An hour from the busy city of Milan, Lake Como is a popular getaway for both Italians and tourists. We headed there last weekend for my birthday weekend. Although the weather was not ideal (rainy and overcast), it really did not matter as we wanted to do nothing other than relax and take in the sights in a leisurely pace. To accomplish this goal, we decided to stay at a family run bed and breakfast (our first experience at a B&B). Located in a sleepy hill town (Trezzone) on Lake Como, Villa Tres Jolie is an absolutely stunning stone property that was painstakinly restored by the owners about 6 years ago. This was not just a bed and breakfast but a retreat as it has multiple terraces overlooking the lake, a hot tube, a turkish bath, an extensive library, a complete gym, and mountain bikes for guest use. Dani and Giulio were a wonderful resource on the area and were always willing supply information or ideas. Schlopy even made friends with their dogs Judy and Dido.While it would have been very easy to not leave the B&B for the entire three days, we did manage to explore the area a bit. We travelled on the lake ferry to the small, quiet town of Varenna where we walked along the lake as well as the more posh town of Bellagio where we did some window shopping and had a great lunch. We also visited the medievel town of Chiavenna where we went for a short hike in the hills and enjoyed a wonderfully rich hot chocolate. On the last day, we drove the entire length of the lake through many small villages and finally saw the sun while bumming around the larger town of Como. The best part of the weekend was the fact that there was no big sight to see or artwork to stare at. We basically slept, relaxed, ate some (ok, lots!) great pizza, drank some wine, and enjoyed the scenery. Now I know why George Clooney loves this area so much!
Au Revoir.
