level. There is no possibility to raise or lower, there is only 1 holder and only at this level. Who is this height for? Of course, there is always a way out of any situation, but taking a shower, holding it in one hand over your head ...is not very comfortable.
The house certainly needs renovation.
I don’t remember such wooden frames with such antediluvian iron latches since the time of the “king of peas”. Already in our village in the Saratov region, almost everyone has changed old windows for new plastic ones. And not yesterday or today ...we changed the house 10 years ago, and some even earlier. This is all I need, and to the fact that there is no soundproofing in "our" Italian apartments. Going to bed earlier than the neighbors upstairs is not possible. You can hear every step, every creak of the bed, how the hood works, how suitcases are rolled from room to room, etc. , etc. Well, closing and opening windows by itself, with such and such iron bolts ...
I especially did not like this whole "neighboring" noise, it felt like the walls and ceiling were made of cardboard. But we were lucky with the first neighbors, they never got up before us, so in the morning we could sleep peacefully until 8 or 8:30 in the morning. And in the evening they went to bed earlier than us, at 10 or 10:30.
But then they moved out and other, noisier ones moved in...
She described almost everything that I didn’t like there, well, and all sorts of other little things ...Therefore, based on everything described above, I can’t recommend this accommodation, we didn’t feel very comfortable there.
And now, our trips.
Lenno, Villa Balbianello.
http://www. comer-see-italien. com/comer-see-abc/villa-balbianello-in-lenno__129. htm
The first trip was to Villa Balbianello. Arriving in Lenno, which is located on the shore of the lake in the Gulf of Venus, we parked in the parking lot to the right of the main road. There are signs everywhere, no parking meters were found, we looked at the license plates of cars, they are from different countries, there are no receipts on the front panel, well, no, no, and we went to the lake. Somewhere there should be a mooring for taxi boats, we saw it not far to the right. It was Saturday, so there were only 3 people on the pier, because everyone else went to the villa on foot through the forest, but not us, with my leg.
We did not have to wait long, and we comfortably sailed to the front pier at Cape Lavedo.
On this day, as on the previous one, it was cloudy, sometimes with rain, so at the beginning both the lake and the surroundings seemed somehow dull.
But after walking a little in the park, the mood somehow began to improve.
Of course, I liked the park not only for its well-groomedness, but also for the way it is located on a cape that cuts far into the lake, and the banks of which abruptly break off to the water. On one side there are wonderful views of the Gulf of Venus and Lenno from Tremezzo, and on the other side of the Gulf of Cardinal Durini, also named after Diana, and the island of Comacina, which is said to have restaurants with delicious food.
Tickets were bought immediately to visit the garden and the villa. Visiting the villa only with a guide and at a certain time, they are held in different languages: in Italian, French, English, maybe in some others, I don’t know, but not in Russian and German, so we bought it in English. If something was not fully understood, then the son translated for us.
The entire garden was slowly walked around in about an hour, despite the fact that the end of April is a period of flowering and a riot of colors, but there is not so much spring riot here. Before the start of the tour, there was still half an hour left, and they were slowly starting to get bored. Since the garden had already been re-photographed, they began to take pictures of the views of the lake and the opposite shore, beautifully.
A bit of history:
Tours start from the Loggia, which consists of two rooms: a music hall and a library, which contains more than 4.000 thousand rare books, which are mainly devoted to geographical research and travel.
"Both the Villa and the Loggia were built at the end of the eighteenth century by Cardinal Durini, who acquired Cape Lavedo on Lake Como and erected in this corner, breathing poetry and far from the bustle, estates for relaxation and literary leisure.
From the 13th to the middle of the 16th century, there was a small Franciscan monastery here, of which only the narrow facade of the church with two bell towers has survived. After the death of the cardinal in 1797, the manor already had two interconnected quadrangular buildings and an elegant covered gallery connecting the library with the music hall. " ( from the Internet)
Then this mansion was inherited by the nephew of Cardinal Luigi Porro Lambertenghi. After some time, he was forced to leave for Belgium, so he sold it to his friend Giuseppe Arconati Visconti. For Giuseppe Arconati Visconte and his wife Constanta, this villa became a summer residence, where secular nobility and, above all, people of art were invited.
Then this villa was bought by General Butler Ames. Refurbished and put in order. After his death, the heirs sold the beautifully located estate to the famous Milanese entrepreneur, Count Guido Monzino.
Guido Monzino was a highly educated man, a passionate collector of art and antiquities, and a great traveler, who devoted all the last years of his life to the restoration of the villa and the park.
"Monzino died on October 11.1988. He bequeathed the villa, expensive furniture and a beautiful park on Cape Lavedo, as well as the funds for their maintenance, to the Foundation for the Protection of Historical Monuments of Italy (FAI). " (from the Internet)
Well, it's no secret to anyone that the shooting of such films as "Star Wars. Episode - 2", "Casino Royale" took place here ...
It is forbidden to take pictures inside, 3.00 euros a fine for each photo, well, once, while no one saw it, I clicked it anyway.
I didn’t particularly like our guide, didn’t say anything that I wouldn’t read on the Internet before the trip.
I got the impression that she didn't have much information at all, because the "French" group was ahead of us, and we constantly had to wait for them for 7-10 minutes when they vacated the hall. If no one asked questions, and they did not ask them often, then in these moments of waiting everyone was frankly bored, including the guide. This should not have happened in any way, we met true guides in their lifetime, who always did not have enough time to give out all the information they have.
A lot of interesting things are collected there, when I look at all sorts of such things, I like them, but when I go out the door, I no longer remember them. If we didn’t have a son with us who really wanted to go inside the house, then we would have limited ourselves to the park. And I liked the park, I just liked it, but not AH! OH!
Argegno, cable car to Pigra.
http://www. comer-see-italien. com/comer-see-abc/seilbahn-nach-pigra__392. htm
Returning from Villa Balbianello, we continued our journey along the lakeshore to Argegno.
Having found this information about the cable car, we decided to ride it. Finding it is not difficult, but it is difficult not to slip through it. It is located right along the road, on the right side, there is not a big sign and parking for 2-4 cars. When I was walking there with the "yellow" little man, I saw this place, but when we entered this village, this place just slipped through. We returned, found, there is nowhere to stay, everything is so narrow there. We parked on the embankment, the son was sent for reconnaissance: is it working or not? It turned out that everything was closed and no one was there: either it didn’t work at all, or it was a lunch break. We decided not to waste time asking questions and go further to Como.
Even before the trip, I made inquiries about the Villa D'Este park in Cernobbio. I really wanted to walk there and look at the villa. I wrote a letter to this address info@villadeste. it with different questions: how and when can you visit the gardens on the dates we need, and this was Easter week.
And I received an answer, it's just that there will be no visits to the gardens at this time, that is, it is not offered, BUT! they can reserve us a place in the villa's restaurant for 300.00 euros per person, where various delicacies will be offered, beautiful Easter eggs will be displayed, etc. And only within the framework of this event will it be possible to see both the gardens and the villa from the outside. 900.00 euros for three people for viewing the garden and the villa + dinner, it seemed a bit expensive to me, we decided that we would survive if we didn’t see this particular villa.
In general, on the coast, of course, there are a lot of different villas, to see them all - there was no goal for lack of time, therefore, as I wrote a little higher, we go to Como, or rather to Brunate Como.
Como, Brunate, lighthouse Faro Voltiano, Kathedrale Santa Maria Maggiore
After reading about the Brunato lift, it was immediately decided to write it into the plans. We love all kinds of cable cars and funiculars.
Before passing even 20 meters, cars appeared towards us, and not just one, as many as 4. We had to back up. Somehow they parted ways. And here we are at the top.
The pizzeria was closed tightly, the restaurant also did not work, no one was waiting for tourists here, on a holiday, and even in the rain. And the summer terrace near the restaurant is good, it offers views of a completely different part of the lake than from the lighthouse. By the way, we went to this hotel and asked if it was possible to dine at their restaurant? No, they say the restaurant is only for hotel guests. Well, no, no, in such cases I always have sandwiches and thermoses with tea and coffee with me. Already taught by experience to take food with you, otherwise you won’t be able to eat anywhere, like this time.
Signs lead to the Volta lighthouse, you need to climb a very wide staircase with almost flat steps, it’s not difficult, even I could do it.
The lighthouse has a height of 29 meters, was opened in 1927 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Graf von Volta, an Italian physicist born in Como. I think that this name is familiar to all of us from school.
There is an observation deck around, but the view from it, especially on the right side, is somewhat limited due to overgrown bushes and trees, so nothing can be seen from there at all. The second observation room is on the lighthouse itself, you need to climb the stairs inside it, but when we were there, the door, alas, was locked. I would not say that the views are very gorgeous, beautiful, yes, but no more.
By the way, this Albergo Paradiso Sul Lago hotel has a very nice summer terrace, right with views of Lake Como, but I would never live in this hotel, given the road leading to it.
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Light drizzling rain did not stop, so we didn’t manage to walk around the city of Como, but we still visited the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
There were many impressions both from the interior and from the exterior, the magnificent Cathedral. I really liked the facade, which depicts the natives of Como Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger. You can immediately see the ancient majestic monumental building, which began to be built at the end of the 13th century and completed 3.5 centuries later.
There are beautiful paintings inside, but the photos are somehow blurry. There were not very many people, so you could walk around and see everything, no one interfered with anyone. Once again, a beautiful cathedral, worth a visit.
After that, they also wanted to call at Villa Geno Como, at Viale Geno, 12.22100 Como, but looking into my notes, I found out that her working hours are 12:00-15:00, we don’t have time and drove along the lakeshore to Bellagio with a mandatory stop in Nesso.
To be continued. . .
