Our Lakeside Stay in a Villa at Lezzeno, Lake Como

If the Amalfi Coast is shimmering pastels and Siena is rich, brushstrokes in oils, then Lake Como is bathed in watercolors mingling shadows with light. The views of mountain, sky and water are made chameleon by the microclimates in the Lombardy region of the Italian Alps. From sunny and brilliant to dark and stormy, punctuated with raindrops, no wonder this moody vista is considered magical to those who visit.

For the third stop on our summer tour in Italy, Scott and I rented a car for the 90-minute drive to Lake Como from the train station in Milan. Leaving the dry heat of Siena behind we could already feel the coolness of the verdant mountains and cerulean lake. We rented the top floor of a villa in Lezzeno on the eastern shore of the western arm of the wishbone-shaped Lake Como.

We arrived at our top floor villa on a Sunday, late afternoon, and found that the small local market had closed early for the day. We were grateful that the owners of the villa left a welcome basket of pasta, sauce, crackers and chocolates which we used to create our first dinner lakeside at Lake Como. We added a bottle of 2012 Ar.Pe.Pe Rosso di Valtellina from our stash for a cozy evening watching the lake from the terrace.

As you may imagine, life at Lake Como is all about lazy days, leisurely walks, boat rides, lakeside lunches, tours of elaborate villas and lush gardens. Evenings are filled with lakeside cocktails, mouth-watering dinners in the moonlight that extend until the wee hours. In this petite villa we envisioned staying for months: reading, writing, photographing, creating, cooking from the local bounty and viewing lake life-- thoroughly living the rhythm of Lake Como.

If you wondered if we spotted George and Amal Clooney while visiting Lake Como, our invitation may have gotten lost in the mail. We did spot George's charming lakeside villa, with his white speed boat docked in front. Since they tend to summer at Lake Como - and who wouldn't? - the boat parked out front 'seems to indicate' that the Clooneys were home on this beautiful day in July. We do know they were in residence at Lake Como for fourth of July the week before our visit.