Lake Como...part 3..

29 comments

I watched Monty Don’s tour of Italian Gardens,yesterday,which I had taped on sky plus..the ideal time to watch on a rainy day..stunning..and it reminded me,that I had the last part of our holiday here,to show you…promise,its the last bit..!It was lovely to see the gardens and scenery,..Villa Carlotti,and the one in Bellagio..(last blogs and pics)..sadly,we didn’t have time to visit them,but walked past them..and Monty showed how lovely they were..almost as good as,..without the walking..,in the heat..!
These are the other two places we visited on the Lake..via the ferry..The first one is called,Menaggio..not far from where we were staying..a pretty place,so here we go…

A lovely promenade to walk on,and nice floral displays..these ladies were painting the scenery,at their art class..I didn’t want to intrude on their concentration,so you can’t see their work..but it was interesting to see their interpretion of the lake and mountains..they had a lot of pink tones in them..which,when we really looked at the scenery,through their paintings,.we saw these too..although we would never have noticed them otherwise..

This monument is a tribute to the women of this area,who were silk weavers..a much sought after product of Italy..I love the figure of a lady,carved into the silkworm…and how nice for them to be remembered in this way..

It was time to leave here,so we caught the ferry,back over to the other side,to visit another lovely place.This is called Varenna..and we are now back to the hilly side of the lake..

Onwards and upwards ..again !

On arriving at the top,the Church bells started ringing..very loudly….

..and this is why..we were lucky enough to see this young lady with her father,waiting to go into the church for her wedding…are you filling up? I was !

A leisurely stroll back down,and time to catch the ferry back acroos the lake to our resort..

This last photo,is of the only organised trip we went on..to Lake Maggiore,passing through Switzerland,en route..and back into Italy.This lake is situated in both countries..We arrived at Stresa,and then took a boat to what is known as Fisherman’s Island,where we had lunch..bypassing this amazing island called ‘Isolabella’.
This was visited by Monty Don,in his series too..a very quirky garden indeed,and we would have loved to have been able to visit this…

Well,that’s it..holiday over..but we packed lots in to our week..and lovely weather to do it in..hope you enjoyed it..

13 Jun, 2011
12 likes

Comments

Stickitoffee

good holidays are too quickly over ~ this was lovely, thank you! takes me back to sunny, blue sky italy ~ i love the lakes, never thought i would but they are beautiful, we may go back one day!! if we save up!!

13 Jun, 2011

Annella

That was lovely, thank you Bloomer....Better get back to work now Lol

13 Jun, 2011

Rogi

Lovely photo´s Bloomer. It reminds me of the camping holidays we had in Italy in the 1970´s down near the lakes. Thanks for the memories.

13 Jun, 2011

Cinderella

Yes, thanks for the memories Sandra, lovely blog as always. Stunning scenery.

13 Jun, 2011

Bloomer

Thank you Sticki..don't be buying anymore plants..you will soon have enough in your money box! :o)

Cheers Annella..flattery will get you a long way..but you still can't have my Chimney pot !ha ha.

Glad you have good memories too,Rogi..I like it even more now,looking back..:o)

Thank you,Cinders,,that is nice of you..Lovely to have our memories..:o)..just moved your Heuchera'Liquorlady'..my how she has grown..adding another pic..

13 Jun, 2011

Stickitoffee

i was going to say that i hadnt bought any for a bit but then i succumbed to 2 that were a good price in the supermarket. other than that i have been good ~ i went to a fuchsia society meeting and bought 3 for 60p each and then won 2 more and was given a little one to grow on ~ i think that is very good value!!

its funny about the looking back bit ~ i do that with my photos and not only do i enjoy it again but i think i like it even more!!

13 Jun, 2011

Teds

Lovely pictures Bloomer!, After my mum pasted away, I took my Dad to Italy every year for 5 years. We had such a great time! just Dad and Me, we went all over Italy and one year we stayed at the lakes. He is 90 this year and can no longer walk very well so are holidays have to be confined to England now. Your Photos Brought back some lovely memories thank you for sharing them with us :^)

13 Jun, 2011

Clarice

Loved the blog and photos very much,thanks for showing us.

13 Jun, 2011

Stickitoffee

i was wondering if the lakes would be suitable for someone like my mum who cant walk very far ~ she could go on the ferry and enjoy it and also look out on the lake if i picked the right hotel?? do you think it would work??

13 Jun, 2011

Yorkshire

really enjoyed your blog again Bloomer, was going to reply to Sticki's but thought I would wait to see what you have to say to her,

13 Jun, 2011

Paulsgarden

What beauty scenes you have captured - looked a great holiday with nice trips around. looks so clean too there - lovely holiday for you and very nice blog :):):)

13 Jun, 2011

Madaboutgar..

looks lovely and inspiring, makes me want to go for sure....

13 Jun, 2011

Izzy123gym

Oh, you took me back, Bloomer. I spent a fortnight on Lake Maggiore some years ago..and visited 'Isolabella' amongst many other beautiful gardens. It was 95 degrees when we were there...with 95% humidity. Oh dear, that part I did NOT enjoy!

Stunning gardens...never to be forgotten however!

Thank you!

13 Jun, 2011

Terratoonie

Stunning pics. making a lovely blog :o)

13 Jun, 2011

Stroller

Never been to any part of Italy Bloomer, but I can see from your pics the scenery is stunning . Watching the Monty Don series they like many other european countries have kept a lot of their charming buildings.

13 Jun, 2011

Bloomer

I will let you off with you spending more money on plants Sticki..a bargain you couldn't refuse..:o)
I don't see why some resorts wouldn't be suitable for your mum,..we stayed on the flat side of the lake..and the hotel had quite a few guests who weren't able to walk far...and one or two were in wheelchairs..good size lifts,and plenty of them..even up to the outdoor terrace bar,to sit in the evening.I'm not sure about the ferries,as there are steps to get up from the car deck..and a gangplank on the smaller ferries..but if she can manage those,I would say she would be fine..Bellagio,across the lake is lovely and flat at the bottom, she wouldn't need to climb up to the top,if she couldn't manage..and the resort Menaggio..shown above is all flat..( on the same side as ours)..Varenna has a decent flat area too..all have lots of seating areas..wish we used a lot ! Lol.Hope this helps..

13 Jun, 2011

Bloomer

Teds,that must have been lovely for you and your dad..It really shows how close you both are..I had a bit of a lump in my throat reading it,as I was very close to my dad too..so know just what you mean..It's lovely he still wants to go on Holiday,..he must be very young at heart..:o)
and thank you,glad you enjoyed it..

Thank you Clarice..we enjoyed it so much..I think you will have gathered that Lol.

Thanks Yorkshire..some more memories to look back on..I agree with Sticki,and you will feel the same..we seem to enjoy it even more ,looking back at pics :o)

Cheers Paul..I am no photographer,but the ones I did take,I am pleased with..some of them are Russell's ,so we got a good mix between us..:o)

Thank you,Mag,,Get yourself off there,..you would love it..I would certainly recommend it,but then I am a sucker for Italy anyway...just love it :o)

Thank you Izzy..you know exactly what I mean then..:o)
Lucky you,going to Isolabella..I would have loved it there..We didn't see much of Stresa..is that where you stayed ? We just walked up to a little square,but it was so hot,we went to a little park area by the lake,and sat under the trees,till the coach came..we weren't expecting such high temperatures either..!

Thank you Terra,,glad you enjoyed it..stunning place..:o)

Thanks Stroller..I agree about the lovely buildings ,all over Italy..they seem to really respect their heritage..and you hardly ever see litter,or graffiti..,so refreshing..:o)

13 Jun, 2011

Amblealice

Smashing blog Sandra....always look forward to them:-))

13 Jun, 2011

Shirley_tulip

I agree with Amblealice ... and I'd quite like to be there right now! : o )))

13 Jun, 2011

Bloomer

Thank you,Lou..glad you enjoyed it..another one for you and Brian to think about ? thanks for your email..have replied..x
Thanks Shirley..remember us saying we wanted to go somewhere nice and sunny ..? this could be the place..Lol.

13 Jun, 2011

Pansypotter

Sandra the scenery and your pictures are fantastic, if ever we do get to go abroad I think Italy will be just the place for us, and how romantic to see the Bride going into that lovely church, like something in a film, we could also do with some of that lovely sunshine too!! Thanks for sharing;0))

13 Jun, 2011

Bloomer

Thank you,Carole..I think it would be the place for you and Harry too...It was lovely seeing the Bride,and we had just missed the bridesmaids..we saw the back of them,going into the church...I'm don't want to spoil the moment..but on a grey rainy day..like the ones you had on your holiday,in the Lakes,I bet it would look exactly the same ! ..Lol.

13 Jun, 2011

Izzy123gym

Yes..we stayed in Stresa and travelled to lots of gardens courtesy of the ferries. I loved the fact we didn't have a car at all in the Lakes! Unfortunately, the humidity gave me massive migraines...but it was still worth it!

Isolabella was unforgettable..I had loads of photos at one time...but my last laptop died...and I didn't have a back-up! Lesson learnt!

14 Jun, 2011