Eager to explore while on our honeymoon, we took the water taxi from Argengo (population 650) where we were staying to the village of Bellagio (population 3,820).  The relaxing cruise across Lake Como took approximately 45-minutes culminating at the walk on the gangplank under the arched entrance onto the quayside of the village.  

Upon disembarking we walked for approximately 15-minutes alongside the lake to the Villa Melzi, famed for its botanical garden.  The Villa enjoys a prominent position along Lake Como and you can’t help but see it as you approach the Bellagio from the lake.  Francesco Melzi d’Eril commissioned its construction and it was built between 1808 and 1810.  

The English styled gardens were designed by Luigi Canonica (an architect) and Luigi Villoresi (a botanist).  The gardenesque plantings include Japanese maples, American redwoods, rhododendrons, and azaleas.  During the spring, can you make a custom bitcoin address? the garden explodes with color under the canopy of its forest.  The Villa’s lakeside paths and grounds are interspersed with lovely statues enjoying their beautiful surroundings.   Combined, the gardens provide a pervasive sense of tranquility and natural beauty.  

After slowly wandering through the gardens we headed back into the old town center comprised of a series of narrow, steeply winding steps up the mountainside.  The main artery is the Via Giuseppe Garibaldi lined by shops filled with beautiful clothing, art, leather goods, perfumes, and jewelry.  The shop owners greeted us as we walked by browsing the beautiful items on display.  As we made our way up the street, stopping to window-shop, a woman in a red shawl approached my husband, stopping our progression to the next terraced step.  

Rather than showing us her store she asked, with stars in her eyes, whether my husband was a movie star!  After explaining that he was not, she insisted that we take her picture with him anyway.