The border with Italy is less than two hours away and we were finally able to take a long weekend to visit friends and explore. First stop: Milan. We visited our dear friend, Marina, who we know from Angola and Portugal. Marina, a Napolitana (from Naples in the south) at heart, has resettled in Milan (the quintessential northern Italian city) with her partner, Cosimo. We enjoyed a walk in the center (Duomo), ice cream (gelato), and an interesting castle and park (Sforza).
On Sunday, Marina and Cosmio took us to the amazing town of Bergamo, where we had a pizza picnic on a gorgeous Fall day.
We then traveled to Lake Como and stayed in Menaggio. Got a day pass for the lake boats and visited Varenna and Bellagio. Ate ice cream, walked, ate more ice cream, hiked, ate more ice cream, had lunch (either pasta or pizza, of course) and then had a final ice cream. A bit over the top perhaps, but hey, that's what vacation is for.
Alex had a great time, but all the excitement knocked him out. 
