It is in on a beautiful summer day in July when we are on a tour in Europe that covers Italy and Switzerland .How picturesque and colorful Europe is in those sunny and agreable days .We enjoy our trip with friends and our tour leads us one day to the magnificent lake of Como which is the third biggest lake in Italy after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore .

The environment is gorgeous . We pass through the Alp mountains green forest and see the blue of the lake down shining there .

The Lake of Como has a space of about 146 square kilometer .It is 46 kilometer long and its deepest point is 400 meter .It has the shape of a Y and is one of the most attractive and well known locations in Italy .

The closest bigger city in the environment is actually Milan , so once you might visit Milan it is just 40 kilometers to Como and very easy and worth to come along .

We drive down the slopes and arrive at the beautiful litte port with its cute small boats floating on the water.

Especially the wooden boats in Italian design are so nice !

The history of Como goes back to the Roman times when it was always a location for noble people to settle down with their gorgeous villas and gardens as also the climate here is very mild and pure .

Especially all the luxurious villas around the lake which are of worldfame can be seen and all of them are archictectural gems per today .

One of the most beautiful and well known villas are Villa Casinella ,Villa Pliniana ,Villa D’Este ,Villa Carlotta ,Villa Olmo ,Villa Serbeloni and they are nowadays rented out for for wedding ceremonies , parties, business events , special ocassions like fashion shows of haute couture brands or serving as hotels .

Villa Balbianello for instance is a very famous one with its gorgeous terrace gardens and was used many times as a film set for international movies such as for James Bond “Casino Royale “, ” Oceans Twelve ” , ” Star Wars -Episdoe 2 -Attack of the Clones ” and for some TV series.

Lots of celebrities like George Clooney , Madonna ,Julian Lennon , Sylvester Stallone , Richard Branson ,Lionel Messi etc have their magnificent villas in Como . These highly valuable houses are often changing their landlords.Nowadays especially very rich Russian and Chinese are buying real estate at the Lake of Como .

One of the Best things that you can have here is to have a boat trip from one end of the lake to the other .

So this is what we decide to do .

The surrounding is of such a beauty – the blue of the water , the green of the foreest and the trees around and the colorful boats on the lake .

The sun is shining and to be on the lake with some fresh breeze of the waves and the wind is really great .

We do enjoy the trip and are watching the beautiful buildings and their garden terraces at the slopes of the lake .

There are quite some little villages along the lake eg Bellagio , Menaggio , Varenna , Como , Lecco , Cernobbio , Tremezzo and it is worth to stroll around these villages which partly have some steep streets .

The narrow old streets are full of little shops with little things to buy .whether it is some souvenir type of items or some cheese, some hand made pasta or some spices or some oil .It is always fun to explore the surrounding .

Inside the villages are also often gothic type of cathedrals or churches which are also worth to visit .

There are also some wineyards and farms around to buy some wine or some organic food .

After such a boattrip and excursion it is always time to have a break , to sit down at the seaside and to enjoy some local food which could be some great Italian salad , some Bruschetta , some hand made pasta with great ingredients or some fish or meat .the Italian Cuisine is one of my favourites and all italian dish seems to be delicios for me .

Here in Como especially the local white “Risotto Pesce Persico ” seems to be famous as well as the ” Missoltino ” which is a dried salted sardinia and both are made of fish which is growing in Lake Como .

If you like desert then the Italian Ice with Strawberry called “Fragole con Gelato ” as well as the “Panettone” is special to the region .

Italian wine or after your meal to have some great strong Italien Espresso or some Cappuccino is gorgeous.

Some prefer some ” Sambuco ” or some ” Limoncello ” as a digester .

For me Italy is one of the countries where I love each and every corner and that I could visit 1000s of times and enjoy each time .

After having done such a nice boattrip on Lake Como we just continue our trip to Switzerland and its lakes in Lausssane , Zurich and Lucerne which are in the same of awesome beauty , especially in summer times .