Around The World Without Flying: Lake Maggiore, Lake Como, Bellagio, and a little bit of Switzerland

The day after visiting the fairytale palace, we went on a wonderful journey to see more of Lake Maggiore, as well as Lake Como and another lake nearby in Switzerland.

Lake Maggiore is the widest lake in Italy and is very picturesque, with a few small islands and hills and mountains surrounding it. One third of it is in Switzerland.

Lake Como is the lake of the rich and famous, and you could see why. It is beautiful, with a backdrop of rugged tall mountains, some of which had snow on their peaks because it had snowed a week or so before we arrived. Along its foreshore are many historic buildings, including churches, luxury hotels and mansions belonging to famous people - including the former King of Italy, Armani, George Clooney and Richard Branson. Up on the mountain slopes, sometimes very high up, were more churches and mansions amongst the trees, balanced rather precariously over steep cliffs.

Driving along the curved, very narrow road that followed the lake, was often very hairy. How our coach driver managed I do not know. The road was barely the width of two lanes, and full of cyclists and motor bike riders having their Sunday ride, as well as cars and large tourist coaches. The coaches passed each other with literally only centimetres to spare, especially on the sharp bends. This was often on sections of road high above the water, with a vertical cliff on one side and a vertical drop on the other, so many of us were very reluctant to look down. Eventually we reached a spot where there was room to park in a little village and we all went off for one of the nicest coffees I have ever tasted. Little wonder many cyclists and bikies had stopped there too.

We finally reached a place where we were able to catch a ferry to a most delightful village called Bellagio. As our boat followed the shoreline to Bellagio, I must confess I lost track of which mansion belonged to whom, so many famous people owned mansions along there, but I was impressed by one historic home which was nestled in lovely gardens in which there was a delightful gazebo in which Franz Liszt apparently composed much of his music, and where some well-known artists completed some of their paintings.

We also saw the church in front of which Mussolini and his mistress were assassinated. By that time he was completely despised for plunging his country into crisis. He had hidden in the region but was recognised. Apparently their bodies were hung upside down in a public square, but such was the hate of the people their bodies were so badly mutilated they were taken down and buried.

After free time exploring Bellagio, where there were beautiful silk scarves and other tempting goods on sale, we caught the ferry back to the shore and then set off for Switzerland. This was an unexpected treat that had not been on our itinerary. We spent some time in a little town across the border so that we could see the third lake. As it turned out, there was a cycling race on that Sunday, so several streets were blocked off and the town had a real carnival atmosphere. We saw the lake and town, but the part of the lake we saw and the town were not nearly a picturesque as all the Italian villages, nor were the people as friendly, apart from a very kind Swiss policemen who helped our group when we found ourselves cut off from where we had been going because of the race. But it was interesting to see some of the Swiss countryside along the way. We even saw cows with bells on their necks and some free range chickens having a lovely time pecking in a large garden.

We were tired but very contented when we slowly made it back to the hotel along the lake, and then had dinner at local restaurants. A great end to a great day.

Please note that some of these photos were taken whilst it was wet and the boat was moving. It would have been lovely to see it all in bright sunshine, but the drizzle only stopped late in the afternoon.