LIFE: WISH YOU WERE HERE

Lipari, Sicily

ON VACATION  

 SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER WITH NEW PHOTOS AND STORIES ABOUT 

 THIS ITALIAN LIFE

LIFE: Lake Como

SARONNO, Italy - On these hot summer days I can't think of a better place to be than Lake Como. With the temperatures heading toward the 90's, a friend of mine, from my Conde' Nast days and I decided to take the ferry to Cernobbio and have lunch at the opulent Grand Hotel Villa d'Este.

 Small Corner of Lake Como

The restored villa is set in a large Italian Renaissance garden, complete with a rippling waterfall that starts at the fountain of Hercules and ripples down a stone staircase. Inside, the villa is furnished with exquisite museum quality antiques and crystal chandeliers. 

With the sun high in the sky, we decided to have lunch under the tall chestnut trees on the Villa’s lake front terrace. We picked a lakeside table with a view of the sapphire blue water, and with the sound of the lake softly lapping against the shore, how could we not get caught up in the magic of this sweet dolce vita. 

 Villa d'Este, Lake Como

In the mid-afternoon we took the ferry north, along the west side of the lake to visit the Villa Carlotta. In the spring, large buses filled with tourists from Europe and beyond line the narrow road in front of the villa. It’s not just the lure of the pink and white villa that brings them here, but the gardens, that are spectacular in their spring finery of camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. 

Villa Carlotta, Lake Como

The Villa was a wedding gift from the Prussian princess, Princess Marianna to her daughter Carlotta. The Villa Carlotta is just about mid-way around the lake, at the Tremezzo/Cadenabbia ferry stop, where the lake is at its widest and most beautiful. Here the sparkling water is framed by the mountains that hug the border between Italy and Switzerland, opening up from the spur that makes up the inverted Y shape of the lake.

In the days before World War II, Cadenabbia was one of the favorite watering holes for sun-starved northern Europeans. At the historic Hotel Rodrigo, the guest list read like a who's who in Italian and European nobility. With pure silk sheets on the beds, and the reputation for having the best dining room in the area, it was a favorite of Britain’s Edward VIII, who would bring Wallis Simpson here for lunch and romantic afternoon trysts. While the hotel has been closed for several years, the   building has been declared a national treasure. 

Approaching Cadenabbia, Lake Como

The beauty and languorous melancholy of Lake Como continues to attract lovers from all around the world. It was rumored that Prince Charles secretly rendezvoused with Camilla at Castello Maresi in nearby Griante when he was still married to Diana. The rumor was hotly denied by castle employees. 

The pink fairy-tale Castello Maresi sits behind heavy wrought iron gates in a lush, flower filled park-like estate facing Lake Como and the promontory of Bellagio. The tall towers, turrets and a high stone wall add to the castle's secluded romantic atmosphere. 

 The Lucia, traditional boat of Lake Como

From the ferry dock in Tremezzo it is only a short ride across the lake to Bellagio. The town is anchored at one end by the white neoclassic Villa Melzi known for its exquisite gardens and at the other end by the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, playground of the rich and famous. 

Small boutiques and art galleries line the winding cobblestone streets and the old arcades, cafes and ferry jetties give the waterfront a fin de siècle air. Stendhal, who considered Bellagio the most beautiful place in the world, spent his happiest summers here enjoying opera, fighting duels and falling in love. 

During the 18th century the Russian upper classes, the charming and sentimental figures familiar from the pages of Chekhov and Tolstoy, made the hotel their own. Guests coming down to breakfast would often see the Empress of Russia, Prince Metternich or Queen Victoria buttering their toast in the hotel dining room. The Hotel Serbelloni still has an aristocratic air about it. 

Sunset, Lake Como

With the sun starting to set behind the mountains, it was time to board the ferry boat and return to Como. Standing at the rail, watching as the lake unfolded before us, the light soft and sheer, it was easy to see why, since the days of the Romans, all who pass fall this way fall in love with Lake Como. 

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LIFE: The Big Vay Kay

SARONNO, Italy - It’s almost over. In another week or so Saronno will start to come back to life and the eerie silence that has hung over the town for the past month will start to fade. It was lonely walking around town today. The streets are empty, the curtains on the windows of my favorite bar are closed, the tapperelle all pulled down and a computer printed sign on the door that says: Chiuso per ferie – Ci vediamo 30 Augusto. They have been on vacation for the entire month. They are not alone. So have the butchers, the bakers and the Saronno park rakers.

Milan’s Galleria in August

In Milan the only sign of life are tourists following their designated flower on a stick through the empty corridors of the Galleria, giggling and taking photos of each other twirling around three times on the bulls privates. After a quick look at the statue of Leonardo da Vinci, and the La Scala opera house across the street, they too will be whisked away to the next stop on their tour and the sound of the city will be reduced to the dry rattle of the empty trolleys rolling up Via Manzoni. There should be large signs posted at all of the major Italian airports like the one posted on my local bar - Italia chiuso per ferie– ci vediamo in settembre – Italy is closed for vacation – See you in September.

A Trolley Just for Me

Not knowing this truest of all Italian truths was just one of the many mistakes I made when I planned my move from Philadelphia to Italy many years ago. I moved in May foolishly thinking I would be able to pick up some work teaching English over the summer months and then look for a real job in the fall. But everything, and I mean everything, was closed. The local paper would publish a list of shops where you could buy bread and milk, and that list changed daily as one shop after another shut its doors for vacation. How could anyone who grew up in a land that operates 24/7, 12 months a year ever imagine that an entire country could, and would, close down for almost the entire month of August.

It’s a Little Lonely Trolley

As fast as Italy closes down once the weather turns warm, it is slow to get back up to speed when the vacation period is over. Unfortunately the up to speed part doesn’t last very long for as the weather cools people start browsing the travel agency windows thinking about the upcoming Christmas holidays, which at this point are only a little more than a couple of months away.

Cinzia, a very nice lady I met this summer, told me she gets 32 paid vacation days a year. She can pretty much pick the days she wants off because there are only a few people in her office so they decided among themselves what days they will take. Thirty-two days may sound like a lot but it is normal in Italy, even for new hires. Of course if you work for a company for a long time you get even more vacation days added on to the thirty-two.

Closed for Vacation - Will Reopen Sept. 1, 2010

A week off at Christmas is normal with a few additional days tacked on for New Year’s, which is followed almost immediately by the Settimana Bianca, or White Week, the traditional after the holidays ski holiday that no one would dream of missing. By then it is almost March and time to start planning for Easter. There’s an old Italian saying that goes something like – Christmas with your family, Easter wherever you want  - so Easter week is the perfect time for a quick jaunt up to the mountains for one last ski weekend if there is still snow. On the other hand you may want to take a quick trip to the seaside, a sort of preliminary run to get in the mood for what’s coming – summer vacation - where anything short of two consecutive weeks is considered cruel and inhuman.

Seventy Will Reopen August 24

So here we are closing in on the end of August and my computer, which decided on August 1 to start acting up, is still acting up. While it’s not a super serious problem, it does need to be taken care of. I thought about calling my computer guy when it first happened but I know better. Even if he was in town, which I doubt, he wasn’t going to be in the mood to do any work. So I decided to just sit back, pour myself a tall glass of lemonade and take another book off the pile of “want to reads” that piled up during the year and enjoy the peace and quiet of summer in Italy. It won’t last much longer.
 

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