Solo travel is a luxury,
As such I began with a massage on arrival to my airport hotel before room service and an amazing nights slumber.

Up bright and early the luxury continued with a visit to the airport lounge for breakfast and to people watch whilst waiting for the gate to open.

My visit to Lake Como was the perfect start to my favourite new past time of foreign solo travel!

The transfer from airport to hotel was hair raising, the coach drivers heading through gaps that made me think of Harry Potter on the night bus squeezing through traffic, the sides missing passing vehicles and buildings with millimetres to spare.

The Britannia excelsior hotel itself possessed an old world charm, with dated yet comfortable elegance in the interior, it’s crowning jewel the floating pool situated on the lake.

The all inclusive feature allowed me to spend as much or as little time at my base as I liked and what a base it was. The perfect spot to catch the ferry, Noddy train or to walk to surrounding towns & villages, I spent my days travelling & sight seeing in Cadenabbia, Lenno, Tremezzo, Bellagio & Varenna.

I love nature and happily spent time wandering round Il Giardino Botanico @VillaCipressi, the gardens @VillaMonastero and the house and grounds of @VillaDelBalbianello, I may or may not have #FanGirled over the beautiful grounds featured in scenes from Star Wars and Casino Royale but next time I’d happily miss the house and just visit the gardens.

Time seems to stand still when you travel alone, the days stretched fabulously endlessly allowing me plenty of time to enjoy wandering, to stop to enjoy local food and to drink cocktails before returning to my base for sunbathing before having to ready for dinner.

My favourite formal excursion of the holiday was the Bernina Express tour, an amazing full day on coach through Tirano, stopping for coffee in the piazza allowing time to tour the basilica, purchase postcards and enjoy coffee with the locals before heading on to Poschiavo to catch the infamous Bernina express train to Diavolezza then rejoining the coach on to the luxurious St Moritz to enjoy lunch and explore the unique ski resort. The journey back via coach took in the Maloja pass and Chiavenna.

My time in Lake Como was made perfect by the locals who embraced me, the majority allowing me to butcher the Italian language despite many of them speaking perfect English.
I had a beautiful interaction with the man from the post office when we gestured and smiled our way through a conversation when neither of us spoke the others language enough to converse properly.

The shop keepers, cafe and stall owners in the market who were helpful and welcoming.
The restauranteur who opened her kitchen to me with a smile and a post dinner limoncello when I ventured out a bit later one evening and all food service had finished.

My travels felt like they went on forever yet my time to depart came far too quickly, Lake Como is a beautiful gem & I was lucky enough to choose it as my first foreign solo adventure... and what an adventure it was!