No, not Lake Como in St. Paul, but an extremely picturesque lake and the 3rd largest in
the north of Italy. I decided to take an adventure on Friday and set out on my own apart from the group. It was our last day to do something outside of Legnano since we had no rehearsals and our bus was scheduled to leave at 7pm for the concert that evening.
My initial thought was to head over to Lake Maggiore. About half the Ensemble ventured there on Tuesday and when I saw the photos, I was immediately drawn to the place and had wished I tagged along instead of hanging back and rehearsing my “Te Deum” score.
After the show on Thursday evening, there was quite a party at the Hotel Elitis that involved almost every group in the Festival. Rose arrived home early enough from our gig that night, a contemporary church in nearby Parabiago, so we decided to have some wine, cheese and crackers in the lobby. As the other groups filtered in from their concerts, more joined us downstairs. It was Hakon’s birthday (the Oslo Chamber Choir director) and before you knew it everyone was singing for each other a mix of native country folk songs.
The German group Singer Pur stopped by our hotel to say goodbye before they left the Festival on Friday morning. Manuel, their baritone, borrowed David’s guitar and started playing Beatles tunes to a remarkable degree. I heard that he and his wife have a jazz duo in Germany.
When I left the party, it was close to 3am and still going strong. If I was to do any traveling on Friday, I had to go to bed and SOON.
Friday morning I made it to the train station only to find out that the next train to 
Stressa at Lake Maggiore wasn’t until 1pm, so decided to take a trip to Milan. I at least figured I could walk around the fashion conscious and try to see the Duomo. I boarded the train, not exactly sure if I was heading in the right direction. The train stopped in a suburb of Milan and we were ushered out. It was here that you would try to catch the subway or bus into the city, from what I understand. Really unsure of what to do, I decided at the last moment to try to catch the train to Lake Como. My broken Italian bought me a round trip ticket and gave me an hour to walk around the station and have a coffee.
The trip to Como lasts about an hour. It’s the typical train ride through small towns and industrial areas of the country until you get about and half hour out of the city. Then the scenery started to become lush and green. In the distance I could see part of the Italian Alps with their snow-capped peaks and was in awe of the countryside I was
traveling through. I only wish my husband was there with me. I stopped in Como and wandered into the town. No map, no guide, not much Italian language skills, but I managed to find my way to the Lake. What a site.
The water of the lake is surprisingly dark, if not a deep navy blue. Homes dot the mountainsides with spectacular views. It’s no wonder why George Clooney has a home here.
Lake Como is part of a large chain of lakes in this region. Wandering though the town I found it to be quite touristy, something Legnano is not. Lots of shops, cafes and restaurants, tourist kiosks and people milling about. Of course, I arrived during siesta so all I was able to do was window shop – no purchases were made on this leg of the tour.
I noticed that around each of the churches, and there are quite a few, each church has their own piazza or plaza with shops or open markets. The piazza by the cathedral had a fruit and vegetable market with some yummy eatables that started making me think of looking for lunch.
I found a small place on the street where you could get some pizza and a coke for 3 euros. Sounded within the budget and I hadn’t had pizza yet in Italy, so it was perfect. I was given a healthy slice that was cut into four squares – half now, half for dinner. Gave 
me the energy I needed to wander more narrow streets and see what was around the next bend.
I only wish one particular shop was opened when I passed by – it was all hand blown Italian art glass. Unfortunately there was too much glare on the shop glass to get a good picture of what was inside.
A quick 3 hours passed and I found a nice couple on the pier of the Lake to indulge them to take a photo of me – they were on their honeymoon from Ventura California. We traded cameras and took pictures of each other and bid each other a fun and safe trip in Italy and I headed back to find the train station.
Made it back safely to Legnano by 5:15 in the afternoon with some time to rest a little before our concert that evening.
An amazing day and an adventure in Italy on my own. Pretty cool.
Ciao!
