Lovely!

I was in the Lake Como area on Saturday (Varenna and Bellagio), and oh - did it rain! But still, very lovely towns. Your images are great; thanks for posting them!

I love your photos. I enjoy looking for the perfect shots too. Keep posting!

Thanks!

And more - the town of Como and the funicular up to Brunate: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/lake-como-big-city-and-great-heights.html

Great photos. We leave for Milan tomorrow and will be staying in Bellagio the first part of next week - can't wait! Thanks for posting these - they are absolutely gorgeous.

Hope to make it to this area one day. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures.

Sharbear84

What blogger system do you use? I can't seem to find it.

I loved Bellagio, my daughter and I walked up and down through the boutiques. I still regret not buying a beautiful pair or jeweled sandals I saw on a window right behind the restaurant by the pier

John- We were in Milan too for a day, before Lake Como. Not sure why I didn't post about it first, probably because I don't have a lot of photos! Thanks for the kind words.

I'm working on a post about all the amazing food we ate, in case you're interested in some recs while you're in Bellagio.

Pooky - I use Google Blogger...I'm not very tech savvy and it was the easiest one for me..

We are for sure interested in your food posts and your recommendations. This is our first trip to Milan and Lake Como so anything you can share would be appreciated. We are also going to Venice (we've been once before about 11 years ago) so I'm looking forward to your Venice report too.

Here's the Bellagio food one: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/bellagio-restaurants-pasta-pesce-and.html

sharbear84, I also have the blogger and I was able to see the setting now. I haven't touched in a couple of years.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Venice one. My kids and I will be in Venice the second week of June. I can't believe we have only 4 weeks to go, time to start packing!!

Oh my!!! The food looks fantastic. Thanks for posting - we will have to try a couple of these restaurants next week - they look great. It seems exactly like you said - each one better than the other - going to be some tough choices - but heck - someone has to do it, right? Very interesting about your chef/chauffeur - sounds like you had a really good time.

Glad I could be helpful! You will have a wonderful time! I hope you report back to us on Fodors.

Great pictures! We'll be in Bellagio in late September/early October and really looking forward to it. Staying at the Metropole for 3 nights. Your Paris photos also very nice - we had lunch at Taillevant in 2008 - a great experience!

Thank you for sharing those photos! They are beautiful! We're actually deciding our summer travel plans and Lake Como is a place we're considering. I am wondering . . . Did it live up to the hype? Was it really so wonderful, like you know why George Clooney chooses to live there of all places? I would love to hear an opinion. Also, what was your favorite experience?? Thank you!

I do think it lived up to the hype! Not to sound obnoxious, but I've been to a lot of beautiful places, but this was right up there, and when you add in the wonderful food, great shopping, friendly people...I would definitely return, and since I'm someone who likes to go to new places, that's saying a lot. I would like to return and see it in the sun of course!

And some photos of Venice: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/venice-photo-essay.html

Bellagio is gorgeous, we stayed across the lake in Cadenabbia.


I would also recommend going for a day to Como, I was surprised on how nice and how beautiful its Cathedral is.

I believe Como is overlooked and underestimated, I would go back there in a second. My daughter and I took the bus from Cadenabbia several times to go to all the towns and one rainy day we spent it strolling in in Como.

pookymimi, how did you find staying in Cadenabbia? How were the busses when you went off to the towns? And how did you get there in the first place, bus or boat?
Never been there before, and we are going in Sept.

Another post about Venie, St. Marks and Murano: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/venice-st-marks-and-murano.html

Beautiful !!
Thanks for posting them

LOVED your bellagio food link- hope to see one for venice?? we will be in both bellagio and venice in less than 1 month so bookmarking your food reviews.

Stunning photos

We stayed right across the lake from Belliago at the Grand Tremezzo Hotel, next door to Villa Carlotta and you brought back some wonderful memories of the area. We could climb the hill behind the Tremezzo at sunset when Belliago had a golden glow across the lake---fantastic. Taking the boats to the small towns, like Varenna, on the lake was a perfect way to spend the days.

We've been going to Europe in Sept. for many years and it's usually on my birthday so I've had some fantastic birthday dinners.

Lake Como and my birthday dinner at Al Veluu, near Tremezzo is right up there with my all time favorites. The view across the lake is outstanding and the food was exceptional. They grow much of the food right on the property.

http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?ref=SERP&br=ro&mkt=en-US&dl=en&lp=IT_EN&a=http%3a%2f%2falveluu.com%2f

As I look at your photos, Lake Como is calling me back.

Wonderful! And the chef drove you home?! Only in Italy.

TheBevitts - you will see one for Venice very soon, although we were there for less time so it will just have two restaurants, but they are good ones! And we also took an amazing cooking class I will write about when I have a chance.

TPAYT - sounds marvelous!!

Venice restaurants: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/venice-eating-well.html

Great meals! We were always steered right by our hotel clerks. Glad to read there's an app for that too!

How much is an entree and a glass of wine at Oliva Nero?

We are not big eaters, well, at least I am not but my husband will not get fat on this trip if I can help it.

I could never eat an antipasto, primo, secondo e dolci.

In fact, I would be happy with a bread roll and a litre of wine.

Thin

Pepper, perhaps a little good olive oil to go with the bread roll? Sounds like the perfect dinner to me!

Oh, olive oil has too many calories. Can't stay thin and gorgeous dipping bread in olive oil.

I just did some research on that Olivia Nera restaurant and it looks like a tourist trap--many bad reviews about the trickster husband and wife con-artist owners.

Oh, well. We have plenty of restaurants to choose from.

We have heard that there are some good places along the Lista di Bari in San Polo.

16 days and counting to Venice.........

Thin

I'm sorry to hear that some people had that experience...we found it to be anything but a tourist trap, which I am usually very much on the lookout for. So all I can say is from my own experience it was really great, not only the food but the owners. It's hard to imagine them being referred to as con-artists?? But who knows..

The bad reviews of ON were not all about the owners.

Many of the bad reviews had to do with the expense of the food in relation to the quality and service.

I would assume that it is a very expensive restaurant, which is not surprising considering it is near St. Mark's Square.

Thin

Ah...I didn't pay the bill, my dad did remark that it was more expensive than the restaurants in Bellagio, but we all loved our food so he seemed ok with it. I was under the impression that most restaurants in Venice are relatively expensive, and to me, the food and service were of very high quality. But as you said, there are a lot of restaurants in Venice!

Gorgeous pictures, great report... Thank you!

Pepper, please share your restaurant discoveries when you return. Although I don't know if I trust a person who eats a bread roll without olive oil!

And my last Venice post: http://www.eatdreamtravel.com/2012/05/venice-cooking-our-best-meal.html

From now on, I'll be posting about Bologna, where we are based for the next few weeks, so I'll start a new thread!

Again, nice shots and how ironic that US sends fish to Venice! May US standards be "up" to those of Venetians.

Looking forward to Bologna.

Wonderful pictures....These could be my pictures from a few years ago, and I am sad to say I never did a trip report, but your pictures are worth a thousand of my words.....Thank you again.

Thank you...that is very nice to hear. I have been experimenting lately with more pictures and fewer words, usually I am a words person myself, but some things are better in pictures.