Seeing that our flight was landing at Milan-Bergamo airport, we decided to make the most of it and explore the romantic medieval city of Bergamo and the surrounding lake area. Bergamo is divided into 3 sections - the bottom modern (1800s) town, the Citta Alta on the hill to be reached by funicar - dating back to the 4th century, and then San Vigilio - right at the top of the mountain - really exclusive and reached by a second funicular.
We found an amazing B&B in the centre of the Citta Alta (no vehicular access) in a building - of which parts dated back to the 4th century. Quite amazing - and with the best breakfast I have tasted in a while. Something that one tends to forget when staying in the old towns ...it is noisy !!! The town comes alive at night into the early morning - with tourists and locals coming to enjoy the atmosphere of the town and restaurants. If the windows are open - which they needed to be in the 35degree + heat ...it is as if the crowds are moving through your room. Then the noise of the renovators, scooters and other tenants then start up again in the early morning. Clint's earplugs are worth their weight in gold !!
It was wonderful experiencing this beautifully restored medieval town, with its impressive Basilica, Cathedral, Capella and Pallazzo all in a single square, at all hours of the day and night. We walked it flat - saw the birthplace of Donizetti (opera composer) and the many beautiful gardens and small botanical garden. The beautiful gardens and flower boxes everywhere make this town very special. walking around the back streets we were amazed at how clean, tidy and cared for everything looked. This is also listed as a World Heritage Site and the locals really treat it as such. Most impressive ! This are is steeped in operatic history and I was fortunate to be able to attend a comcert of Verdi Arias in one of the squares. The funicular to San Vigilio with its ancient Castello was a great experience - especially after our sundowners of Limoncello on an extremely high wall ! Never thought I was afraid of heights ...but certainly experienced tingling in the feet and was really worried about disappearing down the crevice !! The Limoncello seemed to ease the fear ...although I made sure that Clint helped me get off that wall !!!
With the heat becoming more intense daily we took a trip to a local lake - Lago d'Iseo, where we spent some time on Monte Isola, which is the biggest European Lake Island and an amazing holiday environment off the beaten track. We hired bicycles and circumvented the island in an hour....all 9 kms ! Beautiful environment with ancient buildings, perhaps 8 cars on the island ...and lots of great swimming spots. We made sure to have some cooling-off time in the wonderfully clear water, before taking the ferry across the lake - to take the bus back to Citta Alta.