Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

I will admit that I never heard of Lake Como until George Clooney bought a house there and made it famous. I was not exactly sure what to expect, but it was far more mountainous and Alpine-looking than I had thought.  From our hotel and walking around the city the day before, the town of Como and surrounding area reminded me very much of Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland.  In hindsight, that makes a lot of sense, seeing as Como sits only a few miles from the Swiss border.  During our welcome dinner the previous evening, Johnny told us that many people live in Como, or nearby, and then commute into Switzerland to work, given the vast difference in costs of living.  

It was Monday and this was our day to see the region.  Whereas the weather the previous day had been mostly sunny and warm, we awoke to clouds and fog hanging over the mountains that surround the lake.  Many people on our tour had only flown in the day before, so many were dragging when we gathered for breakfast.  The night prior, too, Johnny mentioned that our buses (note the plural) would be picking us up at 8:00am.  While we ate breakfast, I began to think about that.  I knew we were 36 people, but certainly we didn't need two buses, and I couldn't figure out how Johnny would narrate and "guide" us if we were split.  As we gathered in the square outside the hotel we realized that there was another Gate1 tour staying at the hotel on the opposite side of the plaza, and that they would be shadowing us all day.  The second bus was for their group and their guide. As I eyed the other tour, I noted the differences with our group. I was most likely the youngest member of our tour, with most folks looking to be in their 60's, with a few above 70.  The other tour group was much younger.  I figured out later that their tour would mirror ours all the way to Venice, but then they went the "traditional" route, and would hit Pisa and Rome.  It was more of an overview tour of the country, and that's to what I attributed their younger demographics.  

It was quite evident as soon as we departed and the actual touring began that Johnny was a very good guide.  Over the course of the trip we pieced together much of his life and experiences.  We guessed he was in his early 60's and had been a tour guide for almost 30 years.  He was from Rome, and still lives there with his partner, but had spent extended periods abroad, including a stint opening and running an Italian restaurant in London.  We learned, too, that his mother left his father (who was a pilot with the Italian airline Alitalia) later in the life and moved to New Zealand, where she still lives.  In fact, Johnny had gone to visit her in early 2020 and ended up getting stuck there for more than two years.  New Zealand completely shut down during Covid, for people coming and going, so there he sat.  Gate1 kept his position open for him, for which he was very appreciative.  We also learned that Gate1 has an enormous operation in Italy.  They run almost 20 different tours of the country and employ 80 tour directors.  For this month of September 2024, alone, there were 160 tours scheduled.  In fact, in addition to group now shadowing us in Como, we encountered other groups at various times in most of the cities we visited.

Our Tour Director, Johnny

Lake Como itself is rather narrow but very long, and is shaped like a wishbone, with Como sitting at the bottom of one of the wishbone legs.  We drove northward along the coast, which was dotted with beautiful stereotypical Italian villas, many of them built directly on the waterfront.  We did catch a glimpse of the villa that formerly belonged to George Clooney.  We learned that he sold it last year, on the insistence of his wife.  Their children were going to enter school, and she was adamant that they attend French schools, rather than Italian, so they bought a larger villa not too far away, in the south of France.  Evidently Brad Pitt bought a neighboring estate, too.

Driving Northward around Lake Como

The clouds did not dissipate, but rain held off...for now. We eventually boarded a boat, chartered for the two Gate1 groups, and we took about an hour-long cruise along the coast, and then over to the charming town of Bellagio, on the opposite side of the lake. Our tour took us past some amazing properties, many belonging to fashion icons and kings of industry.  For example, we saw a property belonging to Richard Branson (of Virgin fame).  It is only accessible by boat, and though he does not spend too much time there, he does rent it out for 16,000 Euros A NIGHT.  

Villa Belonging to a Member of the Gucci Family

Villa Belong to the Bugatti Family (of expensive car fame)

Church, in front of which Benito Mussolini was Hanged

Private Villa (used to Film Scene in Empire Strikes Back)

Home Owned by Richard (Virgin) Branson; Rents for $16,000 Euro a Night)

We disembarked in Bellagio, which even more so reminded me of a Swiss village.  It also looked a lot like Vale and Aspen, out in Colorado.  There were lots of tourists here, though it appeared that most of them were staying in the town, rather than visiting for a few hours, like us.  We had a short walking tour of the town, and then were let loose for a few hours of free time.  We explored, shopped, and were thinking about getting lunch when it started to rain.  The village is built on a hillside, with two main roads running parallel, one at the water's edge and another further up the hill.  Between the roads were about a dozen very narrow and very steep side streets, dotted with shops, bars, and restaurants.  People were flocking to restaurants on the main drag, which had large umbrellas set up outside, to avoid the rain.  Rather than fight those crowds, we dashed into the next side street and walked up to a very small restaurant partially built into the rocky hillside.  We got the last two seats in the very small dining room and were very happy to be sheltered, as we saw that the skies had opened up.  A small crowd of people gathered outside, hoping to gain entry, but there was no room in the proverbial inn.  

After we were back, Anna asked us about our favorite meal during the trip.  We both thought independently and then unanimously agreed it was this lunch in Bellagio.  It was a very simple meal, but both entrees were outstanding.  Katherine had lake perch with a lemon sauce and I had the famous caccia di pepe (which is fresh linguine pasta which is twirled in a depression made in a giant wheel of parmesan cheese).  The simply roll the pasta around the depression, and the cheese melts into and through the noodles.  SO GOOD!

First of Thousands of Scooters We'd See During the Trip

Boat Which Brought us to Bellagio

Bellagio

Fried Lake Perch Lunch

The rain had stopped by the time we finished, and we still had time for some more shopping before we met for the return boat journey.  We were back on the bus within 15 minutes, as we sailed directly across the lake, rather than taking the scenic tour we had on the way over.

Bellagio From Across the Lake

As a surprise, Johnny had advised us the night before to bring our passports with us today, as were going to take a side trip into Switzerland, to visit the city of Lugano.  The drive up, over, and at various times through the mountains was stunning.  I was unaware, but Switzerland has joined the Schengen agreement, which allows free transit between the signatory European nations, without need for documentation.  That said, Johnny explained that "depending on their mood," the border police might stop the bus and ask to see our passports, hence his request that we bring them.  In the end, we were not stopped, and we were later deposited in Lugano for a couple of hours free time.  It was a beautiful city, but there were very few tourists, which I attribute the staggering costs of things.

Lugano

Church of Santa Mario, in Lugano

Later in the afternoon, we returned to Como, but via the main highway, rather than the scenic route we'd taken earlier.  Within 30 minutes we were back in Italy and back at our hotel.

This trip included more dinners than most of our other tours.  Knowing that we were visiting heavily touristed areas, and not wanting to "waste" opportunities to enjoy good food, we'd planned ahead and made reservations for each of our free nights.  This was one such evening.  I'd already learned when making all of the reservations that most restaurants don't even open until 7:00pm, and we were told that most Italians don't eat dinner until closer to 9:00pm.  They are not as bad as the Spanish, but still it is too late for us.  We arrived at our designated restaurant at exactly 7:00pm and were given a nice table outside.  Only a few tables were occupied, but soon a steady stream of couples arrived, all of whom were turned away, as they had no reservation.  I can only assume that they reserve tables, which you can have as long as you please, and they don't allow people to just wait.  It became obvious during our tour, too, that they were never in a rush to move us along in restaurants.  We invariably had to ask to pay, and even then it took awhile before they came to settle up.  It does, however, make for very relaxed dining.

Como's Cathedral, on our walk to dinner

My First Lemonchello Spritz

Our meal was excellent, and we enjoyed some pre-dinner spritzes and excellent wine.  It was, luckily, a very short walk back to our hotel, which helped, as we still had to sort our suitcases and prepare to depart Como for Venice the next morning.