Lake Como

View from our room.

On a vacation like this I like to see as much as I can. We did a lot of walking and a lot of driving. So, at the end of the trip it is nice to relax so you don't feel exhausted when you get home. In Italy my favorite place to end a trip is at Lake Como.

Lake Como is not far from Milan which makes it easy to get to the airport. It is also one of the most beautiful places in Italy with the lake and alps side by side. The lake is in the shape of a "Y" and is huge. You can drive around the lake or tour by boat. I like to stay in a town called Malgrate which is at the end of one of the short legs of the "Y". The reason why I like Malgrate is that it is right on the water facing the lake with the city of Lecco on the other side and the alps beyond that. It makes for a beautiful view. In the morning you can watch the wind surfers and kite surfing as you walk along the water. Later in the morning you can go into Lecco for shopping, dining and siteseeing.

We stayed at the Hotel Villa Giulia, Valmadrera which is right on the water with incredible views. More on the hotel later as well as details on what to see and do in the area..

After three days at the lake we were relaxed and ready for the flight home.

Lake Como 

Montepulciano

Leaving the Amalfi Coast we took two days to get to Lake Como. We decided to stay in Montepulciano for the night. The drive to Lake Como from Amalfi was about ten hours and Montepulciano was exactly half way.



Montepulciano is a medieval and renaissance town in the province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits atop a ~2000 ft ridge and is known for it's food and wine. There is a walking street just below our hotel with wine shops, restaurants and artisan shops. If we were staying longer I would have explored the many wine shops and restaurants.

Our hotel, the Hotel La Terrazza di Montepulciano was quite a find. It sits up high in the town and is close to the main walking street. Driving there can be tricky. We had a hard time driving through the small streets and actually had to park the car down the hill and walk up. One we were there we met our host, Roberto, and everything changed. He had reserved two parking spots in front of his hotel and took me down in his car to show us the way back. Following him was a lot better than our navigation system.

Roberto and his wife made our stay very enjoyable. They are both so nice. We met an American from Texas that knew Roberto and had stayed at his hotel seven years ago. He decided to retire in Montepulciano and never regrets the decision. For breakfast the next day we not only had breakfast but we had a feast. We had pastry freshly baked by his wife, meats and cheeses, yogurt, fruit and any kind of coffee we wanted. Roberto takes a lot of pride in his hotel and it shows. I wish we had more time to stay there.

Roberto also showed us the easiest way to get back on the highway by driving me outside the town himself. I don't know where we could have received better service. Please consider Montepulciano and Roberto's hotel if you are in the area. If you want to have a great wine experience Montepulciano would be a great base for a Tuscany vacation.

Views from Montepulciano

The Emerald Grotto, Amalfi Coast

Sometimes while traveling you stumble into the most amazing sites. We did this on our visit to the Amalfi Coast. On our stay in Atrani we had parked our car in a garage dug into the rock cliff between Atrani and Amalfi. From the garage there is a tunnel that takes you to the city of Amalfi. We decided to walk there and see the sites. Amalfi has a nice port and ferry's leave there regularly. Our thought was to maybe catch a ferry for a ride in the Mediterranean. However, when we got there we saw a sign for a 1 hour tour to the Emerald Grotto for 10 euro. We decided to try that and wasn't disappointed. 

The tour costs only 10 euro per person and consists of a 20 minute boat ride up the coast, 20 minutes inside the grotto and 20 minutes back to Amalfi. The boat is covered but there are seats in the sun. That way on a very hot day you are not in the sun. The Grotto was at one time a cave about 6000 years ago. When the sea rose it filled with sea water and the minerals in the cave gave the water a emerald color. Inside the grotto they have row boats that hold about 20 people and a guide will row you around the grotto as he tells you about the history of the grotto. One interesting thing was when he stopped and splashed the water with his oar. The water seemed to glow as he splashed it.

After the tour we had a nice boat ride back to Amalfi. If you are in the area I would recommend this tour. If you want, you can also get there by car and the price to get into the grotto is 5 euro.

Boat ride to grotto

Inside the grotto

Water seems to glow

Amalfi Coast

View from our apartment

After Pompeii we drove to the Amalfi Coast. I don't mind driving in another country and most of the time the roads are as good or better than in the states. This drive stressed me out. The road to the coast and along the coast is narrow and winding. You also have full size buses coming at you on hairpin turns. The coast is beautiful but maybe getting there another way would have been better.

Once we got to our destination of Atrani and I was able to relax and it was worth the drive. The Amalfi Coast is beautiful with towns dotted up and down that go all the way down to the water. Atrani is one of the smaller towns and very charming. It has a nice beach and a town square with many cafes.

We stayed again in an Airbnb and had a great experience. Our host met us at one of the cafes and walked us up to the apartment. The apartment had a great view but to get that view you had to walk about 280 steps to get to the front door. Because of that we left the suitcases in the car and only brought up what we needed. We had a private terrace that looked down on the town and the coast, very beautiful. We sat on the terrace and drank wine and grappa while enjoying the view.

Atrani doesn't have much parking and you can't park in the town overnight. However, between Atrani and Amalfi there is a parking garage dug into the rock with plenty of parking.

Beach at Atrani

Evening view

Atrani at night

Beautiful Atrani sunset

Relaxing breakfast in Atrani

Pompeii

Inside the visitor center

After Rome we drove down to see Pompeii. I always recommend buying tickets in advance for museums. I didn't take my own advice this time and the line was long to buy tickets. If that happens check to see if they have a will call line for tickets purchased online. Pompeii had one and there was no one in it. I went online using my phone and purchased our tickets, went up to the will call window and received our tickets. Total time was under 5 minutes.

Once inside we went to the visitor center first. In there we saw artifacts including molds of people and animals inside. I would start there before going outside. Outside there is so much to see that you can spend a whole day there. Interesting facts are the roads had stones going across with spacing for cart wheels. The purpose was to clean the streets they would flood them. The stone were for you to cross without getting wet. Also, if you wanted to see how life was really like back then you can see bakeries, villas, temples and amphitheaters that are well preserved. Some actually have paintings and mosaics preserved.

They have cafeterias in the park and it is a good idea to take a break and have food and beverages.

Pompeii is just south of Naples and is easy to get to. Parking is 10 euro and a short walk up the hill to the entrance.

More sites from our Rome visit

Our Rome trip was awesome. We were able to see most everything we wanted to see and was able to relax at a few cafes along the way. We saw the major sites like the Colosseum and the Vatican, and also the Forum, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and Pantheon.

I'll leave Rome with a collection of pictures.

Pantheon at night

Trevi Fountain

Outside Vatican Museum

Vatican

Pantheon during day

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Street cafe by our apartment

Piazza Navona

Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers

Inside the Pantheon

The Vatican

We spent our Saturday morning in Rome at the Vatican and St Peters. Once again, I want to suggest that buying your tickets online before your trip is the way to go. Otherwise you could be standing in a very long line.

The Vatican is a very large museum with artifacts collected from all around the globe. The Sistine Chapel is dangled in front of you as the prize at the end of the museum tour. Pace yourself as it is a lot of walking but the exhibits are well worth it. One of my favorites is the map room with maps of different areas around the Mediterranean as it existed years ago. As you walk through the exhibits you finish with the apartments of the popes and then end up in the Sistine Chapel. The time to tour the Vatican is up to you. You can spend a few hours or a full day.

After the Vatican we then went to St Peters. From the Sistine Chapel there is a way you can go directly to St Peters but we choose to walk around the block and go in that way. You don't need a ticket and there is a long line but the line moves rather quickly. One word of advice is since it is a religious site there is a dress code and women are not allowed to enter with bare shoulders. You may think you are ok but they won't let you in with bare shoulders. If you are all ready there buy a cheap scarf from a vendor and wrap it around your shoulders.

For me, I like St Peters with all it's artwork over the Vatican but it is just my preference.

Swiss Guard