Before jumping into our final full day on Lake Como, I forgot a very important detail in my previous blog post. Becca and I had a celebrity sighting at Heathrow! I saw Rebel Wilson walk past me while heading through security (and about lost my mind, I was tongue-tied)! Becca didn’t believe me until we saw her walking straight toward us . As she walked by, I leaned toward her and very discreetly said, “This is literally the highlight of my day!” To which she responded, “How sweet! I’m headed back to LA and I’ve been up since 2 am, so I look terrible.” We immediately responded with, “Same, and no you do not!” We both exchanged “safe travels” and we let her get on her way without creating a frenzy around her by asking for a selfie (a decision I regret at this very moment!). She was SO nice and looked amazing.
Now on to our last full day in this beautiful place. We took the ferry over to Bellagio and spent the morning walking all around this lovely town. We had the obligatory gelato and people watched from a sidewalk cafe while drinking Aperol Spritzes.
We arranged for a four-hour afternoon boat tour of the lake, and our captain picked us up at the Bellagio pier. We couldn’t have asked for better weather – a sunny, warm, and gorgeous day!
It’s difficult to comprehend the massive size of Lake Como. The water covers 56 square miles, and is the deepest lake in Italy. Surprisingly, Como is the third largest lake (hard to believe there are two others larger than this. To put it in perspective, we spent nearly four hours non-stop on the lake and truly covered less than 1/4 of it!
We had hoped to stop and tour the grounds of Villa del Balbianello, a 17th-century villa built on the site of an ancient Franciscan monastery. Sadly it was closed so we could only view it from the water. It is most famous for appearances in both James Bond’s Casino Royale and Star Wars – Attack of the Clones.
We also passed George & Amal Clooney’s villa. Much to our disappointment, they did not appear to be home. We had visions of sharing a glass of vino with George (ok, maybe I had visions…).
If you find yourself in Lake Como, don’t hesitate to book a private boat tour. There is no better way to see the gorgeous Lombardy region of Italy. You’ll be amazed by the endless shoreline and dozens of quaint waterfront towns and villages sprinkled with breathtaking villas nearly everywhere you look.
After returning to our hotel, we ventured to the main square in Menaggio for a pre-dinner cocktail. Our waiter didn’t speak a lick of English, which led to my Moscow Mule being more of a triple-shot Vodka martini with fresh lime! Needless to say, I was slap-happy by the time dinner rolled around.
We enjoyed a casual dinner at Osteria il Pozzo, where we had delicious Cavatelli with pesto tomato cream sauce. Then off to bed for our early morning departure to St. Moritz – our first stop in Switzerland!
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