Ok, so if you've been following my adventure log you've probably guessed that this is lake Como in the North of Italy and it is. After a crazy day of travel and wandering through the lakeside village of Menaggio, Jens and I caught the ferry across the lake to Bellagio. It was simply stunning watching the sun set over the lake. |  |
 | Jens, being a mountain climber and ski mountaineer at heart normally stays away from the temperate terrain of lakeside hills and the like... but his knee is currently giving him a lot of trouble. So we got to hit the sort of terrain that I love this weekend (this isn't to say I don't like mountains, I love them, I just have a propensity for more temperate terrain... probably somehow linked to my southern Californian upbringing). |
The only way reasonable way to get around the Lake Como area is to use the boats. There are buses, but these are just not effective at crossing water (duh). |  |
 | The docks really added to the atmosphere of the area. |
Food!!! This is the largest Calzone (italian inside-out pizza) I have ever seen! Of course, I havn't seen that many calzone in my lifetime either, so this may not be saying very much. |  |
 | The Villa de Melzi, very lovely. Although, this was definitely a place not used to having backpackers wander through. I got a lot of icy looks as I went wandering through the gates with this collosal pack. I have got to admit, fearless leader, underwood, and linda are right... an internal frame pack is definitely the way to go - especially for treks that are not multi-day mountain walks. |
As the sun was rising, rays of light trickled through the leaves and made for some very interesting views of the statues in the villa gardens. |  |
 | The Villa De Est. I stayed here with my mom nearly eighteen years ago. Much smaller than I remembered it. |
So many villas, so little time. |  |
 | Jens had a bit of fun with my digital camera and snapped this photo of me while eating. As you can probably tell from my expression, it is not safe to try to get between me and my food... especially after a long weekend of walking! |