Bellagio

We woke up to cooler weather and rain clouds on our first day in Lake Como. Because of this cooler weather, we learned that it is illegal in Italy to turn on the heat in your home before October, so we bundled up to go out as well as when we stayed in.

We had heard the Bellagio is one of the "must visit" towns on the lake, so we headed down to the dock from our house in Varenna to catch a boat to Bellagio.

We made a quick stop to play with this cat, a common occurrence during our travels.

It was fun to see our little town from the water. The colorful buildings looked so fun and festive against the dark mountains and the low clouds.

Bellagio is a beautiful, bustling town. There were way more shops and people than in our little town of Varenna. 

We saw a beautiful bride as we exited the ferry.

We had a very pleasant afternoon wandering in and out of little shops, stopping to listen to sidewalk musicians, and enjoying the atmosphere of this little Italian town.

These carved shells were a very popular item in many of the stores. We didn't buy any here, but we would eventually give in and buy some in the Amalfi Coast towards the end of our trip.

We stopped to have lunch at a little pizzeria in one of the tiny, alleyways. More Hawaiian pizza for me! We sat next to the most charming couple who live in Hawaii and travel the world and have the most grand adventures. They had the sweetest, most well behaved little dog with them that happily slept in it's carrier throughout the meal. They bring their dog on all their travels. I want to be them when I grow up ;)

During lunch, it began to pour rain. Luckily, we were seated beneath a canopy and didn't get drenched during our meal, but it made us want to go home and get out of the cold and wet.

Our boat ride home cleared up a bit and we saw a fair amount of blue sky! It was still pretty cold outside though, so we were excited to bundle up in blankets at home.

A cold was also being passed around our little traveling group, and it was my turn to be the sickest one while in Lake Como. Another reason I didn't necessarily want to hang out in the rain all day.

It was always fun to look for our house when we would ride ferries to and from Varenna. Our house is the cream colored one.

When we got home, we were really missing the luxury of a heated house. But we pulled the comforters off our beds and bundled up as we sipped hot cocoa and red bulls and enjoyed some locally made cream puffs Beth had bought from an itty bitty market down the street.