Nice article on Lake Como in today's online NYT.

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/06/2...25goingto.html

What a great article. Thank you for letting others know about it. I have actually just decided to reroute our honeymoon via Lake Como!

Nice article, as far as it goes, but their map is a little weird - it leaves out the entire Lecco branch of the lake!

And the food she describes sounds pretty ordinary for this area, though no doubt it's good. If you want to try some extraordinary restaurants on Lake Como, look here: http://www.beginningwithi.com/food/rest.html

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

beginningwithi.com

Thanks Deirdre, I was hoping you would chime in with your expert opinion--I put more faith in your restaurant recs than the NYT's (the last time the NYT did a Brussels travel article, I had a similar opinion of their restaurant choices). And leaving out the Lecco arm of the lake is a bizarre gaffe. You should contact them about that one!

I found the article very surfacy and superficial in terms of how well (or poorly!) it defined the Lake Como area.

"I put more faith in your restaurant recs than the NYT's "

Gulp - that's quite a compliment! Thanks!

I agree with HowardR. After reading it, I wondered how long the writer had actually spent in the area. Bellagio was only briefly mentioned which seems odd since it's a major tourist destination.

I was in Como last night (for a concert by the Royal Crown Revue - whee!), and someone told me that Como's getting more tourist traffic these days from Americans hoping to see George Clooney and other celebs, or at least to share the glamor of being in the same places. Whatever... The effects are not good: I got ripped off 7.50 euros for a tiny macedonia (fruit salad) with very indifferent ice cream - I sometimes forget to watch out for the tourist traps! (wasn't expecting them in Como)

At least the concert was free, as was the fantastic dancing.

I also read somewhere that property values in that neck of Lake Como have risen due to George Clooney's presence. I don't think even he expected there to be such a ripple effect.