45 minutes standing-room only, Como to Milan. Not the ‘Eat Pray Love’ commuter experience to Switzerland days ago. Weekend train to the Region’s big City. Steady, reliable & clean – just less Euro-glamour ‘packed in’ standing with your luggage. Ticket on the Express train.
Como San Giovanni ➩ Seregno ➩ Monza ➩ Milano Centrale
Arrived Track 2. Station abuzz, reminiscent of New York’s Grand Central. Old electric lines & diesel still in the States, but day’s trek super déjà vu of my 9 year-work commute, New Haven to NYC.
Pulse, pulse, pulse. Shop sounds, travelers racing, speaker-barked announcements. So much ENERGY. Transportation hub of Northern Italy’s Lombardy region. Metro transfer/travel ‘round Milan or other dream train connections: Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples. Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Taxi’d to my hotel digs, beautiful Italian-owned building steps from Sunday’s Marathon Start. Bag drop, mental regroup. Milan Day. Just a few gotta/haftas on the list but ALL happening today.
Teatro alla Scala. da Vinci. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Milano’s il Duomo.
Mini-break before attempting [marathon] bib pick-up. Nutella crepe & an outdoor cappuccino (new day, new city, same Italian diet). Metro ticket in-hand. No stopping. Go, go, go!
Absolutely anything is possible…with Nutella ❤️
-
- Como to Milan
-
- Stazione Centrale
-
- Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples
-
- the great Leonardo
-
- Opera House (1778)
-
- Duomo di Milano
-
- fifth largest Christian church (in the world) & the most statues
-
- 6 million visitors per year
-
- Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
-
- Prada, Versace, Vuitton
-
- Viva Italia 🇮🇹
-
- crepe & cappuccino
Stazione Centrale & Milan’s il Duomo
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 17th 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.
-
- ferry to Tremezzo
-
- il Giardino Botanico
-
- Museo degli Attrezzi Agricoli
-
- Rustico Pra di Oc
-
- uliveto (olive tree grove)
-
- camellia
-
- Lake Como ❤️
-
- Oratorio Sommariva
-
- Citrusis Tunnel
-
- last day in Como
-
- risotto alla Milanese
chocolate & cappuccino 🇨🇭
Second day of Spring showers. Bring it on!
Passport in hand (just in case), absolutely no idea what the day holds. It’s unexpected/unplanned/spur-of-the-moment Swiss Day! 🇨🇭
Already captured the indoor sights of Como, spending today’s tourism dollars on a train ride north. Mile stroll to Como’s main station, 9€ (Euro) ticket to SWITZERLAND.
Flag change, currency switch (Swiss francs), same Italiano lingua. Tri-tongue country, Switzerland. German & Italian used in Lugano, country’s southernmost region.
Notta Swiss Miss yodel village. Money town. World fine-brands all represented, its fine cars as well. Mirror-image visual of my Como digs. Lake Lugano fenced by mountains. Cobblestone streets, hill top cathedrals. Billboards, Swiss watch-dominated.
Como v Lugano. Less pasta, less Italian villas – more croissant, more puff pastry. Day’s taste buds saturated on chocolate ganache & cappuccino (trip’s best). Swiss Day 🙂
Appreciate the ease of travel in Europe.
Short 40 minute return to Como. Late dinner, lake cruise in the morning.
-
- 9€ travel
-
- Swiss Day 🇨🇭
-
- Welcome to Lugano
-
- cobblestone laden
-
- Lake Lugano
-
- brands represented
-
- German EASTER 🐰
-
- hill top cathedrals
-
- Cattedrale di San Lorenzo
-
- fine cars & cappuccino
