Exploring Lake Como with Amy

Amy and I had a long day yesterday and by the end of it, we weren’t sure if we were going to head to Lake Como (as planned) or bum around Milan. We decided to not set an alarm and just make a decision based on how we were feeling once we woke up.

When we got up this morning, both of us were up for the short one-hour train ride to Lake Como and I’m so glad we went. What’s been really great about this side trip to Italy is that I really didn’t have any expectations (apart from the whole pizza thing). I didn’t do any research whatsoever on this leg of the trip and my only desire was to see Amy, spend time with her and get to know her friends over here. The fact that we’ve done so much exploring is really just an added bonus. And I can’t help but feel fortunate to have had such a thorough tour of three very different parts of Italy.

After having my very first cappuccino of my life, we got on the train and headed out to Lake Como.



My only knowledge of Lake Como before this was that George Clooney lived there. As soon as we got off the train we walked around in search of food. Unlike Milan and Venice, the part of Lake Como that we first explored was pretty empty. Except for a few touristy type of shops, mostly everything else was closed. But we did a little loop and found a place to get some lunch. We ordered a pepperoni pizza with bufula mozzarella cheese and it was soooo good! It was different than the other pizza I’d eaten so far and both Amy & I devoured it entirely.



Once we housed the pizza, we worked some of it off by walking around the lake, bringing out the Molly Pole for more self-portraits, and then stumbled upon a boat tour for only €5.



It was just about to take off, so we hopped on and realized as we sat down that we had no clue what we had just gotten ourselves into- specifically we didn’t know how long it was or where it went (other than around the lake). For all we knew, it could be four hours long and we’d miss our train back to Milan. That wasn’t the case. What we did get ourselves into was a short 30 minute ride around some of the most beautiful homes in all of Lake Como. It was a wonderful way to see the homes and I loved being out on the water. Although one downfall was that we couldn’t hear or understand a single part of the narration from the captain of the boat.







Again, our timing was perfect and once we got off the boat, we hit up a little gift shop and then got back on the train in time to go back to Milan.

We ended the night with getting together for sushi (seriously!) with Amy, Rebecca, their roommate Lisa and three of their girlfriends. It was another great end to a wonderful day.

Although I’m looking forward to getting back to Ireland (friendly people, no pick pocketers, etc.) I’ve had such a great time in Italy and am sad at the thought of leaving Amy tomorrow. It’s been amazing to see her life here- to see how comfortable she is in this life and this city. She speaks the language so well and has made such wonderful friends. It reminds me of my life on exchange in LA in 1999. The experiences she’s having, the trips she’s taking, the people she’s meeting…all of it is so exciting and I am so happy I got to be a part of this time of her life.

When I look back on my experience at Dominguez Hills almost 10 freaking years ago, I had no way of knowing just how much that would change the entire course of my life. I smile thinking about how fortunate I was to do that program, to have met Audrey, Carrie and Jena. For it’s those people and that time of my life that has had the most influence on how my life is now. And although there have been moments of sadness along the way, I can pinpoint that time as probably the most pivotal point in my life. And I see that in Amy’s experiences in Milan and get so excited to think about how this will undoubtedly change the course of her life.