The Pearl of Como - Bellagio

The Pearl of Lake Como really should be called the Pearl of Italy... But the again we haven't made our way to Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast. Our Italia adventure began in Bellagion, with a quick stop in Milan. Packing somewhat "light" we made our way to the Duomo (church) which is the 4th largestin Europe and took 4 centuries to complete! Luggage and all we went, meaning we visited the inside separately... This made for interesting people watching as we saw a number of well dressing peoplebe turned away (shoulders and knees covered please!). After a maze-like journey we found Luini Panzerotti, a local-known calzone place. AMAZING! I don't think eating Italian back in the States will ever be the same!   Milan was very commercialized, which we were expecting... A lot of tourist and a lot of well know stores. The Galleria was beautiful... If only malls like at home looked like that!   Next stop - Bellagio in Lago di Como. Before you begin to wonder, yes, this is the area where George Clooney lives, but no, we didn't see him. Bellagio is surrounded by gorgeou mountains and all the small towns sit in pockets in the mountain sides. First night, delicious penne puttenesca for me and rissotto with local fish for Parimal. YUM! I find it really interesting how they season their found so well that additional seasoning is not required. Not to mention the freshness of their food. Each day we wandered through the towns, traveling via ferry, and walking through gardens.   We've come to realize Americans are like magnets to each other abroad. We've met so fantastic people all ovwr, with great tips and bits of information as we cover Italy.   And that brings me to the best part of Como - our trip to Menaggio, at Lugano Pizzeria (completely off the beaten path, and filled with locals). I quote Mr. New York himself, "This is the best pizza I've ever had." You know it had to be good :)   A great way to start our journey. The challenged by Rick Steves jn the Lake Como section was to see how slow you can movr. After the go go go of home, we fortunately completed the challenfed successfully!   Off to the water ways of Venice!