Hand Luggage.

Malaga 2022

Back to Malaga for the third time! This time combined with a trip to the historic city of Grenada.

We stayed in the lovely SoHo Centre Apartments – very convenient for all the city’s sights.

Our first evening and day is just spent reacquainting ourselves with Malaga – a place that is starting to feel a little home away from home due to the number o times we have been now!

There’s the usual plethora of colourful wall art to keep me entertained

We manage to nab prime position on a relaxing catamaran cruise from Malaga bay.

Nothing but gentle sunshine and seabirds for a hour – blissful!

As the first day draws to a close we head up to the alcazaba to watch the sun set over the cityscape.

Cernobbio

Glamourous Cernobbio is reputed to be the haunt of Hollywood A lister George Clooney.

Sadly we didn’t spot the silver fox while we were there but you certainly see why he might want to live there.

Elegant and stylish, it’s another beautiful lakeside town.

Then we’ve made it to our third and final lake. Maggiore.

Staying in an actual castle in Baveno!

Sadly our only day there was a complete wash out so our epic Italian Odyssey ends here!

Pigra cable car

We’re doing a random roam around some of the lesser known towns alongside Lake Como today.

Every corner of the lake is used, whether as a tiny harbour or a makeshift shrine.

We stumble across the seemingly average town of Argegno but imagine our joy when we realise that there is a cable car! Woo hoo!

The tiny cable car rises up from Argegno to the little mountain hamlet of Pigra.

In a few minutes this dinky orange cab whisks you 653 meters to the town of Pigra offering you a spectacular view of the town of Argegno and Lake Como.

At the top there’s a whole village including this tasty little Pigra pit stop for pasta and a lot of Northern Soul tunes,

Villa Carlotta

Villa Carlotta is one of the most famous villas on Lake Como and she is a beauty!

Milanese marquis Giorgio Clerici decided to establish his country estate on ancestral lakeside land at Tremezzo. The estate was complete in its initial form by 1695.

His great-grandson Anton Giorgio Clerici inherited the family fortune, and completed the villa in 1745 but then used up the family wealth on a pet building project meaning the villa had to be sold.

In 1843, Princess Marianna, the wife of Prince Albert of Prussia, bought the property for 780,000 lira.

Princess Marianne gave the property to her daughter Charlotte in 1847 as a wedding present and the house was re-named Villa Carlotta.

The villa and grounds are located on the lakeshore at Tremezzo, facing the Bellagio peninsula.

The villa also has extensive grounds, and the botanical garden covers an area of about 20 acres consisting of several different sections.

Immediately around the villa, towards the lake are the Italian garden with cut hedges and pergolas with orange and camellia trees.

Then, to end the visit it can’t get more Italian than gelato by the lakeside!

Menaggio

Today’s lake trip is to Menaggio and one of the most famous villas on Lake Como – Villa Carlotta.

Menaggio has an elegant lake promenade that winds along the lake shore alongside flower beds and colourful houses.

Established by the Romans as a strategic settlement on the Via Regina road, it was fortified with walls, towers and castles

But our real reason for being here is its proximity to the village of Tremezzo, home to one of Lake Como’s finest villas. And here she is – the first glimpses of Villa Carlotta.

Waterfalls and mountains

Today sees us traversing some winding roads and checking out the more natural attractions of Lake Como.

We’ve got a little off the beaten track at bit now as we stumble across a natural attraction – the Bellano Orrido.

This is a natural gorge created 15 million years ago by the erosion of the River Pioverna and the Adda glacier which

Over the centuries this shaped the rock into gigantic potholes, dark ravines and suggestive caves.

Then we pop into Lecco on our way back.The town lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como and the Bergamo Alps rise to the north and east

Varenna

We’re up early and on a ferry over to Varenna. It’s a grey day though so not holding out much hope of good photos.

Varenna is a picturesque and traditional village, located on the eastern shore of Lake Como.

It looks a little Austrian with the mountains in the background.

Varenna’s lakefront, called Riva Grande, is lovely. Here you can find cafes, restaurants and ice cream parlors and more.

But the main attraction for me in Varenna is Villa Monastero. Once an old monastery, it later became a patrician residence.

There’s some lovely botanical gardens to explore in the grounds and the lakeside setting is just lovely.

You can also visit Casa Museo, a museum with four centuries of history characterized by refined decorations and furnishings.

Onto Lake Como

We’ve moved on from Lake Garda now and onto the next Italian lake on our hit list – Lake Como.

We’re staying in the popular resort of Bellagio for a few nights.

The view from our apartment is probably one of the best we have ever had!

Although sadly for lazy me, it did mean quite a walk down into Bellagio town centre which you can see down by the lake side!

Bellagio is often called the Pearl in the Crown of Lake Como and the view from promenade is quite nice.

However do not be fooled by these seemingly tranquil scenes . . it is a seething hellhole of tourist groups and cruise goers.

You can barely see the actually town itself during the day as it is literally wall to wall in shuffling humans.

Truly the biggest disappointment of our trip so far – although yes, I am aware of the irony of complaining as we too are part of the problem!

Taking a dip

Another out of order post – this should have gone out two days ago. . this triggers my slightly obsessive need to document trips in order!!

Another day and more beautiful lakeside towns to explore along Lake Garda’s shoreline.

First its the old glamourous town of Gardone Rivera. Once this was a sought after spot in years gone by and still has impressive hotels hugging the shoreline