I'm posting this brief clip from an e-mail from my husband who is stuck in Bellagio for a couple of weeks (poor dear!). There are so many fans of Lake Como on this board, seems worth sharing.

He writes:
"everything is good here...the day I arrived was very hot and humid and everybody was complaining, then that night there was a big (not tall) storm with hail, rain and bad wind that knocked over hundreds of trees and the power went out all night...very exciting...I heard that a couple of people were killed...the next day, I went into Bellagio and there were trees down everywhere and roofs blown off of buildings...everybody said it was a "two-new-row-dew" but I think it was just strong winds that they have never had before (apparently)...much excitement, but the weather after the storm has been perfect with blue skys and no humidity."

The weather is just wacky this summer!

Gee, I hope none of the Ferraris at the Villa Serbelloni were damaged!

Gee,what next?! We're visiting Paris, Berner Oberland and Lake Como in 1 month, and so far on this board I've learned that the waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen have very little water due to the drought, and now Lake Como has been ravaged by a severe storm! Not to mention the new terrorist threat to Europe-bound airliners leaving from the East Coast. YIKES! I think I need encouragement to keep my excitement level up!!!!!

We returned a week ago from a wonderful trip that included Bellagio and Lauterbrunnen. You will have a wonderful time if you keep a positive attitude. Yes, not everything is perfect all of the time, but that is part of the adventure. We didn't enjoy the heat wave but did enjoy the fact that the long lines of previous travel years seem to have disappeared -- we had no problems at all getting into museums and restaurants and didn't even have to arrive early. You will have a great time -- enjoy!

Kathryn, thanks for your reply!
Actually, I was sort of tongue-in-cheek, as I'm EXTREMELY excited about the trip. It just seems so funny that I keep hearing about things happening in the very places we're going to!
Where did you stay in Lauterbrunnen? We'll be at the Silberhorn. Any tips on places to eat, sightseeing tips, etc.?