Distance travelled: 319km
Total distance: 6874km
Ice cream count: 18 – too many nice gelato shops not to!

 

Our first stop in Italy and it was certainly a spectacular start. From the border we drove through Lugano to reach our campsite near Lenno on the banks of Lake Como; within a short walk we were surrounded by picture postcard views of the lake and all the pretty little villages dotted around it. We had a wander and let Wilf have a dip in the lake before sampling our first Italian pizza and gelato – both of which went down very well.
The next day was another scorcher so we followed a path into the woods, finding ourselves climbing up fairly high past the Villa del Balbianello, which looked pretty amazing. After our walk we had a nice restful afternoon by the van – picnic blanket and toys for Griff and pesto chicken with rice and salad, plus another short walk for Wilf and obligatory gelato for us made for a nice end to the day.
Next stop was Bellagio via Como town. Both pretty towns for a mooch and glorious in the sunshine. Como was full of old architecture with a beautiful town square and church (bells ringing as it was Sunday). We had a tasty brekkie in a cycling café that catered to the international set. Bellagio was more quaint with winding cobbled streets and steps down to the lake front. Our campsite here (Camping Clark) was really lovely, set up on the hill above the town, so gave us a good walk down and home. The only downside to this place was all the noisy dogs that seemed to bark for half the night.. hoping Italy isn’t as bad as Spain for night time noise as with the heat, it’ll be windows and vents open all the way.