Doesn't that sound like a great title for a John Grisham novel? Since this summer I didn't go to Lausanne to visit with my friend J.J., I suggested that he come to Lake Como so that we could spend a few days together here. He left very early in the morning for the five hour train journey to Lugano where I picked him up at the train station. As the crow flies it is not all that far, but since there are mountains in the way it requires a lengthy detour north to Zürich, then south to Lugano. From Cadenabbia, on the western shore of Lago di Como, it is about twenty miles to drive into Switzerland. But this took about an hour as the road goes over a mountain pass and then along a very narrow road along the lake. But what a route! The scenery is some of the most spectacular in the world. Lago di Lugano is the closest thing to paradise one will find on this planet. Once again, photos can only poorly render the splendour of the scenery.
After getting J.J. sorted out in the Hotel Riviera we had a wonderful lunch in the restaurant downstairs then hopped on a ferry (which leaves from a pier just down the street) for the short ride over to the town of Bellaggio, the town immediately across the water. It is really warm, so walking in the sun was not appealling. I did climb to the top of the hill in the old town and visited the Romanesque church of San Giacomo, begun in the eleventh century. The interior is built in a black stone and makes an unexpected impression. Since the interior was Baroque-icized in the 17th century and restored to its original form in the early 20th, I suspect not too much of the decor is original. Still, it is quite pretty.
We returned to Cadenabbia for a superb supper. It is no secret that the Italians know how to cook. We shared a lovely antipasto of lightly grilled veggies, then a scrumptious pizza ai porcini, washed down with a fine local red wine. After a luscious dessert of gelato we were in a good mood indeed.
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