clooney's backyard

With six consecutive weeks of teaching over, it's safe to say I was feeling pretty exhausted. I'd planned to visit my good friend Rhea in Berlin the following week, but I had three days until I was due to head to Berlin. As I was in the north, I decided to check out Italy's largest lake, Como, for those three days on the advice of my previous host father, Luca.

So, I caught five trains and found myself in Como on Saturday afternoon, with no real knowledge about the place except it's Italy's largest lake, and George Clooney has a house there. If it's good enough for Clooney, it's good enough for me!

I'd booked to stay at an Eco-hostel in the Spina Verde National Park, which was completely cut off from the town apart from a walking track and a very steep, very narrow road for authorised vehicles only. The hostel's policy was to pick up their guests from the bottom of the hill when they were checking in, and drop them off when they were checking out - the rest of the time guests had to make their way up the road or along the beautiful pat, which was quite a hike.

This was my first hostel experience in Europe, and it was a beautiful 11th-century building which so much character but it was still very comfortable and about as pleasant as a hostel could be. 

After catching up on some much-needed sleep, I spent my first full day in Como - it was very touristy with a lot of shops and restaurants, but I wanted to check out the lake. I went for a huge walk along the lakefront and found a Lido (outdoor pool) in the grounds of a grand old Villa which was a tourist destination in itself. 

Kids cooling off in some fountains along the lakefront 

Because it was a steaming hot day, and you can't really swim in the lake at the city end, I decided to spend the afternoon relaxing at the pool, taking turns between sunbathing, reading, sleeping and swimming. In Italy, swimming at a public pool means wearing a bathing cap, so I invested in one of these bad boys (which was way too small for my giant head).

 

View of the lake from the Lido with the New Zealand flag flying!

It was such a lovely, relaxing and refreshing afternoon and when the pool closed at 6pm I strolled back to the city, taking in the gorgeous scenery.

For dinner, I decided to treat myself to a non-Italian meal, as I was getting pretty sick of eating pasta. I found a Mexican restaurant on my walk back to the hostel, and I was so excited! I love Mexican food, so, even though it was a bit pricy, I decided it would be worth it..... Well, it wasn't. It was definitely the worst Mexican meal I've tasted, and it taught me an important lesson - in Italy, the only safe bet is Italian food unfortunately!