TravelswithCharie

Villa Melzi was the residence of Francesco Melzi d'Eril who was the Duke of Lodi and Vice President of the Italian Republic under Napoleon. This simple and elegant neoclassical villa was designed and decorated for the most part by Giacondo Albertolli. The villa's English garden stretches along the shores of Lake Como from the Bellagio entrance to the Loppia neighborhood on the south end. Plane trees lead to the villa and across the path, rhododendrons and azaleas dot the hillside. The garden was designed by Luigi Canonica and together with the botanist, Luigi Villoresi, they created a garden of aesthetic proportion, with the lake as its natural boundary.  Plane trees and a well manicured lawn lead to the villa from the Bellagio entrance.  This Moorish style temple holds the busts of the Austrian Emperor, Ferdinand I and Marianne of Savoia and the Duke Lodovico Melzi and his consort, Josephine Melzi. The Duke and Josephine were the last of the Melzis to own the

"I ask myself Is this a dream? Will it vanish into thin air? Is there a land of such supreme  And perfect beauty anywhere?" H. W. Longfellow A short train ride from Milan's Cadorna Train Station to Como Borghi and you're in a totally different world. The temperature is cooler, the streets are quieter, pastel hued houses spill down the hillside to the water's edge and Lake Como is as refreshing to the eye as always. I hopped on a ferry to Bellagio which is 45 minutes away. The fare each way is 14.75 euros as of this writing. There were only two lakeside stops along the way and my head turned from side to side as we passed villages, one in which George Clooney lives. As we cruised farther into the lake which is 30 miles long, I held my breath when I saw the snow capped Alps in the distance.     Bellagio is a disappointingly commercial lakeside village. The stepped streets are filled with shops and restaurants. The result of its popu

The Duomo of Milan boasts over 2000 statues of saints and one of Napoleon, ( I read this in my Eyewitness Top 10 Italian Lakes guide book) adorning its façade as well as innumerable reliefs. In a rush to enter the church, I had not spent any time until recently to discover the beautiful carvings and the stories they tell. Sunday at the Piazza del Duomo is always a good day to see the children feed and chase the pigeons. On this particularly warm day, the crowd was out in full force and trying to get a gelato meant waiting in a very long line. I took shelter in the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II where I found a flash mob dancing to the tune, YMCA, by the Village People. It was fun to watch them try to go through the trademark motions of the famous group of the 70s. It made me smile. The iconic glass dome of the Galleria is quite famous as are the tony shops like Vuitton and Prada that rent space here. But there are other interesting things to check out

The Duomo, Milan In the next few weeks I'll be writing in detail about my trip to Italy this June. For the moment, I'd like to share some highlights of our visit to this country that calls you, like a siren, to come back for more. It took more than four centuries to complete the construction of Milan's Duomo. Napoleon Bonaparte demanded it be ready for his coronation as King of Italy. This photo was taken on a Sunday, sunny day and family day. A short train ride from Milan to Lake Como and a total change of pace. Far from the madding crowd, Lake Como is naturally beautiful and peaceful in late spring. It might be quite a different scene in summer.  Bellagio, Lake Como We made a pilgrimage to Padua in the Veneto region to pray at the tomb of St. Anthony. The feast of St. Anthony is on June 13 and we we were lucky to have participated in one of the masses during the 13-day long festivities. Basilica del Santo, Padua Venice is such a fragile p

Image by Charie

I was listening to the radio recently and was completely caught up with the lyrics to Lonestar's hit song, " I'm already there ". It's so visually beautiful and I didn't want to forget it .  Here's a little bit of it: I'm already there Take a look around I'm the sunshine in your hair I'm the shadow on the ground I'm the whisper in the wind I'm your imaginary friend And I know I'm in your prayers Oh I'm already there. And I thought of the special lady who raised me with so much love. She's all the song croons about. I just know it. *  *  *

Earlier this year, I had an unscheduled visit to Singapore. With about 3 hours to explore the city, I decided to check out Chinatown which is a short walk from the Clarke Quay neighborhood where I was ensconced at the Novotel. It was a week before Chinese New Year, the Year of the Snake, so Chinatown was festooned with colorful lanterns and streamers to welcome the arrival of the lunar new year.  Painted Ladies The shophouses that line the streets of Chinatown were built in the style of the painted ladies (Victorian architecture painted in three or more colors) and restored in recent years. These buildings are painted predominantly in pastel and the windows are highlighted in darker hues providing a rich contrast of colors. Beef jerky Nowhere is food more celebrated than in Chinatown especially during the new year. I couldn’t help but stop and stare at these neatly arranged, paper thin beef jerkys and be satisfied with the come hither aroma that pervaded the air.