Milan’s Malpensa airport is huge. We touched down here two weeks ago, rented a car, and started a tour of Northern Italy. We’re here now, waiting for the plane to take us home. It’s been a great trip. In case you missed it, here’s a brief Northern Italy recap.
Bellagio
When we arrived in Italy, the first thing we did was pick up a rental car and set the GPS for our first home base, Bellagio, on Lake Como. An hour later, angst was setting in. I was sure we took a wrong turn – we were heading up the west side of the long, skinny lake, and Bellagio was on the east side. It turned out that the GPS took us to a ferry crossing that went straight to Bellagio. That GPS unit was smarter than I was!
Bellagio is beautiful. Peaceful, quiet, not too big, not too small. We parked the car and didn’t touch it for four days. There was no need – we went everywhere by boat. We had lunch that day in the little lakeside town of Varenna. The next day, we took the train from Varenna to Milan for a day-trip.
Day-Trip to Milan
In Milan, we took a 4-hour tour that included Sforza Castle and the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper hangs in the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie. I wasn’t able to unravel any of the painting’s secrets, but there’s nothing like seeing it in person.
After the tour, we had lunch in Milan’s famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, then walked a few blocks to the Pinacoteca (Museum) Ambrosiana. The Biblioteca (Library) Ambrosiana is in the same building. It was one of the first libraries in Europe.
We were there to see a special display of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks. I also wanted to see Petrarch’s personal copy of Virgil’s writings, complete with Petrarch’s scribbles in the margins. Way back in the 14th century, he carried that book with him everywhere he went.
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana is an awesome museum. With the help of multiple attendants, we scoured it, but I never did find Petrarch’s book. Seeing pages from Leonardo’s notebooks made up for missing out on Petrarch.
We took a taxi back to Milan’s central train station, took the train back to Varenna, and a boat back to Bellagio. What a day. We slept good that night!
The next day we just walked around beautiful little Bellagio, then took a boat to Villa Carlotta, on the other side of the lake. The gardens at Villa Carlotta are spectacular.
Music Lover’s Paradise
On the way back to Bellagio, we stopped for a glass of vino and a beer at tiny lakeside café. The owner was a lover and collector of music. We listened to Fats Domino, Italian oldies, the Mamas and the Papas – you never knew what would come on next. I could have stayed there all day.
That night we had a memorable dinner in Bellagio. Entertainment was provided by our servers – a nice lady and the “gruff guy” who wasn’t really gruff at all. They treated us like we were their special guests.
When I ordered, he’d make a face, shake his head and say, “no good,” to each thing I chose until I came to what he wanted me to order. When people at the next table ordered other entrees, he’d look over at us and shake his head – “No good.” Hilarious.
Santa Margherita Ligure
From Bellagio, went drove to Santa Margherita Ligure, by way of Parma, where we had an amazing lunch. I’ll never forget the sight of those “gamberi.” Mamma mia. I found out later that I had chalked up four traffic citations for passing through Parma’s infamous no-go zones, so it turned out to be an expensive lunch.
While in Santa Margherita Ligure, we took a walk through wild-boar-infested woods, (as we found out later), all the way to nearby Portofino. The plan was never to walk all the way there. It just worked out that way. We rode back to town in a big, fancy Audi SUV taxi driven by the Italian Sebastian Cabot. He took his time driving us back, and gave us an unforgettable guided tour along the way.
The next day, we took the train to the five fishing villages that make up Cinque Terre. While in Vernazza, I feasted on fresh anchovies, which this part of the world is famous for. I ordered an appetizer that was all anchovies, cooked multiple ways. I learned that it IS possible to have too many anchovies. (Even if they’re the good ones).
Cinque Terre is a big tourist draw, rife with pickpockets. We took all the precautions, but they got me, anyway. Took my wallet out of my deep FRONT pocket without me knowing. I have to admit, pulling that off was impressive work. It was annoying, for sure, but not much harm came from it.
Alba
Our next home base was Alba, where the week-long truffle festival was in full-swing. From Alba, we took a day-trip to the hilltop town of La Morra to taste the local vino – Barolo. While in Alba, we attended the famous Donkey Races of Alba – a spectacle not to be forgotten anytime soon.
Ah… Italy. The people. The food. The everything! Mamma mia! But now it’s time to go home, I guess. If we have to. That’s OK. We have to go home, otherwise it wouldn’t be possible for us to come back, eh?
To be continued…
