Memories from Mennagio to Milan
Enough time has passed from our time in Italy, that my memories of Lake Como flash like a flipbook.
Bronte’s first ice cream, chocolate and strawberry gelato. Pasta, Pizza, Risotto. Limoncello and Champagne. Timoncello. Limoncell-HO. Lakeside dining and drinks. Splashing fingertips and toe-tips in fountains. Narrow alleys and brick pathways. Tim grilling steaks. Emma’s pasta. Anne dancing solo. Bronte organizing our luggage at 3a.m. every, single, night.
In Mennagio, the memory-animation jumps between food, walks, and Bronte’s torrid relationship with the Boardwalk: her smelling all its flowers and more notably, the egg size lump it left on her head. Between our lakeside AirBnB and the town, it was a 30min walk that consisted of rock climbing spots and multiple swimming holes. While Jamie and I (and I presume the rest of the household) try to forget the absolute lack of sleep Bronte did the entire trip, we found slow mornings swimming in the lake and an afternoon at the Victoria Beach poolside cabana to be an adequate pace for relaxation. Bronte fell asleep in her stroller, allowing Mama time for a Cappuccino and time to read a book, while Jamie went off to take photos. Another time, she slept in the cabana and we got to sip champagne and eat pizza.
The boat ride was a major highlight, and as I flip through the pages now bound in my memory, I see this: Jamie jumping from the bridge in Nesso, Megyn pouring Champagne and Limoncello, pistachio shells, Villas of all sizes perched on jutting rocks, boat inlets, and the calculation of if you can beat a ferry in time. For a half day, the grown ups had the boat, and for the second half, us kids had the boat. Bronte stayed on shore, napping for hours on Aunt Anne, while Jamie and I got to feel the wind whip through our hair with Megyn, Emma, and Johnny. We all took turns driving (Jamie was not allowed to, as she went too fast), and we found quite nooks to jump into the water, under bridges, and off rock walls.
The house that Aunt Anne found could not have been at a better location, or more “happily situated.” Luckily, the lobster floaty was on sale in town, and made its way back to Ohio. It turned into the iconic symbol of our accommodation. Jamie and I will always remember, waking up in the later mid morning, opening our French doors from our room out to the balcony, and seeing Megyn in the distance, paddling on the lobster floaty with a toy shovel she found on the beach. At night time, during the few hours Bronte actually slept, we would skinny dip in the cool Como waters, with nothing but the moon, stars, and distant town lights to play with the waves and the skin of our shoulders.
In the town of Bellagio, Bronte decided to sleep. As we wanted to shop, and the town itself is winding brick pathways, we left her with Tim. Luckily he got to enjoy a sip of his beer and a bite of his sandwich before she woke up, but the true magic Bronte gave him was peeing on his leg and giving him a scavenger hunt to find poop that rolled out of her diaper in beautiful, Italian Piazzas. While we promised him she would sleep the whole time, he got to babysit instead.
At the Villa Melzi Gardens, we got excellent photo ops, and enjoyed the easy stroll along Lake Como, and amongst beautiful landscapes. We ended at Spiaggia Pubblica di Bellagio, a public beach that has the Riverside Beach Bar, a place Holy to Uncle Tim for its meats. Jamie, Bronte, and I got into the water, jumping from a floating island off the coast, while the rest of the party enjoyed drinks and appetizers. Bronte got the royal treatment with the fruit bowl that came out, that was also basically the size of her. From our swimming adventure, we walked to the town of San Giovanni, and took the ferry back home.
Our second town day was at Varenna, the darling of them all, in my opinion. The ice cream was unbeatable, and the cute town squares were open and relaxing. We had some of the greatest tortellini at a restaurant that sat within a town square, and Bronte found tiny details, such as small animal Nativities, around the churches that our walk wrapped around. We got stuck in a beautiful rainfall at the end of our day, and found shelter near the ferry, relishing in our loot from the day.
Another ferry ride (or for some of us, a bus ride) to Villa Carlotta was incredibly fun. It was here that Aunt Anne discovered Limoncello with champagne in a slush form, and I got the proper Caffe Shakerato. After walking the gardens of the villa, we got drinks at the iconic hotel, The Grand Hotel Tremezzo, where we had aperol spritz’s the size of our heads, Bronte got another massive fruit bowl, where I got my drinking cup inspiration, and where they had the best little candy spot.
Milan was our last stop! Between bus, train, and bus again, in four hours we made it to Milan from Menaggio. We had one full day to spend, and we loved the architecture of the Duomo, and Bronte loved chasing all the pigeons. We ate gelato again, got snacks at markets, bought books for Bronte, and sandwiches at Panini De Santis. But the highlight of Milan was a bucket list item for me: visiting The Last Supper at the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. While we only got 15minutes to stand in front of the mural, we got witness something that has been preserved against all odds. How they protected it during the bombing of WWII, and how they have preserved and restored it painstakingly is beautiful. It’s preciousness is in its detail, and not because Di Vinci created a new and detailed version of the Biblical scene, but because after all these years, we are still in awe and wonder of what he portrayed and how he did it. How he studied sign language and used hand expressions to go with each apostle’s character, lifestyle, and how they could react to Jesus’ accusation. And to top off the beauty of that moment, Bronte woke up during the last few minutes, and we got her to see the painting before we had to leave.
