WEEKEND AT LAKE COMO, ITALY: A LEISURELY STROLL + LUNCH.

bellagio! the PEARL of lake como. when you visit here, be sure to schedule in a leisurely stroll through the charming cobblestoned streets of bellagio. i mean look at this – so PRETTY and quaint! it is a small town packed full of charm – you will want to take a photo in every little nook and cranny!

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we left jack’s hat in our car (parked a little out of the way from the town center) so we stopped by this sweet little hat shop and bought him another one. the lady there was so so sweet to the kids!

all that strolling around made us hungry! we looked around for a place to eat (so many options!) and we settled on this place! i thought it looked so inviting and the little alleyway just beckoned us to have a seat. plus the waiter was so friendly! by the way, that is the entrance to our lovely hotel back there – i’ll have a separate post with my reviews + photos soon.

as we sat waiting for our food, we admired all the copper touches and explained to the kids that copper turns pale green over time as it reacts with oxygen in the air (oxidation). this beautiful green color (which happens to be my favorite shade of green) is the natural shade of patina that forms as a layer over the copper surface. this patina prevents further oxidation, making copper one of the most long-lasting materials! the kids were very awed to learn that the statue of liberty (as well as many of the famous rooftops here in italy) was once a shiny copper!

all smiles and ready to dig in!! nothing better than sitting down to some good food in the fresh open air! the kids tell us their favorite parts about our getaways are staying at hotels (they love sleeping in new beds!) and eating and trying new food together. i agree! the rest is icing on the cake!!

this is the view from our hotel entrance. so picturesque and inviting, right?:

we picked up these cute little wooden toys at the toy shop (the one that sells the hand painted wooden trays) and kate wanted to make sure her new little friend was included in our photo!

here is the inside of the toy shop! that ceiling!!!! how amazing are all these wooden pieces??! i wanted to buy them all. those sailboats back there were just gorgeous. as were all the hand carved olive wood spoons, bowls, pestle and mortars, cutting boards, salt and pepper mills, etc. my dream shop i tell you.

settling down on these lovely steps on via giuseppe garibaldi with some refreshing gelato – perfect dessert on a hot day!

we plan on returning because one weekend was just not enough time to take in all of lake como! we stayed at this hotel (HIGHLY recommend) in bellagio for this trip; for our next, we plan on staying at varenna – possibly villa cipressi! here is our lake como bucket list!:

• (done!) BELLAGIO: stroll around the pretty streets of bellagio, view the basilica of san giacomo, shop, have gelatos.
• (done!) BELLAGIO: dine at la punta and take in the scenic views at la punta spartivento!
• BELLAGIO: visit pescallo, an old fishing village + go kayaking!
• BELLAGIO: visit  villa serbelloni’s park and gardens – a luxury hotel built in the 15th century!
• (done!) LENNO: take a ferry and visit villa del balbianello.
• VARENNA: spend a day strolling around this pretty little postcard village! stroll along the romantic promenade, see church of san giorgio, villa monastero, villa cipressi, castello de vezio (an ancient medieval fortress that i just know jack + kate would LOVE).

wearing: liberty print popover shirt, loving this similar madewell shirt too, madewell jeans, platform wedges, soho disco bag that goes with EVERYTHING, my favorite everyday gorjana rings (love these too!), ONA prince street messenger camera bag.

kate’s dress, her rose gold vans (we just got these gold silver ones for back to school + silver back pack for kate + matching pencil case + glow in the dark back pack for jack), jack’s shirt (i always get multiple colors of this cotton polo – so comfy and easy to wash!), sunglasses, backpacks.

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