Italy – Forestfire4's Blog

I have been looking back and reminiscing as my Facebook site keeps sending me “one year ago today” reminders. So, I thought it would be a good time to fill in some of my blanks before I dive into creating a scrapbook on my trip. I am almost done with my “Florida and Back” trip from earlier in 2022. I am definitely behind! So here it goes…

After leaving Como, Italy I sent my daughter home and jumped on a train south to Camogli through Genoa and Milan. All was going well, until……Milan. All of a sudden our non-stop train stopped just outside of Milan. It turns out there was an earthquake ahead and they needed to make sure the lines were safe for us to continue. So they passed out some snacks and water and left us to sit. About an hour later we parked at the station and an employee walked through and said “cancelled”. He did not speak English and I don’t speak Italian so it was very confusing. In fact many in my car were Americans and didn’t speak much Italian either! But we just got up and followed everyone out the door. I was pointed towards customer service (at this point I was in tears and trying to pull it together), where you take a number. This line moved SLOW and there were over 100 people in front of me (an hour later), so I kept walking back and forth to the taxi station but most were gone. About 90 minutes later I finally found a taxi driver willing to drive me to Camogli, which was about an hour south. I just barely made it to the hotel before they closed for the night. I was so grateful I definitely gave him a good tip!

Camogli was beautiful and a great place to stop and relax. I rented a small efficiency mid-way down the “cliff” that leads from the main part of town to the historic part of the city along the coast. I washed clothes (in the sink) and hung them out on a line to dry. They had a tiny “kitchen in a box) that had a small stove and microwave and I did find a small grocery store on top of the hill. I bought a giant box of Corn Flakes, which definitely brought home a taste of home! And there was a lovely garden in front that I spent some time relaxing in, when it wasn’t raining.

The steps along my rental, I was halfway down.

On Monday I met up with a friend of a friend (Alexandra) who took me on a tour of a part of the Cinque de Terre region via ferry. This was my favorite part of my trip, she was awesome. We stopped in Portofino, San Fruttuoso, and San Margherita. I am glad for her company, by this time I was a little nervous and I know I wouldn’t have had the courage to try the ferries without her! We also had an awesome lunch in San Margherita, I had the linguini with clams, and a great dessert. It was a beautiful day and she helped me understand how to figure out the trains a bit to help alleviate my fears over trying again.

As my stop in Camogli came to an end, I headed up to the train station for my journey to Nice, France. Sadly not non-stop, I did one changeover near the border between Italy and France. I also did a great job getting a few complaints about all the room I took up with my backpack and luggage as we got closer to Nice. The further along we went, the more people that boarded and I ended up crammed into a corner with all my stuff, trying to be smaller than I was. LOL I will write more later!

Here I am, looking back to my vacation in Europe. I did a terrible job keeping up with it all while traveling this last time, but I want to write down my thoughts before they completely disappear! In fact there are no notes between September 16th (our stop in Mannheim and Heidelberg Germany) until September 29th when I was in Nice, France. And nothing between there and arriving home. Plus my notes were very sketchy. Why??? I note that I wasn’t feeling great and I was exhausted by the time I arrived at my stop in Italy, then I must have just given up? So here we go….

My daughter and I finished our European river trip on AmaMora with a 3-day stop in Lake Como after a drive through Switzerland. The last stop on the cruise was in Basel. After leaving the boat we took a drive through Switzerland and stopped in Bellinzona, Italy for a tour and lunch. I have to say, the rest stop in Switzerland (below) was a real treat, what a beautiful stop! Bellinzona was a nice stop for getting out to stretch our legs.

After our quick stop, on to Lake Como and our weird hotel. Don’t get me wrong, it was a Hilton and overall a nice enough hotel, but the rooms were dark and stark and the food in the restaurant was just okay. It was a short walk across the (very busy) street to get to the trail along the lake shore which was convenient. Just not my choice for a comfortable place to stay, but the room was definitely very large.

My room at the hotel. Unfortunately, the travel pillow I bought the cover for in Amsterdam was “lost” by the staff at the hotel. I am so sad I left it behind! I missed having it on my travels.

Como, Italy is a very busy city with super narrow “sidewalks” and beautiful buildings.

Como-Brunate Funicular Railway (or Funicolare Como-Brunate) – One of our tours was up to the top of a mountain overlooking the city, which is where the village of Brunate is located. My first experience in a funicular cable railway system! In a funicular, cars are attached at opposite ends by the same cable, known as a haul rope, to safely take you up some very steep slopes. I loved it!

We did also tour about town a bit.

Our visitors at the café on the lake. We stopped here twice, happy hour and lunch.

Tanya set up a short wine tour for us in Como. I have to say, it was a bit crazy walking the super narrow sidewalks as we followed Google map to our location. One misstep and you would be smooshed by a car! These are the wines I enjoyed most during our visit. Sadly, their advertisement said they ship their wines, but unfortunately not to the U.S.! Someday I will have to see if I can track these down.

Last Stop: Lake Cruise

When in Como, you need to do a lake cruise to see George Clooney’s house! Of course! And, we also saw lots of other “stuff”. 🙂 We stopped in Bellagio to do a little shopping too. I bought a silk scarf for my sister-in-law Jill and a wool scarf for my sister Laura. Looking back, I should have bought more scarves, they were so beautiful, but now that I am retired I don’t wear dressy scarves as often.

Our guide from AmaMora stuck with us in Como

Last Stop: the Cathedral

There is always a cathedral to look at in European cities and villages! And they are works of art and always a peaceful place to stop and gather your thoughts. When on my own I would usually spend more time just sitting and enjoying the atmosphere.