Lake Como Luxury (Cont.)

Alpine views from the Bernina Express!

Day 5

We awoke early and snacked on breakfast items at the rental before being picked up by a prearranged rental van. Today was a big day; we were going to see the Swiss Alps! 

When we were researching this trip, we discovered some links, videos, and reviews of the Bernina Express. This bright red train takes passengers on the highest railway tracks in Europe and some of the steepest in the world, winding through the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Rhaetian Railway. Riding the Bernina Express is a must-do for many train enthusiasts, and we all agreed that it looked like an extraordinary experience. 

Hi from the mountains!

This was Susan's bucket list item, so off we went! 

The van picked us up early for the 2-hour drive from Bellagio to Tirano. Our driver pointed out items of interest as we drove along - apple orchards, vineyards, etc. He dropped us off right at the train station, where we easily found the Bernina Express. (Look for the bright red train!) In no time, we were allowed to board and settled into our seats for the ~3-hour trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland. 

The train has light refreshments and drinks available for purchase, in addition to providing a few complimentary items like chocolates. At different points in the journey, your guide will offer light commentary about scenes visible from the observation car. 

When we started our journey down in the valleys near Tirano, it was spring. Flowers were blooming. The trees were covered with leaves. Pedestrians strolled by wearing short sleeved shirts. But as the Bernina Express climbed up, up, up, we found winter! Snow blanketed the ground, and our train sped by majestic white mountain peaks and the occasional snowshoer. 

At Alp Grum, the train makes a very short stop for tourists to take photos and appreciate the impressive mountain views. Then, it's back on the tracks for the remainder of the journey to St. Moritz. 

Caviar and champagne?
Don't mind if I do!

When we arrived in St. Moritz, we found a ski town at the end of its season. Most of the skiers seemed to have gone home, and the town seemed to be in maintenance and recovery mode from a busy season. No worries. We only had a few hours there to explore, and Caron had already made a solid plan for lunch. A scant few steps from the train station was Hotel Grace, and their N/5 - The Bar was the perfect place for an indulgent meal. 

We started with caviar and champagne, and then moved on to an assortment of salads and burgers. Our waiter was so sweet and helpful, the food was amazing, and the view was gorgeous. Because it was midday, we had the bar largely to ourselves. 

After thoroughly enjoying our lunch, we explored St. Moritz a bit on foot, and it started to snow! I was really glad we'd all bundled up! Many of the shops were closed (now that the high season had passed), and we didn't have a lot of time before we had to be back on the train, so we made our way back to the train station for the beautiful return trip. 

On the way back, we were accosted on the train by a fellow traveler from - of all places - Madison, Mississippi! What a small world! He'd heard our accents and knew we were from his neck of the woods! Throughout our trip, we kept bumping into Southerners!

Then, it was back in our private van and back to our rental in Bellagio, where we stretched out and slept! 

A few things to consider if you're thinking of making this trip:  

• You have to book tickets far in advance (especially if you want first-class seats in the observation car - that's a second booking in addition to your train ticket).
• Riding the express from Tirano, Italy, to St. Moritz, Switzerland, and back in a single day (which is about 6 hours round trip) makes for a looooong day. (That's not even counting getting from Bellagio to Tirano and back, which is four hours round trip, for which we hired the van.) What we noticed more people doing was using this experience as a true way to get from point A to point B. So they only rode the express one way, not round trip like us.
• If you want to book the first-class observation seats with the best views, book the side of the train in which seats that are single seats are facing one another, with a little table in between. If you book the seats on the other side (sets of two seats facing each other, for a total of four seats sharing a table), the best views will be on the *other* side of the car. 

Mountain mamas! 

All in all, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If I had to do it again, I would have either taken the train to get from one place to another or I would have spent the night in St. Moritz to give myself a little bit of a shorter day. 

Day 6

After our marathon the day before, we took it a little easier. We slept in a bit, then roused ourselves and got ready for a day trip to Tremezzo, which is a short ferry from Bellagio. When we arrived, Caron led us to lunch at the gorgeous Grand Hotel Tremezzo, which has a distinctly Wes Anderson vibe. (Think symmetrical, and with his color palette.) She'd booked us a fantastic table on the hotel's second-floor lakefront terrace, and the space was gorgeous. 

So much beauty at Villa Carlotta 

This was a trip hack that Caron taught me on this vacation. If you aren't staying at these five-star hotels, don't worry. Book a lunch there, and you get to enjoy the ambiance of the place and also snoop a little into how the other half lives. Genius. 

Lasagna at Hotel Tremezzo

I got the lasagna and a lovely glass of red wine. (I also documented the brand of balsamic vinegar they had on each table, as it was FINE.) We enjoyed our food and the expansive views. Once we were finished with lunch, we walked the short lakefront sidewalk to Villa Carlotta, where guests could both tour the opulent interior and enjoy the extensive gardens. Whereas Villa Cipressi had been dripping with wisteria, we arrived at Villa Carlotta to find it covered in madly blooming azaleas and rhododendrons. They were magnificent, and they were everywhere. Camelias, too!

We took our time exploring the gardens, covering nearly all of them, before venturing inside. The interiors featured ornate ceilings and beautiful art, including a passionate, delicate statue of Cupid and Psyche. 

Before we left the villa and gardens, we noticed some signs pointing to a pop-up shop featuring a local artist in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden. We followed the signs and stumbled onto the prettiest glass art! I found an earthy piece to take home - a forest painted on glass and affixed to a piece of natural wood. The artist also had tons of unique glass jewelry for sale, as well. 

I loved this visit - the lunch, the villa, the shopping, everything. Upon arriving back in Bellagio, we weren't super-hungry, but we wanted a bit of a snack. We stopped for drinks and munchies at Bar Rossi, then went back to our rental for a lazy night in. 

Cupid and Psyche <3

Day 7

Today was a day for pampering and dolling up. 

We'd all booked spa appointments (at different times) earlier in the week at the spa at Hotel Belvedere. This property was a stone's throw from our rental, and they offered massages, facials, a steam bath, and saunas. We each booked staggered appointments, and mine was the last one (in the late afternoon). That meant I had most of the day to myself.

Gleaming altar at Bellagio's
Basilica di San Giacomo

I started out by visiting Bellagio's Basilica di San Giacomo, which features beautiful stained glass, ceiling mosaics, and a gleaming altar. Then, I made my way on foot to Villa Melzi, where you can tour the lakeside gardens (and their impressive hardscapes) as well as some interior museum space. 

This was such a beautiful stop. The weather was perfect, and the villa wasn't too crowded. The gardens were very different from the ones we'd toured earlier in the week, with little pools and bridges, a family chapel, a Moorish pavilion, and lots of statuary. The villa's museum space had an exhibit on Napoleon, who conquered most of Italy in the name of the French Revolution in the late 1700s. It was just a pleasure to be there, unhurried, and enjoying so much beauty. 

By this time, I was getting hungry. Upon leaving the villa and gardens, I stumbled across Cava Turacciolo, a locally owned restaurant and wine cave. What a find! Only a block or so off the main drag, this perfect little spot had a huge wine selection, great food (I had more ravioli! YUM!), and a super-friendly staff. Prices were reasonable, and I loved the atmosphere here. 

Sated, I headed to the Hotel Belvedere spa for my appointment. My aesthetician first gave me a wonderful full body massage, and then followed up with a facial that left my skin as smooth as glass! Perfection! 

Moorish pavilion at Villa Melzi

On each trip we take together, our group sets aside a little time to have some professional vacation photos made. My ladies grumbled about this the first time I booked it, but as soon as those first photos from Paris came back (and they were GORGEOUS), I've had no complaints! For our Bellagio trip, we found a great photographer in Mattia, who we booked via Flytographer. 

On this day, we'd scheduled our photos pre-dinner to take advantage of low light. We'd arranged a meeting place and time with Mattia beforehand, so we all gussied up and met him down at the lakefront. For the next hour or two, he walked us all around the area, finding perfect little vignettes for our travel photos. We loved this activity, and we had the best time seeing a few spots in Bellagio that we'd missed! 

After our glam afternoon was complete, we headed back to Hotel Belvedere for dinner in their on property restaurant - La Terrazzo. We had a perfect table right near the window, enjoying sweeping views of a different side of the lake. We were delighted by a tasty high-end meal full of amuse bouche, thoughtful plating, and sweet surprises! (And because we were all dolled up from our photo shoot, the staff and other guests may have fawned over us a little bit. It's nice to be noticed sometimes!)

Afterwards, it was a relaxed stroll back to the rental and bed! 

More to come . . .