JT&DY in Europe : Menaggio & Lake Como

Menaggio, Lake Como

Menaggio, Lake Como

It was a very hot summer’s day when we took the ferry from Bellagio to Menaggio, a small village on the northern side of Lake Como.

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Safe mooring in small marina.

Safe mooring in small marina.

This small Marina is near the centre of the village.

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Recycling centre on the foreshore

Recycling centre on the foreshore

Right beside the marina is a very interesting Recycling Centre. There are several different bins for different types of products to be recycled. Pressing down on the front foot platform opens the bin. The holes inside the bins correspond to the size of the product. The recycled waste drops down into larger bins below. Restaurants and businesses have keys to open the back of the bins for larger amounts of waste.  We thought this was an excellent idea.

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Clear instructions on each collection bin.

Clear instructions on each collection bin.

Clear visual instructions were given on the top of each bin. The message here was not to put bottle tops in with the bottles.

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The main square, Menaggio.

The main square, Menaggio.

Each small lakeside village has a square used for market days, for getting together for festivals and for restaurants.

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The main pedestrian street leading to the church

The main pedestrian street leading to the church

David leads the way up a short pedestrian street from the square to the main church.  In fact there are two churches in the street, both catholic but both quite different. It seemed amazing to have two churches just 50 m apart but I guess that allows for choice.  Church is such a very important part of life for the village people here and a visit to a village without a visit to the church, is not really a visit to the village.

We went first to the church on the right hand side …. the one with the rose window.

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Simple interior of church

Simple interior of the smaller church

We were pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of this church. We were also pleasantly surprised by the note from the Bishop welcoming us as tourists to enjoy the church. In other churches we have been told… don’t do this, don’t do that … no welcome at all.

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One of the two sculptures in this church

One of the two sculptures in this church

Churches in these old villages are wonderful museums of art and sculpture since churches were great patrons of both artists and sculptors. This sculpture of the Madonna was beautiful in its simplicity, the folds in the material particularly well depicted.

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The much more ornate larger church

The much more ornate larger church

The larger Church, further up the road, was much more ornate inside, but still welcoming.  Walls and ceilings are covered in murals or in beautiful Italian marble.

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The stoning of a sinner depicted in the mural above the altar.

Close up of the mural above the altar.

As in many old churches, some of the murals depicted horrific scenes.  I wondered if this one depicted the stoning of a sinner.  Or was it meant to visualise the saying that” he who is without sin should cast the first stone.”  Perhaps it can be either but it was obviously an important message of the time as it is above the altar.  I was left thinking of the recent news stories of the stoning of women in Muslim countries in this day and age.

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The ceiling and much of the walls are covered in murals.

The ceiling and much of the walls are covered in murals.

There were many more murals painted on the ceiling and walls

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A much more traditional statue of the Madonna and child.

Madonna and child.

This was a much more traditional sculpture of the Madonna and Child. Again the material and drapery are beautifully crafted. The surround was made of small gold and glass tiles.

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Marble font

Marble font

The font and several of the pillars are crafted from beautiful Italian marble.

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No-one around. Shops were closing for siesta.

No-one around. Shops were closing for siesta.

Back out on the street we are amazed to see there were no people. It was now siesta time and the shops were shutting up. But two small food shops remained open; one sold gelato and the other was a deli. We succumbed to the enticement of a cold ice cream on this extremely hot day. And then we checked out the deli.

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Any guesses what these are?

Any guesses what these are?

This is my abstract photo for the day. Do you know what it is?

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How do they get the pasta coloured like this?

Tagliatelle is the right answer!

How do they get pasta coloured like this?

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We had really enjoyed this short walk in one of the smaller lake side villages.  Next day we took the ferry right down the northern arm of Lake Como and just relaxed and enjoyed the views for a couple of hours.  Here are a few of my photos of this really beautiful lake.

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From the ferry... Lake Como

From the ferry on Lake Como

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Typical village scene ... Lake Como

Typical village scene.

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One of the many mansions that dot the fore shores of this lake.

One of the many mansions that dot the fore shores of this lake.

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This mansion is one of the grandest.

This mansion is one of the grandest.

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A house that made a bold statement.

A house that made a bold statement.

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My favourite house with its sweeping lawns and masses of blue hydrangeas.

My favourite house with its sweeping lawns and masses of blue hydrangeas.

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Every village has at least one church.

Every village has at least one church.

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The Lido or swimming spot is always a popular spot on a hot summers day.

The Lido or swimming spot is always a popular spot on a hot summer’s day.

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An impressive waterfront position.

An impressive waterfront position.

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Looking back up the lake.... Almost to Como.

Almost to Como.

We took one last look back up the lake before we moved on to the next part of our European adventure.  We still had two train rides to go that day to get to Locarno for the night and get ready for a special scenic train trip to Domodossola in the Italian alps.

More of that anon.

Jennie and David

 

JT&DY in Europe : Bellagio, Italy

Bellagio on Lake Como has long been on my wish list of places to visit and now was that chance.  I have not been disappointed.

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Home on foreshore. Of Bellagio, Lake Como.

Homes and gardens on foreshore of Bellagio, Lake Como.

Looking at the lovely homes and gardens from the vantage point of the ferry was a good introduction to this very special place.  Noting how steeply the land rises from the lake was a lesson still to be learned!

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Imposing hotel on shores of Bellagio: not our hotel!

Imposing hotel on shores of Bellagio.

No, this was not to be our hotel. Anywhere on the foreshore, let alone this majestic place, is very, very expensive. This village is home to many very rich people and that is reflected in the prices here.

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Along the foreshore.

Along the foreshore.

Even smaller hotels such as these are expensive. So I had booked a small apartment in the very centre of the old town, not on the waterfront.

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Ferry jetty at Bellagio on Lake Como, Italy

Ferry jetty at Bellagio on Lake Como, Italy

A welcome entrance to the village.

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Part of the steps that lead to our little apartment.

Part of the steps that lead to our little apartment.

Little did I realise when I booked our apartment that it would be at the top of a long, very long flight of cobble stone steps! Poor David did a Herculean job of getting our bags to the top! It was a task not for the faint hearted or the unfit.

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Our apartment is above a pizza restaurant.

Our apartment is above a pizza restaurant.

Finally, amidst this maze of steep alleyways, we found our appointed place above a small pizza restaurant. When I say above, it was…. Two more flights of steep steps above! Hot and weary we were also hungry after a six and a half hour journey to get here on two trains and a ferry.  The pizza for dinner was good!

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View from our room!

View from our room!

No mountain or lake view from our room on this occasion… Just the roof of the restaurant. But the room was comfortable and in this very hot weather, was thankfully air conditioned.  Not that we needed it for more than an initial cool down. Windows opened and the evening air soon dried our clothes. This was a good washing stop!

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The church tower and bells.

The church tower and bells.

There was to be no sleep in on Sunday morning! The church bells of San Giacomo (St James ) Basilica, peeled loud and long near our room. It is thought that the lower part of this bell tower was part of this area’s defence system long before the church was built.

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The altar in the church, Bellagio

The altar in the church, Bellagio

A feature of this church are the murals made of tiny glass tiles.  The one above the altar is quite horrific in the scene it depicts. It’s one of those story telling art works that strikes fear into the heart of the believer.

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Glass tile mosaic in the church.

Glass tile mosaic in the church.

This mosaic is much gentler in its message.

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Very old naive marble sculptures on pulpit.

Very old naive marble sculptures on pulpit.

The age of this church is clearly evident in the naive style of sculptures on the marble pulpit. This Basilica was built from the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 12th centuries. It was decreed a National monument of Italy in 1904.

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Flower boxes adorn pebbled streets.

Flower boxes adorn pebbled streets.

Everywhere you walk in this area there are flower boxes on the pebbled streets. These streets have been paved this way for hundreds of years and have obviously stood the test of time …. but they are hard on the feet!

One of the main means of income in this area, apart from tourism, is horticulture. In fact our street, Salita Mella, was once known as via dei Fiori, ie. flower street.  There are about thirty family horticultural businesses in the Bellagio area. They grow mostly outdoor plants which are sold all over Italy and Europe.

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Starting the all down the steps from the apartment to the shore.

Starting down all down the steps from the apartment to the shore.

Nothing was open at our uphill end of town so we started the day early (08.00) by walking down to the foreshore to find somewhere for breakfast.

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And a bit further down the steps!

And a bit further down the steps!

It seemed to be a never ending set of steps!

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The bottom is almost in sight!

The bottom is almost in sight!

The end came in sight. David waited patiently for me to make my way down.

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Ferries preparing for a busy Sunday of tourist to Bellagio.

Ferries preparing for a busy Sunday of tourists coming to Bellagio.

It was 08.00, and still too early for any cafe to be open here,too… Well it was Sunday!

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Restaurant in the arcade along the foreshore

Restaurant in the arcade along the foreshore

So we went for a stroll along the waterfront while the tables were being set. This one looked a bit posh for breakfast! We’d find something a little simpler! A bakery maybe.

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The foreshore arcade at Bellagio

The foreshore arcade at Bellagio

The arcade is just one long line of restaurants so we would find something.  This are gets extremely busy as the warm summer days bring more and more tourists to the village.

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Markets on the foreshore.

Markets on the foreshore.

In the early days of the village, the arcade was where the markets were held.  Now markets are held in tents further along the foreshore.

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Varenna from the ferry.

Varenna from the ferry.

We found a delightful bakery cum cafe for breakfast along with many of the locals. It was good to sit and listen as people greeted each other and enjoyed a morning chat over a coffee and croissant.  After breakfast we set off for a longer walk of exploration before deciding to take a ferry trip on the lake. At least ferries are not exorbitantly expensive.

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Another view of Verenna.

Another view of Verenna.

The ferry took us first to Varenna. We had been in Varenna the day before on our way to Bellagio.  That day’s journey had taken us by train on a most scenic route across the alps from Chur, in Switzerland, to Tirano in Italy. From there, we took an Italian train to Veranna and then a ferry to Bellagio.

Map of upper Lake Como

Map of upper Lake Como

The map shows the train line down to Varenna with the purple locator. It also shows the criss cross of ferries that go between Varenna to Bellagio ( red) and Menaggio ( black).

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Menaggio from the ferry.

Menaggio from the ferry.

From Varenna we went on to Menaggio on the other side of the lake…. Another charming village but the day was becoming extremely hot and it was time to go back to Bellagio.

And after that, I was finished exploring but, after a short siesta, David set off to walk in the opposite direction from our morning walk. I stayed in the cool to watch the final of the French Open Tennis and to download these photos to share with you.

Below are a few of the photos from David’s walk.

Sailing is a popular pass time on the lake.

Sailing is a popular pass time on the lake.

There are many yachts on moorings in front of the expensive lake side villas.

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Small fishing boats on a pebbly shore.

Small fishing boats on a pebbly shore.

The arched timber frame on a couple of these small fishing boats were a feature of this area. They can be covered in inclement weather.

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Well kept cemetery.

Well kept cemetery.

Higher up the hill was the well kept village cemetery with lots of live plants on graves.

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Meadows have been cut for hay.

Meadows have been cut for hay.

Further on were the small farm holdings and horticultural plots. We have been watching hay making from the train as we have travelled and these rolls are the finally result ready for animal feed for the winter.

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A different view of the hotels lining the waterfront.

A different view of the hotels lining the waterfront.

And this was his view of the waterfront as he walked hot and weary back to the cool of our room and a well earned cool beer.

 

More of our journey anon.

Jennie and David