Today is the final day of our "Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps" cruise-tour through AMA Waterways. We were up this morning for breakfast and in the lobby by 8:45 to meet our host for the day. We were taken through the hotel to the same dock where Kim & I boarded our private boat yesterday to sail off on a boat large enough for our party of 40. We headed off towards the peninsula of Bellagio passing many, MANY amazing villas (some we'd seen yesterday, others not).
Our tour boat
And we're off!
Villa used for filming "Oceans 11" & "Oceans 12"
Sailing away
It's a tradition in this village of villas to jump off the bridge NOTE the cool waterfall!
Built in the 1500's this villa is now a luxury hotel that has only 17 rooms - but they cost $120,000 per week :O
George Clooney's villa - opted NOT to join him for lunch :)
Villa built in the 1500's now a luxury hotel
My favorite villa - used in the filming of James Bond's "Casino Royale"
Sailing on to Bellagio
When we arrived for lunch Kim and I took the other four right to the restaurant where we'd enjoyed a stunning view, and a good meal with the friends we'd met on our Viking Greece trip in April right on the water. They were just setting up so Kim approached one of the workers and got us a reservation for 12:30. Here's the ONLY thing about the day that I'd have "issues" with. When we were here in the spring we had an hour and a half to explore, shop, and have lunch....and we stood in line to eat here for 45 minutes. Today however it was the complete opposite. Not only were the crowds SIGNIFICANTLY less, but we docked at 10:45 am and we were not leaving until 2:15 pm. AND there was no tour of historic Bellagio. "You're on your own." Hmmmmm. As I've said M-A-N-Y times, and have written on the post-cruise surveys as well - there should be one tour option that has free time/shopping time and one for those that want to see the sites and be given a guided tour. But I'm not the boss of the tours.
The winding stairway of shops in Bellagio
Lunch with Bill & Linda last spring
Lunch with the group today
This time we sat RIGHT on the water - what a view
Truly "Lunch With A View"
Sailed right past us at lunch
Tomorrow we head for home. Luggage out the door by 2:15 am .... depart the hotel at 3:15 am. Flight leaves Milan at 9:45 and we touch down in Fort Lauderdale
The AMA extension program included a 3 1/2 hour walking tour of Como this morning followed by the remainder of the day on your own. But (a) because we were just here in April and (b) Kim really wanted a day to just enjoy the amenities of our luxury hotel, we opted to just stay here for the day. And for those of you who know me and are wondering why I didn't go on the tour, I too was just fine with a "regroup" kind of day. Especially after the long schedule we've had (but enjoyed every minute) for the past eight days, and then the long day tomorrow with an extended excursion, followed by a 3:15am departure time for the airport on Thursday (OH MY), I thought it was a good idea. We were up early and coffee was ready by 7am so we headed out to the pool deck to sit on the waterfront and enjoy our coffee while the cool breeze off the lake blew across the pool deck.
THAT'S a good way to start the day
My plan for the day was to take some photos of the hotel and begin working on the highlight videos from the trip. My concern was I wanted to "work" somewhere with a view, but I didn't want to (a) be in the hot sun nor (b) did I want to be where it was bright and I'd have trouble seeing the computer screen. So I took a few photos and then we explored the grounds without success to find a spot, so we asked at the front desk and the girl suggested the pool bar area. PERFECT! I was taking some photos and got back out to the pool area and saw a group of four exiting a small, luxury motor boat. Ironically Kim texted me as I turned to walk over to her and I asked, "Would you be interested in a private boat tour today, regardless of the cost?" Immediately - without any consideration for the price, and I was SO appreciative of that - Kim said "YES" and said, "I know you'd love that so what ever the cost is ok with me." I went back and forth to the lobby and talked with the concierge and set it up so it could be the six of us, only four, only Kim and I....and booked the boat for an hour that afternoon.
The view of the lobby as you walk in
The lobby from the first level
Tunnel from hotel grounds, under the road, to the pool area
The pool
The boat dock and stairs to the lake
IN Lake Como Our grandson Oliver FaceTimed us right before Kim jumped in so he got to see it "live" - the wonders of technology!
My "office with a view" this morning
I loved "my office" and got two highlight videos completed (covering the first five days of the trip). Last night before we had dinner, Kim and Karrie had asked at the front desk about restaurants close by and then explored a few of them. One had gelato and we agreed that this would be our lunch plan for today. So around 12:30 we walked about a quarter mile down the road and enjoyed an "ice cream lunch" for a whopping 8 Euros.
Lunch :)
I worked on finishing my second video and then we headed down to the pool bar to get a drink to take on the boat ride before walking to the deck just as Marta was dropping off guests in her boat. She called out, "Mr. Love?" And I replied yes - she said she'd been told it might be a part of six, but I explained the others had opted not to go, so she welcomed us on board for our private tour. She then asked what we wanted to do and we told her we wouldn't mind seeing a few of the villas, but we had a tour specifically for that tomorrow, so riding around the lake was our priority for the hour we were together. And so off we went. Marta did a great job of mixing the sailing with stopping by a few of the villas - most of which were NOT on our tour last April (and I'd doubt they will be tomorrow). It was just a great, GREAT afternoon!
And we're off!
Speeding over the open waters
Luxury villas everywhere!
Marta offered to take our picture, well duh, yes!
Sailing from one side of the lake to the other
Four iconic villas....
John Legend's marriage villa (top left) / Russian prince's villa (top right - note elevator!)
Villa used for "Murder Mystery" with Adam Sandler (bottom left) / Luxury villa with top right multi-story structure is an elementary school! (bottom right)
When we'd reach a villa, Marta would stop, turn around and give us the story :)
The end of a perfect afternoon!
GREAT spaghetti dinner tonite!
The end to another great day!
Tomorrow we have a morning boat excursion, expressly to see the luxury villas and then will continue on Lake Como to the island of Bellagio for a short while before returning to our hotel mid-afternoon.
Today was a L-O-N-G bus day, but despite that it turned out to be a photo-op filled day. We left the ship around 8am with an anticipated two hours to a rest stop. There we were told it would be "about an hour" to our lunch and city tour in Bellinzona - depending on traffic. But talking with our cruise director Lucas at the stop he told us that the tunnel through the mountains was currently closed and we may have to go with a "Plan B."
Our break stop - scenic as is all of Switzerland
We were on the highway for about half an hour and then took a side route for our "Plan B" detour. For the next two hours it was like a drive through Alaska - the scenery just amazing. We took winding roads up, UP, UP the mountain until we reached the summit nearly 7,000 feet above sea level and then would our way back down the mountain. Check out some of the best photos from along the way
The road we took to reach the top :O
After all this time - including the additional detour time we were ready for a "walking tour" if for no other reason than to stretch our legs by walking around the quaint Swiss town on the Italian border of Bellinzona. But it was quickly obvious that something was amiss as the bus guides began heatedly talking. Then we were told that the city tour guides had LEFT because we were late. WOW. So we had time to just go for lunch. We checked out the sites as we headed down one side street and found a nice local pizzeria.
One of the three castles in Bellinzona
Street scenes in Bellinzona
The second of the three castles
Lunch
Photo op after lunch
The third castle along the medieval city walls
Within an hour of leaving Bellinzona we arrived in Como and pulled into our Hotel-Resort-Spa, the Grand Hotel Imperiale and checked into Room 403. Our room isn't large but the few over our small balcony is of Lake Como :) After an hour or so of unpacking etc. the group met downstairs for a traditional Italian dinner.
Tomorrow a walking tour is offered in the morning but after eight days of on-the-go schedules we've opted to just enjoy the amenities of this spa-resort right on the waterfront. Pics from the hotel tomorrow! Then on Wednesday, our final day, we have the cruise of Lake Como past all of the luxury mansions and then a stop at Bellagio (where we were briefly in the spring).
