Italy 1 - 10 Things I Love About Lake Como!

Last year I fell in love with Lake Como. So we went back.

Lake Como sits in the North of Italy, very very close to the Swiss Border. It has some famous food places very close by including the Valtellina Valley which produces very famous reds (from the Nebbiolo grape) and the wonderful cured beef product, Bresola. And in the next valley over from the town of Verrena, which sits on the Lake, is the Taleggio Valley, which of course produces the famous cheese of the same name. MMMMMM. Foodie paradise once more!

But, readers, Lake Como is not just all about food, oh no, there's so much more... so here are the top 10 things I love about Lake Como...

1. It's bloody beautiful (pic 1,2,3 above)
That pretty much sums it up - Lake Como is an extraordinarily beautiful place, a huge lake in the shape of an inverted Y, with the most magnificent old villas and town sitting right on the lake's edge. Lake Como is home to villages such as Menaggio, Bellagio, and beautiful Varenna (see further down). Indeed the lake is a breathtaking vision from whichever town you're in, and is so hopelessly romantic, you can't but fall in love with it.

2. Rockmelon Gelato (pic 4)
The gelato in Italy is to-die-for. One eats it up to 3 times a day in summer...and on Lake Como it's soooooooooo hot, that you really need to partake that often. We did! Last year, I fell head-over-heels in love with Liquirizia (licorice) gelato from one place in Como, and returned there on our first night to indulge, but alas, they had changed it from its sorbet texture to a true gelato, and was much creamier...NOT HAPPY JAN. But, not one to hold a grudge (yeah, right), I decided to use the opportunity to try new flavours and stumbled on the divinity of ROCKMELON GELATO....oh myyyyyyyyyyyyy....so yum, refreshing, sweet, light, rockmelony...the perfect foil for the summer heat of Lake Como...mmmmm. You see, when a door closes a window is opened!

3. The Lido (pic 5)
Now this is a wacky concept. If you ever see the sign Lido near water in Italy, it's a private swimming area/pool/sunbaking place! You pay your money to enter, you can rent a towel, sun lounge, umbrella, change room, whatever you want really, and there are bars and restaurants...and you just sort of hang for an hour or a whole day. We spent an afternoon there. We had a deal with our hotel, and were given choice spots right on the lakefront. We lounged away the afternoon reading, drinking, eating, and sunbaking...it was odd though, because you had to use the pool to swim and not the Lake (it was too close to Como, the major city, and so too polluted!). But let me tell you, it is a VERY civilised way to enjoy the "beach" (The Princess was in heaven - she didn't have to get her hair wet!)!

4. Bresola (pic 6)
This is that air dried beef product I mentioned earlier - it is so thinly sliced and silky, it just melts in your mouth...it's very lean, so you get intense beef flavour. You can see it there above served with some local goat's cheese. We had this dish as a shared entree (it was absolutely spectacular) at a Como restaurant, but it's not getting a plug from me because the dessert was AWFUL, really really AWFUL (a cardinal sin, made worse by the arrogance of the Front of House)!

5. Foxtown (pic 7)
Well the Princess was in heaven! Foxtown sits about an hour from Milan and 20 minutes from Como, just over the Swiss border. It's a "superbrand" outlet centre. Picture an outlet centre for Prada, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Gucci, Bally, Valentino, Ferragamo...got it?? Well it exists here, and it is INSANE. The Princess had been saving her pennies for 9 months to go wild...and as you can see from the pic above, she went a little um...CRAZY!!! Definitely worth a visit. If you get there in August, though, the bargains are even better as almost everything is further slashed - we were here in July this year, but in August last year, and August was FULL of barrrrrrrrrrrrgains!!!!

6. Pesto Gnocchi (pic 8)
There's a little restaurant right on the water in Menaggio, just next to the Menaggio Lido (which has an amazing bar btw), called Red Bay (it even has a putt putt golf thingy joined to it). The Pesto Gnocchi is just such a treat, really special little round surprises that make you go all gooey all over. Their Tiramisu is also the best Tiramisu I've ever eaten, it does that same all over body gooey thing! If you don't like either of those things, well the pizza looked fab, and honestly, the view is something else.

7. The old town of Como
Como is "the" city of Lake Como. Historically it's where the region's industry was established, and the old town is just gorgeous. Loads and loads of atmospheric cobbled alleys and squares to explore, with surprisingly great shopping, wonderful gelato bars, restaurants, and GREAT SHOE SHOPS! There is the beautiful Cathedral in the middle of the town, and also a fernicular, which is a must. Make sure you give yourself a couple of days to explore this little gem (gosh, I sound like a reporter on Getaway!)

8. Il Gato Nero - "The Black Cat" (pic 9,10,11)
This is a famous local restaurant. The woman in my favourite linen frock shop in Como insisted we go. You have to book. Apparently it's very cool, and it's quite common to see Mr Clooney there (he lives close by). The restaurant sits high on the hills just out of Cernobbio, which is only about 20 minutes out of Como. You actually have to wind your way up the hill, park at the top, then the Parking Manager brings you back down to the restaurant in his little car! I'd never seen that before, ever! Now, the food is wonderful, make sure you get a table outside, though, it's far too hot in summer to eat good food in an unairconditioned restaurant. And take your time, enjoy it all. A special mention here was the Mint Gnocchi (subtle flavour, and deliciously wacky) and of course the jars of licorice and biscotti that were placed on the table just before dessert! We didn't know whether we could dig in or not - so we watched the locals around us, and just went for it! A great night was had by all of us. You can see the three pics above - the view, The Princess and HOS, and of course the yum licorice and biscotti jars...with someone's princessy looking hand dipping in!

9. Varenna (pic 12,13,14,15)
Sigh. Just the word makes me wistful. HOS and I spent a week here last year after the cycling was all finished. It's just magical. A small village, right on the Lake, a few divine restaurants...sigh...wonderful gelato...sigh again. We took The Princess for an afternoon of swimming and gelato. We drove to Menaggio then took the ferry across for a couple of blissful hours, mellowing in the cool lake water and the wonderful gelato. This place was made for romantic souls.

10. Close to Matteo (pic 16)
One of the best things ever about Lake Como, is that it's just over an hour and a half's drive to the best chef on the planet, Matteo, and his gobsmackingly wonderous restaurant...see next post!!!!