We were up and out straight after
breakfast, down to our private boat to get across to Isola Bella and the Palace of the
Borromeo family. Isola Bella is a stunning island in the middle of Lake
Maggiore, with amazing terraced gardens, a huge palace and albino peacocks (!!!)
wandering around like they own the place.
The palace was absolutely breathtaking. We were shown through approximately 25 rooms of the palace (there are around 125 more that are still closed to the public as the family still uses the palace for their summer home (!!!! WHAT!)) and t grottos below. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos of the actual palace, but we were allowed to take photos of the views from the windows looking out at the lake and the surrounding mountains and gardens (I’ve included some of them). The rooms were amazing, with ornate (but beautiful) decorations and furniture. This palace has some amazing history, including being where Napoleon stayed during summers and where a treaty was signed during WWII. They still have the document, framed and hanging on the wall. The grottos were used prior to air conditioning, as they are below the main house, closer to the water level so the breeze blows into the small rooms covered with white, grey and black coral and rocks stuck onto the walls to create amazing mosaics depicting seascapes and legends of the sea. It was amazing how much cooler it was down there! At least 10 degrees, and with a beautiful breeze coming straight off the water. It was here that our guide told us (if we could keep a secret) that we could take some pictures (below). From the grottos we went out into the landscaped gardens that surrounded the palace. Garden in Italy, unlike at home or traditional English gardens, are not all about the flowers. They’re about layering of different greens and the sculptures places strategically within the gardens. This garden was amazing, with seven terraced layers in the middle, with the top one providing an amazing 360 view of Lake Maggiore. Nice sun deck if I do say so!
We had approximately
an hour of free time to roam the gardens and take pictures (I took way too
many!!) of the lake and surrounding mountains, after which we boarded our
private boat and headed back to the mainland for our next tour. Upon arrival we
boarded the bus and travelled to Lake Como, the playground for the (Very) rich
and famous! This lake was formed by glacial movement, carving out the long
shape in the mountains. It is here that we took a boat ride around the lake to
do a bit of real estate shopping (I wish!). The villas (only labelled a villa
if it has at least two wet docs, the your boats, gardens surrounding it and
enough room for you servants… picky, picky!) that surround this stunning lake
are owned by the worlds who’s who in high society, from royalty to movie stars
and everything in between, as long as they have a spare 20 million to buy their
summer house.
It was so hot on the boat! I was very over being on it and
looking at these expensive houses after about 15 minutes of our 40 minute trip!
The temperature was insane, reaching about 43 degrees with no air!!! Yuck!
Once we finished the tour there was some free time for lunch
and shopping. After a quick lunch of pasta with meat sauce (yummo!), I headed
to the silk outlets and did some retail therapy to cool down! It was
interesting to note that most of the silk, although styled in Italy, were made
outside of the EU! I was horrified to watch all these tourists buying silk
scarves that they thought were made in Italy, that were actually made who knows
wear! I only bought a couple of scrunchies (made in Italy) and some flat,
beachy shoes… yay! I met up with the rest of the group and we travelled back to
calm, and quiet Lake Maggiore. We had a couple of hours to freshen up and hit
the pool (it was fantastic, set on the side of the lake!) before we took a private boat, captained by Pierre, to
Isola de Mardre (Mother Island) in Lake Maggiore for our Be my Guest dinner. We ate at La Piratera, with our chef, Lucca, creating a fantastic menu (very full!) of seafood and beef, with an absolutely fabulous tiramisu for dessert while the sun set over the surrounding mountains. It was soo light, and fluffy, with a light coffee flavour. It was to die for!
The dinner was fantastic! Great end to a fantastic
day!
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