We eventually left the rain and dark clouds behind, but not until we had driven right across the Alps through Austria and Switzerland, and found ourselves here in Lombardy amidst the Italian Lakes. After stopping for lunch in a town called Pfunds we then managed to get ourselves lost in a couple of misty valleys that turned out to be dead ends before eventually emerging on a long, winding descent from the mountains into the fourth country of the day.

Lake Como is shaped like an upside-down Y, with the picturesque, but very touristy town of Bellagio sitting in the middle of the arms. We are driving down the west side of the lake, so had to use the ferry to get to it. We used other ferry services too, and took the bikes to explore the towns and shoreline as far south as Colonno. This is a much more favourable way to do the sightseeing here, especially if the busy roads are avoided. It's all very pretty, but not exactly what you might call tranquil.

Yesterday evening was spent dining out and sipping wine on the balcony of a penthouse apartment in Gravedona, with a great view of the lake and mountainous backdrop. This evening we will continue driving south along the shoreline towards the large town of Como. It took us a while to realize that this is possible and that it isn't compulsory to stay on the major roads, which are great for covering distance but exist mostly inside long tunnels, thereby missing all the views.

Posted on 12th February 2015.