My Honemoon in Lake Como :: Part II

So the time has come for me to write yet another post! Today’s post is all about the continuation of my honeymoon after Venice which included Verona, Sirmione, and last but not least Bellagio on Lake Como. After beautiful Venice, our next destination was Verona and although I was very sad to leave Venice, at the same time I was very excited to get to our next destination! I was simply dying to see the house of Juliet and like a true romantic I also wanted to stand on that balcony and feel like a “Juliet” with her Romeo if you know what I mean!

Verona is considered one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, because of its urban structure and architecture. As a matter of fact it is a city that has been awarded by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. This is mainly due to its artistic heritage. Did you know that two of Shakespeare’s plays are set in Verona, although no one knows whether Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy for that matter?! The first play he wrote that took place in Verona is “Romeo and Juliet” and the second one is “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

Anyway, as soon as we arrived in Verona as you may have guessed by now, my husband and I, headed straight for Juliet’s house which dates from the 14th century and is a wonderful example of Gothic architecture. We must have spend at least a couple of hours there since there was an endless queue in order to take a picture from Juliet’s balcony! Nevertheless, we really enjoyed it and to be honest the whole setting made me travel back in time which was fascinating, the least I can say.

After visiting Juliet’s house, we were really hungry so we headed for a restaurant to have lunch. After lunch we both agreed to take a long walk in order to do a bit of sightseeing. The architecture and the beauty of the buildings was simply amazing. Sadly, we did not have enough time to do more sightseeing of Verona since we had to get to Sirmione which was our last destination for the day. To be honest, I regret that we did not stay overnight in Verona. I would have really liked to spend more time in this city and I think that goes for my husband too.

Anyway, soon after having our long walk we got back to the car and continued our journey. We both wanted to arrive in Sirmione before it was dark. We had planned to stay overnight in Sirmione. At this point, it is worth mentioning that Sirmione is one of the most popular “sights” on Lake Garda. It has thousands of visitors coming every day in order to view the picturesque peninsula with its beautiful castle and Roman ruins.

Thus, the next morning we woke up and headed straight for some sightseeing of the beautiful castle and its Roman ruins. When we were done it was already midday, so it was time to continue for our last but certainly not least destination, Bellagio on Lake Como.

Bellagio, also known as “the pearl of Lake Como” sits on a promontory near the center of Lake Como. The Lake itself is north of the city of Milan, near the Swiss border. Bellagio is considered as a top Italian destination for vacation with amazing panoramic lake views. So there we were! The two of us just married, in love and in one of the top considered romantic places to be in Italy!

Our room was a ten minute drive outside Bellagio with an amazing panoramic view. Everywhere you looked there was nature with endless greenery settings and small villages close to one another. The view of the lake was also amazing and it looked really serene. But what amazed me even more than the view when we finally got to Bellagio, was the absolute silence that prevailed everywhere. I remember asking my husband to turn off the car’s engine as soon as we arrived cause it felt like we were making horrible noise pollution. The only thing you could hear nonstop were the birds singing! Till this very day, I remember this peaceful silence that was so relaxing. Even people spoke among themselves softly so as not to disturb the sounds of nature!

So the first day we arrived in Bellagio all we wanted to do with my husband is hang out and relax by the pool! And so we did. I remember I started reading my book by the pool and then suddenly I took my eyes away from the book, looked up and around me and then closed my eyes and said to myself ‘I’m in heaven!’ No worries, no stress, a beautiful setting and crazy in love! Perfect combination wouldn’t you agree?

Anyway, to make a long story short, my husband and I spend the whole day basically simply relaxing and taking small naps with no real interest whatsoever to see anyone or be anywhere else. However, at night time we decided to go to Bellagio because by now we were both very hungry. After having a beautiful dinner we returned to our room with a bottle of wine and decided to drink it back in our private garden while enjoying each other’s company and our spectacular view! I remember how the view at night time was so different from the daytime view!

There was something very romantic in the atmosphere and it was impressive to see all these small lights that felt as if they are coming out of nowhere surrounding Bellagio, only to see more such lights coming out of nowhere a bit further and further, forming more villages betraying that there is so much life out there and around this huge lake!

The next day I woke up feeling very excited. I wanted to desperately get a tan and so all I wanted to do is get myself to the pool and sunbathe! Sadly, I gave up on that dream when I realized that although it was hot it was not sunny thus, it was no longer fun for me to sunbathe. You see when you come from a country like Greece with sunshine ten out of twelve months, you don’t particularly enjoy sunbathing or swimming if it is cloudy. At least I don’t. Thus, we decided to spend the day in Bellagio and we thought it would be best to get there on foot since that is something we both enjoyed and still do so very much.

As a matter of fact, before having children, walking was something my husband and I did a lot more than nowadays. I know that my husband still longs for the times we used to walk together hand in hand having endless conversations and laughs! So with no specific plan we headed towards Bellagio while having several stops and detours, simply to enjoy the beauty that surrounded us. Again, I could not help but notice the beautiful flowers that existed everywhere which were just like the ones we have back in Greece! So this truly made me feel once again, like I was home.

Life in Bellagio felt stress free. It was as if time had stopped still and so the people had no worries. Thus, we also felt stress free. Our only concern was simply where and what to eat, what to see or do next and that is just about it! Compare that to nowadays, with the kids, where I am so stressed that I actually have to write down everything I need to do for the next day, cause unfortunately I forget a lot! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret at all having a family, but I just wish there was a lot less stress involved. That’s all. I guess though stress comes with aging since aging means more responsibilities and thus, being less carefree!

On the third day my husband and I decided it was time for us to see more than just Bellagio. Hence, we decided to go along the Lake and ended up all the way to Como. Cernobbio was one of the places we stopped to see on the way and of course we decided it was a great opportunity to have lunch at Villa d’ Este, one of Italy’s finest five star hotel. Wow!!! I was simply stunned at the beauty and perfection of this hotel. My opinion, if you are around then it is really worth visiting.

Como was our last destination of our day trip, a very famous tourist destination, with several churches, gardens, museums, theaters, parks and palaces to visit. The Duomo is one of the Cathedrals definitely worth seeing. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in Italy. In the interior of the Cathedral there are many works of art to point out. Some of them are the distinguished paintings of Gauedenzio Ferrari, of Bernardino Luini, and Morazzone.

Other buildings worth seeing when visiting Como, is the Brolleto which is the city’s medieval town hall, Villa Olmo, Basilica of Sant’ Abbondio, the public gardens with the Tempio Voltiano, and the Teatro Sociale. We managed to see most of the above but not everything since we had to return to Bellagio before night time.

In overall, my honeymoon was a unique experience for me simply ’cause I was with the one and only person I wanted to be with. I also got to see many places and be in a country I love and adore for many different reasons such as similar mentality, weather, food and so forth.

Finally, if there is one thing I can say about my honeymoon is that our last days in Bellagio felt completely carefree and although, we knew that our honeymoon would soon come to an end, we did not mind cause we were both looking forward to a lifetime together!