Second day belly-filling mid morning on Turkish kebabs & rice.  Not very Italian but certainly more substantial than the native expresso & cigarette start.  (People still smoke, seriously?)

Train Thursday, boat queue Friday.  I heart European travel.

Purchased a hop-on hop-off day pass but arrived, settled on a single-stop destination: Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo.  Y’all know I dig history.  No tour of the 17^th century villa itself (found myself indoor ‘done’ after 2 days of rain).  Today’s OUTDOOR plan: the Villa’s extensive botanical garden.

Rhododendron & azalea.  Roses, hydrangea & camellias.  Trail-walked thru non-native bamboo, palm.  A citrus grove of lemons & oranges.  Personal fave?  Rustico Pra di Oc, ‘the Rural House’.

Quiet.  Peaceful.  Located on the trail’s far perimeter, abandoned by old & youth ticket-holders alike.  Slow-walked a mile thru the Villa’s olive gardens.  Found beauty in the garden’s simple ingredients.  The Villa’s tall native grasses, its Mediterranean roots.  Bellissima ❤️

Completed the afternoon with another outdoor cappuccino.  Two weeks before Easter (official tourist season start), happily secured a table overlooking scenic Lake Como.  Perfecto.  Check, done.

Concierge coordinated a private rustico dinner in Old Town (off-season perk).  Raw fish appetizer, quail, risotto alla Milanese (saffron rice, nutmeg, marrow).  Go BIG or go HOME, last nite in Como.

Local train, new hotel.  Tomorrow’s memory: Milano.