The Italian Lake Country in the north is an Italian experience all its own. This is Lake Como from my hotel room window in the town of Bellagio (pronounced … I’m sorry about this … it really is pronounced simply “bel-AH-jo” … not “buh-LAH-zshee-oh” like you hear it in Las Vegas). These beautiful towns are like “Italy Visits Switzerland,” given the way they nestle up to the Alps. From Bellagio one can take daily trips around the lake on various kinds of ferries and boats. I spent this trip with my best friends from college, Walt and Brenda, and another wonderful couple they were close to. At first I had thought Como should be our base of operations … made sense: Lake Como / Como. But I was gently urged to consider Bellagio by Andy Zanetti’s mother, who, a year earlier, had sponsored a day trip for the three of us (me, Andy and his mom) from their hometown of Brescia to Como and the towns along the lake shore. Sure enough she was right. Como seemed too loud and busy. Bellagio, in contrast, was a jewel of a town with only a few cars (it’s not all that easy to drive to – but that’s the only "practical" way to get there). We spent our days jumping on and off boats, hanging over white-painted railings as we cut through the clear, cold waters. My favorite stop was the Villa Balbianello – I’m pretty sure it’s the most beautiful villa I’ve ever seen. So much so, in fact, that movies like “A Month By The Lake,” “Casino Royale,” "Ocean's Twelve," and “Star Wars - Episode Two” were filmed on its grounds.
