First Day in Como … Dave’s planning was a bit aggressive

Last night we went to sleep at about 10:45; this morning we woke up at 7:30 (well, one of us did, but the other slept to about 9:30).  It was good to get the rest.

This is the view we awoke to think morning in our bedroom

Dave had hoped we would be up early to go on the funicular, but he wasn’t really thinking about how we would feel the first day after travel.  Dammit, Dave, we’re on vacation (as thought by Dave).

View from our balcony

Dave seated on our balcony

View from Como waterfront

Linda along Lake Como

Instead, we headed out a little after 11:00 and made our way to a ristorante near the funicular (does that count?).  Linda had a cappuccino, Dave had an Caffe Americano (I thought I’d clarify because when Dave ordered an Americano, the waiter asked “Caffe or the drink?), and an order of cream filled pastry.    It was nice to sit, watch people, and relax.  One of the interesting things was to watch the table next to us get their drink order.  The lady had a Bloody Mary and the gentleman had an espresso and a beer.  Sounds like a great way to start the day.

Cappuccino and pastry

We then head to the Duomo Como (Como Cathedral).  A very nice cathedral.  We were fortunate to arrive near the end of the service and heard some nice music while enjoying looking around.  We stayed through the dismissal, so does that count as attending church today? You can see videos of the church and hear the communion music here and the postlude here.

Roof line and clock tower of Duomo Como

Front of Duomo Como (Como Cathedral)

Duomo Como nave

Next we walked around the city center (Centro Storico).  While we didn’t buy anything other than a postcard to send to Zachary (Linda promised a postcard once a week), we some nice shops.  It’s no Milano, but fashion is clearly important here, too.  We were taken in by a pasta, fungi, and truffle shop.  We need to remember, it’s the first day and we don’t want to carry that around for six weeks. Not to mention, when you only packed two carry-on roll-along suitcases for six weeks, you don’t have any room.

Dried mushrooms, dry pasta, and an assortment of liqueurs

As we continued our walk we came upon a busker. My Asheville friends, this is the busking is done in Como … click here to link to video.

We returned to the waterfront around 1:15 to eat.  The place we wanted to go to, La Vita e Bella, was full.  Linda asked if they would take a reservation/hold a table for us.  They said they would and we returned at 2:30 for our big meal of the day.  We don’t think we can say lunch or dinner because one implies a smaller meal.  Well, this wasn’t the smaller meal.  We had a Rustica Salad to share (green salad mix, bacon, avocado, Tropea’s onion, cherry tomatoes, grilled bread, and basil in a vinaigrette dressing) and two pasta specials for us to share.  One was Ravioli with Scallop and Prawn with soy sauce pesto and drops of Bufala.  The other was Risotto cacao e pepe (cheese with pepper) with shrimp tartar.  All were amazing and we were not able to finish.  I don’t think the waitress thought that ordering three dishes was a good idea, because she didn’t think we’d eat it all.  More specifically, when Linda ordered the salad and ravioli, she said, “That’s too much.  I couldn’t eat it all.”  We planned to leave some no matter what so we didn’t look like pigs, but we really were too full to finish any single dish.

Risotto with cheese and peppers and shrimp tartare. Flakes on top are dried tomatoes and flowers / Rustica salad (green salad mix, bacon, avocado, Tropea’s onion, cherry tomatoes, grilled bread, and basil in a vinaigrette dressing) / Ravioli with scallop and prawn with soy sauce pesto and drops of Bufala and the Mojito and Spritz

We then went back to our humble abode for a little relaxation before heading out, again.

Tonight we walked away from central Como and ran into a few bars/ristorantes that had DJs. W didn’t think we would fit in there, so we continued. We came across a fountain at the end of the road. It kind of reminded us of being in Old Fort.

Kind of reminds you of the Old Fort Geyser, doesn’t it?

We then walked back to the center of Como so we could get some gelato and to try to get tickets for a boat ride to Bellagio tomorrow. The good news is we got our gelato, the bad news is we didn’t get tickets. So, Dave will be heading out to the ticket office first thing in the morning.

Time for gelato. Maybe, Dave can look better the next time he does a selfie.

All in all, it’s been a very good day.