Today we leave Verona and head towards the mountains to Como. The
weather appears to be good for the day - overcast and cold (4 degrees)
but no rain. Freeway driving all the way (with appropriate tolls of
course) makes for a fairly quick trip. Getting closer to Como however,
and the weather starts to close in - low clouds and pea soup fog.
Patches of snow on the roadside gives an indication of what is to lie
ahead.

Como is a charming town which lies on the shoreline if Como Di Lago
(http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/lakecomo. html). It is surrounded by snow flecked mountains and has an alpine character. There is of course the obligatory "old" part of the town as well as new
developments around it. All up, looks like a great place to camp for a
few days and use it as a jumping off point for Switzerland and Germany
(although these two may depend on the weather over the next week).

At the end of the day it's time to search for that authentic italian food
experience. doesn't take long and soon we're sitting in a cosy
bar/ristorante called the "Market Place". I ordered a Polenta with
mushrooms and spinach to start with - simply divine For mains we both
had a dish of homemade pasta with mussels, potatoes and tomatoes with
basil - out of this world. Looks like we have found our eating place
while we are here.

Woke up this morning to an absolutely glorious day. The temp was still
cold (about 3 degrees), but the skies were a clear blue, the sun was
shining and no wind. A perfect day for some exploring. A slow walk along
the lake ended with the by now obligatory cup of coffee. We then bought
a couple of tickets to take a boat trip up the lake. I know it sounds
real touristy, but it was worth it. The boat was a small wooden ferry
(think old Hales ferries but much smaller)which slowly chugged up the
lake, stopping at various small ports. As we went further up, the
scenery just got better. Snow capped mountains soon loomed ahead of us,
while the edges of the lake were dotted with a mixture of small hamlets,
ornate mansions, restaurants and fishing docks. A truly magic trip.

Townmorrow we plan to head into Switzerland to Lucerne. The weather is supposed to
hold for the next day or two - hopefully it will.