There seems to be an endless number of bicycles to photograph in Italy. Some, though, really have it all. Location, color, tone, composition – just sitting there waiting for the perfect photo to be made.
Menaggio vignettes
Pix from yesterday’s ride to Menaggio. I sat on the inside, so saw more of the villages than the lake. Last mandatory ride up, but have two extra tickets, so will likely use them. There are ferries I can take from there to Bellagio and Varenna -both on my must-see list.
On travelling solo
Monday dinner by the lake with sunset followed by a check in on the swan cygnets. There are five!
P.S. One of the fun things about traveling alone in a foreign country, people don’t know where you’re from until you open your mouth, and even then, they may not be sure if your speaking their language. When I sat down at the table tonight, the waiter said “welcome “? prego “? He was trying to discern if I spoke English or Italian. I simply said Prego. Later a different waiter brought me my check and spoke to me in German. I had to laugh. I spoke back to him in German nice to have that in my back pocket and stay the “mysterious solo woman traveller of Como.”😉 My Italian is getting “good” enough to be able to handle a simple dialogue for ordering food. Yay!
Sunday Passagiato
Sunday’s passagiato along the Como lake front. Passed a Swan on her nest with cygnets on my way out to Life Electric, a sculpture out on the water created by Daniel Libeskind. It was beautiful shifting light. Took lots of photos, obviously. The swans were an extra bonus.
Around Menaggio, Cernobbio and Como
I’m so far behind on everything – but should be able to get caught up as I’m now in Tuscany for 6 weeks and there isn’t nearly as much to photograph in this town – I will be exploring the area though, if all goes as planned. In the meantime – hope you enjoy these pics from mid-May. I got out on to the lake and explored a bit. I have more really beautiful photos to share – hope to put some up each day for you all!
Menaggio Lakeside
Lakeside lunch
Como
Menaggio
Italian teacher and fellow student
In front of my favorite cafe
Downtown Como
Cernobbio
Cernobbio
Ceronobbio
Ceronobbio
Ceronobbio
Approaching Como from the lake
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Exploring Lake Como
Cernobbio
Cernobbio
Lovely flowers at a shop around the corner from my apartment
Lovely flowers at a shop around the corner from my apartment
Lovely flowers at a shop around the corner from my apartment
iPhone app used to make this painterly and old looking
Around Como
From yesterday:
Shots from today. I had the day off of Italian classes and it was really nice to just have some time where I wasn’t jet lagged or trying to figure things out to just enjoy being in the city. I found a place I can hang out it to work during the day. Very happy about that. Today’s pics include food I ate vehicles I saw and more bits and pieces around town. Back to Italian class, tomorrow. 
On Brioches
From yesterday:
You better think twice if you decide to get your brioches to go Don’t expect to nibble on them on the way home. They are wrapped up in such a way that you’ll never be able to sneak in a bite on the bus. You’re just gonna have to wait.
Funiculare a Brunate
From Tuesday evening:
Went up the funicular to Brunate today. Met a young a Russian on the way up and on the way down, I met Ken, a Filipino who lives in Sydney and is visiting Italy. We walked around a bit after. He was waiting to meet a friend. Nice to speak a bit of English. Out Italian teacher won’t let us. Speaking of people from other countries, the other person taking Italian with me is from Germany. However, she’s lived in Chicago with her husband for 30+ years. When she speaks Italian she does so with the Midwestern – Chicago an accent. It’s very strange. I would never guess she was German and less I heard her speak English. Quite the cultural mix here in Italy.
Oh! One more thing. On the way down we passed a mountain goat that was just sitting on a rock as we scooted on by. I also saw a large owl. Very cool! Â
Pix are from the way up and views from Brunate. The mountains were simply stunning.
More from Menaggio bus ride on a sunny day
From Tuesday:
Some shots from this morning’s excursion to and from Menaggio for Italian lessons. The sun is out in a big way today. Loving it! So freaking gorgeous!
The Road to Menaggio
From Monday:
A few shots from today. Took a bus to Menaggio all along the lake, for my first Italian class. Yeah, don’t ask. I just can’t seem to speak the language! I’ll keep working on it. I need to take more time with that and I need to write things down. That’s the way I learn. I have homework so hopefully that will help. The road to Menaggio is very narrow and goes through lots of small towns. The video will show you some of the challenges that drivers face along the way. The guy in the car just couldn’t figure out how to get out of the way of the bus. Rather hilarious to the driver of our bus. Have class again tomorrow. Hopefully will see improvement. Still adjusting to everything here. Feeling sleepy at weird hours stores being closed when i’m awake, learning how to prepare meals and understanding trash disposal, and just getting around town. It’s coming along but taking longer than I thought it would. The hardest part has been getting work in the mix for any significant chunk of time. Thankfully I have an awesome assistant (thank you, Loren!) who is picking up the slack. I know I’ll get there yet. Got to be patient with myself. Hope this finds all of you well back in the States.
Rather than shooting a bunch of photos along the lake, today. I just took it all in. It should be bright and sunny tomorrow and I imagine will look completely different. The most surprising thing to me was that incredible Alps peeking out from the lake with six snow on them. And then the palm trees at the youth hostel where I’m taking the Italian lessons, juxtaposed with in Alps the background. Quite
expected. But then again in Palm Springs we have with the white snow in the background, too. But the Alps have such drama to them. Just gorgeous.
Three Months in Italy 