{"id":59012,"date":"2017-09-27T07:33:57","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T12:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/?p=59012"},"modified":"2017-09-27T10:10:13","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T15:10:13","slug":"dream-trip-italy-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/27\/dream-trip-italy-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Dream trip to Italy part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and happy Wednesday morning….so as you know about a month ago we were in Italy, Verona then onto Lake Como which is where this post comes into play.\u00a0 I covered Verona and our wonderful few days there (click here if you missed it)<\/em><\/span><\/a> and then we went onto magical Lake Como and let me tell you,\u00a0 this place really<\/em> is out of a fairy tale. George and Amal have the right idea!<\/p>\n

We were there for a wedding but since it was an affair that stretched out over a few days we stayed a few extra days. We had the good fortune to stay at the iconic Villa d’este<\/em> and all I can say this has officially replaced the George V in Paris as my personal favorite hotel in the world. It really is that<\/em> incredible.<\/p>\n

We so enjoyed our stay there and the rooms were very luxurious in an old world but pristine Italian kind of way (think heavy brocade drapes, fine antique furniture)\u00a0 We had a huge balcony that overlooked the lake and gardens, what a view to wake up to every day! The grounds and gardens are out of this world and service unparalleled. I had them come to pick up my gown to be pressed and I swear it was back within 10 min. They gave us room service at 3am when we came back from the party realizing we hardly ate, pizza never tasted so good. You are treated like royalty!<\/p>\n

Our visit there was mostly spent doing wedding festivities but we did have some off time to go and explore and\u00a0 walked outside to the little town, Cernobbio which is just outside the gates of the hotel. It felt like something out of Nancy Meyers movie…it was so charming and picturesque. All the shops close around 1 for an hour (or two) for lunch….they sure know how to live and we even squeezed in some shopping:)<\/p>\n

Not going to do a lot of narrating as the pictures really do tell a story of their own, hope you enjoy!<\/p>\n

Driving into Lake Como is right out of the movies-<\/p>\n

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And the hotel is truly “otherwordly”-<\/p>\n

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The gardens are so majestic and perfectly manicured,every flower stands at attention, not a blade of grass out of place!<\/p>\n

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Huge sprays of yellow and white daisies were everywhere and look the hallways and lobby was done in my favorite color combination!<\/p>\n

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Around twilight, this place literally looks like something out of a fairy tale,\u00a0 the hotel and the magnificent grounds take on a magical glow…<\/p>\n

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Being out and about in the darling town of Cennobio where tiny super chic stores the sizes of a shoe box line the charming street, its a stones throw from the gates of the hotel so makes a great walk early in the morning<\/p>\n

And yes of course we had to try the pizza!<\/p>\n

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The second night we were there we attended the second part of the wedding festivities (we had missed the dinner party the night before), a white\/pastel party at the incredible Villa Balbiano. It was sooooo beautiful and super elegant, amazing food, beautiful music, a “pinch me” moment for sure! Made me want to renew my vows and get married again…. (a special shout out to The Lake Wedding Planner who planned all three days of festivities..bravo)!<\/p>\n

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A couple of very short videos to capture the essence as the night got started…..<\/p>\n

\nhttps:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_6220.m4v<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n
https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_6221.m4v<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

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One of the highlights of not only this trip but any I have taken recently was driving all the way up the mountain and getting to dine at Il Gato Negro. Pictures cannot even do this restaurant justice, so wish I had taken more but even then they cannot capture the essence of this amazing restaurant. Not only was the food fabulous (as was the wine) but the view…OMG the view was to die for. There is reason this is George and Amal’s (yes on a first name basis) restaurant.<\/p>\n

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This picture does not do this beautiful restaurant justice but the decor was so fabulous<\/p>\n

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Overlooking all of Lake Como, we got there right as the sun was setting and it was just incredible. The decor is so beautifully done, it’s really hard to put into words but absolutely a must do if you are going to be visiting Lake Como, trust me!<\/p>\n

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RECOMMENDATIONS-<\/span><\/h2>\n

Hotel- The one and only Villa D’Este<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Travel agent- Sandy from You May Be Wandering, click here to contact Sandy<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

See the gardens! Villa Del Balbianello is considered to be the grandest, Villa Carlotta is quite magnificent and there are many more<\/p>\n

Take a boat ride! You have to see Lake Como from a boat (can be arranged through the hotel)<\/p>\n

We didn’t get to go to Bellagio but hear its amazing, and a must do on our next trip there:)<\/p>\n

Restaurants-\u00a0 the hotel restaurant is fabulous (the main dining room requires a jacket for men), all the local little cafe\/pizzerias were outstanding, <\/span><\/em><\/a>and of course<\/span> Il Gato Nero<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/a> is a MUST!<\/p>\n

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Thank you for coming on this virtual trip with me back to a true modern day la la land, Lake Como. I cannot wait till we go back, and it’s not an “if” it’s a “when”. Absolutely magical! And a special think you to Sandy my incredible travel agent who seamlessly put our trip together with not a single snarl. Part 3 ( the wedding) will be posted in a week or so.<\/p>\n

Wishing everyone a wonderful day and hope your week is going well…<\/p>\n

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Hello and happy Wednesday morning….so as you know about a month ago we were in Italy, Verona then onto Lake Como which is where this post comes into play.\u00a0 I covered Verona and our wonderful few days there (click here if you missed it) and then we went onto magical Lake Como and let me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[2771,1820,1141,2745,1571,2774,2773,2772,1609],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59012"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59012"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59114,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59012\/revisions\/59114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.enchantedhome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}