Beautiful Lago di Como
Well, there is not much to say when coming closer to Lago di Como, apart from – it is just BEAUTIFUL!
For me, this was the only time during our travel where I did not really want to leave the place after 2 full days spent there. Despite the hot summer weather. But then again, we had the lake in front of our Bed & Breakfast and one could take a morning dip, an evening bath, night swimming…..
Our B&B was Frontelago, run by Marie and Pietro, who are some of the nicest hosts we ever came across, Tripadvisor fully confirms what we experienced. Frontelago means “in front of the lake” and that’s definitely what describes it best. We found it by recommendation of Agostini, the local Moto Guzzi dealer.
We were allowed to park the motorcycles on the premises and could even have used their garage. Just that the entrance was so steep that we decided against it. Not that there weren’t any steep roads to climb on this trip, but that is another story to come.
Frontelago is in Olcio, which belongs to Mandello but is situated a few kilometres further North. Apart from being close to the lake we had “Gelati” (ice cream) just around the corner, and a kind of unofficial restaurant around the corner. Maria booked us in two nights, and we got proper Italian food. The full range consisted of Antipasti, first course, second course, Dolci, a bottle of quality Italian Merlot, table water, coffee and even a Grappa. Price? Thirteen Euro per person.
The restaurant is run by Mamma Lucia and since we were there twice we noticed that this dinner option is also extremely popular with the locals. Right in the corner sat two rather distinguished elderly ladys, both equipped with a fan, observing the happenings in the restaurant and friendly greeting everyone coming in or passing by. Then there was Angelo, an elderly gentlemen who seemingly did not have all the stables in the horses anymore, but who was well appreciated among all the regulars. Not to forget two younger lads, we couldn’t figure out if they also were guests in the area like us or local regulars. And then there was us and a really lovely American couple also staying at Frontelago, quite a bit older then us who were doing a modern version of backpacking through Europe. Means they kept the backpack but otherwise like us indulged in the good stuff like good food and good but reasonably priced places to stay. Their means of transport were planes and cars, though.
The best at that restaurant but also with Maria and Pietro was that one felt somewhat integrated rather than being the odd tourist for a couple of days. People there seem to care, they are open, curious and helpful. Such a difference to Verona, even though people there also were nice. But in Mandello/ Olcio one became part of the whole, even though it was just for a couple of days.
We also went to browse Stucchi Luigi for parts for Elisa, but I did not find what I need. In fact on the left side-fairing I lost the little black part attached to it at the front. The funny thing is, that the Imola in the Guzzi Museum lacks exactly that part, too. “Modelltypischer Mangel” maybe, which is German for “common failure for the model in question” 😉 .
Here is a selection of impressions of our stay – the tour to Mandello and the Moto Guzzi Museum you already could read in an earlier post.
Elisa Travels 