Autobahnanza

Saying goodbye to Italy

Our last day in Lezzeno was also our last day in Italy. How sad we were to leave behind the gelaterias, pizzerias, and, my personal favorite, the pasticceries. On our last day at the lakes we decided to see the lakes the way they were meant to be seen, by boat. We took a large boat (think part ferry boat, part small cruise boat). They have a neat system on the lakes where boats run north and south all day, stopping at all the little towns on the lake. From the boat we got a great view of Villa Balbionello, where part of the second (I think – Natalie Portman’s homeland) Star Wars was filmed. We took the boat to a small town called Tremezzo which housed the Villa Carlotta.




Villa Carlotta was part beautiful old house, part museum, and part botanical garden. After a busy day in bustling Milan, we were delighted to wander away a couple hours in the quiet gardens and splendid rooms. (Elaine & Maria, this brought back many good memories of our trip to England.) As it turns out Villa Carlotta was given as a wedding present to a German princess, Carlotta. Chris has promised me such a villa when we get home, and I told him our overgrown yard at 387 Wildwood doesn’t count!

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and sleeping in the sun on the dock of our hotel. The very cool waters of Lake Como were perfect for jumping in and splashing around. Certainly the hotel Aurora was difficult to leave the next morning.

posted by natalie @ 8:57 AM