Five-Town Progressive Tour Around Lake Como

"Un giorno senza un sorriso e un giorno perso."

(A day without a smile is a day that is lost.)

Charlie Chaplin

(Written on the wall of Ristorante Il Sorriso (The Smile), Argegno!)

As on every day this trip, there were lots of smiles!  After devouring Amy's delicious frittata (which she created from the week's leftovers in the fridge ... zucchini, tomatoes, eggs, avocados, etc.), we were ready for our final day of exploring bella Lago di Como!  One of the guys (Jerry? Palmer?) had suggested that we do a PROGRESSIVE all-day tour, seeing as much, stopping at as many towns, riding on as many ferries as possible.  We all thought that was a great idea ... and so we began:

Argegno Ferry Landing

Villa Carlotta

10:10 am ferry from Argegno to Villa Carlotta where we wandered about the magnificent gardens and statuary-filled villa for a couple of hours. 

After we re-united with Palmer (he has a way of wandering off and then magically reappearing!), we strolled along a short segment of the Lake Como Greenway ... from Villa Carlotta, past the very fancy and extremely grand "GRAND HOTEL" ... with its swimming pool floating on the lake and its guests lounging on beach chairs ... to the Tremezzo ferry landing where we ...

Bellagio Lakefront

Hopped on the ..... ferry to Bellagio ("The Pearl" of Lake Como) which was bustling with many, many visitors, especially along the lakefront Via Giuseppe Garibaldi.  Time for lunch!  We chose a pretty restaurant, close to the water ... great for people watching ... the Hotel Suisse.  Our waiter looked just like Morgan Freeman and was every bit as classy and dapper.  Food (and vino bianco) were delish ... I had an insalata mista (the fresh greens and veggies are so tasty ... served just with local olive oil and balsamic) and baked onion soup in a pretty copper tureen.  The

restroom was one of our nicest ... real cloth towels at the sink! After lunch, we split up for a while ... some off to shop, some off to take pics, I strolled down the oleander-lined walkway toward the grounds of the lovely Villa Melzi.  Soon it was time (I kept sneaking peeks at other people's watches ... remember my watch battery died back in mid-May!) to meet up at the Ponte #1 for our 4 pm ferry to ...

Menaggio

Menaggio!  This was a new town for me and we were a bit unsure where to go when we left the ferry dock ... we followed the steam of other visitors and eventually wound up at Menaggio's lovely waterfront park, shops and piazza.  Believe it or not, vendors were in the process of setting up yet another town market ... an evening one along the lakefront ... no food this time, but lots of handmade crafts, jewelry and linens.  We saw people eating gelato and asked them for directions to the local gelateria ... since having our daily gelato was on the itinerary for Menaggio!  Gelateria Edo did NOT disappoint!  On the way back to the ferry landing, we visited two churches (located practically next door to each other) ... The Church of Saint Martha and The Church of San Stefano ... both plain on the exterior, both beautiful inside. Then it was time to head back to the ferry landing for our final cruise of the day ....

Took the 6:00 pm ferry back to Argegno ... it stopped at several other towns along the way, but we had the luxury of just staying on board and enjoying the ride (and our gin and tonics!) all the way back to Argegno.  I took my drink to the upper deck where I found a lovely bench in the shade ... the perfect spot to watch the beauty of the lake, mountains and sky pass by ... and contemplate the delightful week we have enjoyed here. It has been such a wonderful gift!

We'd planned our "Farewell Dinner" for 8:00 pm ... but since we didn't get back to Argegno 'til after 7 pm, I stopped by Il Sorriso and asked our friendly server, Willie, if we could move our reservation to 8:45 pm.  NO problem!  So, we all had time for a brief rest (and some attention to my hair which has been covered by my La Foce Gift Shop hat all day)!   Have I mentioned how bright it stays in the evening here?  The sunset

was just beginning as we strolled to the restaurant at 8:45 pm..  Mid-June, so close to the summer solstice, is the perfect time to travel in Italy ... you have so many hours to enjoy before it's time for dinner!

And our last dinner in Argegno dinner was wonderful ... lots of local seafood ... lots of kind attention from Willie and the lovely female owner of Il Sorriso.  They took this pic of us to add to their wall of happy, smiling customers ... and we definitely fit well into that group!

Tomorrow:  Farewell to Le Vele and on to Milano!