If you're an avid follower of the blog (and who isn't?!) there's no doubt that this entry was written long past this leg of our journey. But we decided it was worth it to conjure up the memories of cheese, wine, and overall loveliness, so here we go…(photos courtesy of Troy, as always!)

The last time Clare was en-route to Italy from London, the airline-that-shall-remain-nameless realized upon hovering over the destination city of Genoa that the airport was closed, and re-routed the plane to Turin. Luckily this time, the plane landed in Milan as promised. The first and most important thing to know about Milan is that if you are planning a trip to see da Vinci's "The Last Supper", people book tickets MONTHS in advance. Months! Stop procrastinating and pick up your guide book on hold from the Islington public library early enough to read this super important point! We were fortunate enough to only be gouged a small fortune in exchange for a 10 minute window of time to see this masterpiece, which, well, is actually totally worth it (Troy the historian was spot on.) Especially since we had a fantastic guide who broke down the story behind each individual in the painting with such passion and awe that it was impossible not to feel exhilarated by the stories. The other real stand-outs were the Milan Duomo with its stunning facade and stained glass windows, and the neighbourhood canal area of Navigli where we enjoyed watching the sun set from the waterfront patios. Feeling that we had perhaps over-estimated the time we needed for Milan, we ventured out to the Medieval city of Bergamo on our last day and realised we could have happily used it as a base instead. From the hilltop views that went on for miles, the strains of opera rehearsal wafting out over the square, and the church bells ringing through the hills, it's the little old European city of your dreams. It's a great alternative flight option to Milan, so definitely consider it if you are ever out that way!

Lake Como had been on our radar ever since visiting Lake Maggiore several years ago and falling in love with the alluring mountains/lakes/pasta combination, and so we based ourselves in the village of Bellagio to do some ferry hopping around the lake. As the main tourist season had finished, we often had boats and town strolls all to ourselves; perfect for working on those quaint cobblestone street photos! Anchovy pizzas were consumed frequently, gelato flavours were compared, and shop keepers were very good at convincing us to buy just "one more" pastry. Does Italy have it all?! It certainly seems so. We adored Varenna with its brightly coloured houses and meandering lakefront stroll, where we followed a sprightly Yellow Lab who periodically took lakeside dips before continuing on with his journey. (Every proper vacation should have a sweet dog experience.)

Oh and speaking of dogs! We were staying beside the tiny village of San Giovanni which we just saw featured in the Netflix series "Dogs". It is a beautiful, moving story about a family (and dog!) living in this area, so check it out if you feel inspired to learn more about Como!