It was 2002, I believe. Ten years ago. Traveling alone in Italy with five days to spare, I pointed the rental car north and discovered, unwittingly, Lake Como. George Clooney hadn’t purchased Villa Oleandra yet (that came a few months later). They say the lake changed after Clooney’s arrival. I hope it hasn’t changed much, because we’ve just rented an August apartment there.

The lake is in the far north of Italy, surrounded by the Alps, quaint villas, and ancient comunes (towns), but to my eyes the town of Bellagio is the fairest of all. Lake Como is the shape of an inverted “Y,” and Bellagio is at the intersection, where the mountain views abound. There’s a big, gorgeous picture of Bellagio above. Click it to enlarge.

Our lodging is a garden apartment (which is good – we’ll need that garden in August) with a fireplace (which we won’t need) and a full kitchen:

With the booking in Bellagio, our year is complete:

• Girona, Spain — April through June, 2013
• Chania, Greece — July, 2013
• Bellagio, Italy — August, 2013
• USA (visiting children) — September, 2013
• Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — October, 2013 through March, 2014

There are pictures and descriptions of each of these places (and the apartments we’ve rented) elsewhere in this blog. Click the links above, or visit our links page.

The adventure begins in April. It feels as if we’re five years old on the night before Christmas. The waiting is excruciating. Exquisite, but excruciating.

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