Como township

Como itself is a mixture of old and new and in parts is quite quaint.  Reminiscent of parts of Verona.  Our driver on our trip to Lugano, Massimo, is Como born and bred and very proud of his home town.  He didn't however mention the gypsies, which were again out in force, although nowhere near the numbers we encountered in Paris. The day didn't turn out quite as we had planned though as with the walk taking nearly an hour we arrived right about the time the sops were closing for the obligatory siesta in the middle of the day.  Many shops actually close by midday, not reopening until about 3.00pm.  That said, they then remain open until about 7.00pm. We were happy to walk for a bit, just looking, then stopped for some lunch. Lunch over we decided to work out how to get ourselves back to Ville D'Este.  The ferry seemed the best option, so I negotiated purchase of two adult tickets to Cernobbio.  At a cost of €5 for two, quite reasonable.  While only two stops away, it was a great way of exploring the other end of the lake.  We sat outside, enjoying the fresh air and view. 1.11.2012