Jen & Kate's Romantic Getaway Part III: Bellagio

Fully recuperated from the madness that was Zuri Fest, we took the early morning train to Como followed by a leisurely ferry ride to Bellagio...

Monday

The start of the Bellagio selfie craze 

Leaving Port

A celebratory drink to kick things off

This very nice British gentleman sitting next to us turns to me and says, "That's Richard Branson's estate".  I turn to Kate, and I'm like, "Am I supposed to know who that is?" The answer is yes I should, but one of the reasons I love Kate is this - she had no clue either.

Villa del Balbianello as featured in the James Bond flick Casino Royale

I have no idea whose humble abode this is, but I like it.

I am just totally in love with this place.

We reach

Once docked in Bellagio the car service from our hotel came to pick us up.  We stayed at Hotel il Perlo Panorama, which is situated on top of the hill facing the lake.  If you are going to Bellagio you must stay here.  Simply breathtaking views that we could not stop taking pictures of.  Here's a compilation of shots from our stay...

Selfie on the balcony

The grounds.  Our room is the top floor balcony above my head.

Just having a little breakfast on the hotel terrace.

Once we were over the shock of how gorgeous our room was, we were ready to get in the water. The hotel suggested a beach within walking distance only "15 min" away.  Well it took us about 45 min to get there, but it was well worth the hike.

Ha!  I'm leading the way.  No wonder it took 45 min.

Almost there

We made it!

And the selfies keep on comin'

Tuesday

The hotel suggested another beach called Lido di Bellagio.  We went to this "beach", but it turned out to be more like a Miami-style club, so we cabbed it back to our beloved beach that we worked so hard to find the day before.  We also checked out the beach's bar/restaurant - River Side Beach Bar.

#4

The River Side Beach Bar 

Kate medicating her injured foot with wine ice.  Yeah, don't know how much the unintentional hike from the day before helped her Achilles tendonitis, but my girl's a trooper!

Next up on the agenda for the day was renting kayaks with Bellagio Water Sports.  The owner, Michele, was a local and very friendly.  He gave us great dinner recommendations, and even made a stop for gelato on the way back to the hotel.  When Kevin and I come back we will definitely have to do one of his Kayak tours.

See the paddle boarder and two little kids kayaking behind him?  We are convinced that Michele had them casually follow us to make sure we were OK, like friendly safety stalkers. 

Kate taking a dip

Where we picked up some gelato for the ride home

For dinner we went with Michele's recommendation, Ristorante alle Darsene de Loppia, and were not disappointed.  The only bummer was George didn't show up.  We heard it's one of the places he frequents while staying in his Bellagio Villa.  Don't worry we'll catch up with you next time Clooney.

 Apéritifs to get things started while we wait for our table

Pre-dinner photo sesh of the restaurant's setting

#5

 

Dinnertime

Dinner was fantastic, but we weren't ready for the night to end.  So per our waiter's recommendation we headed back to the only place open; our beloved beach bar - River Side.  While enjoying some wine by the water, a wicked thunderstorm came out of no where.  The bar staff quickly rolled out the plastic wall barriers, while the majority of locals peaced out.  We had wine to finish so decided to ride out the storm.  Little did we know cabs stop running after midnight, and there was no way Kate and I were hiking it up the hill to our hotel in a storm with a bum foot.  So we joined the only other table left, a group of locals who generously offered us a ride home.  They'd be leaving in "10 min"....3 hours, multiple shots, glasses of wine, and cocktails later we got a ride home.  Our mothers would be proud. Don't worry he was an experienced drunk driver.

#6 - We have mastered this

Wednesday

Needless to say the next day was the worst travel day in history.  Luckily, I fared better than Kate and managed to get us home to Zurich in one piece.  Once we got home we headed off to bed to rest up for the Swiss finale of our Romantic Getaway...