Ask me the two greatest loves in my life (Mr S, family and friends aside), and the answer is food and travel.
And when Emma, Kelly, Rebecca and Kat announced that the topic of this month’s travel link up was ‘Falling in Love on the Road,’ I decided to take it literally and thought about the road trips we’d been on whilst travelling around some of the incredible countries we’ve visited:
1. Seeing koalas, the 12 Apostles and huge breaking waves on the Great Ocean Road in Australia.
2. The beautiful beaches, the majesty of Big Sur and stopping in quaint Carmel for lunch on the Pacific Coast Highway in California.
3. Temples, local markets and street food driving between Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Thailand.
But forget about all of these the places. I fell in love on a road much closer to home…
The rolling hills, the lush forests, and glamour of the beautiful Lake Como in Italy.
And let me introduce you to the most important member of our road trip team…our humble steed…
A bright red Ferrari…
But I’m getting ahead of myself…let me start from the beginning. Mr Silver and I had booked to go to Milan in Setember 2012 to celebrate his birthday, but little did he know that there was a big surprise in store.
When we arrived at our gorgeous suite at the Hotel Principe di Savoie, this was waiting for us:
But he still had no idea what a treat he would be in store for, until the following day when this drew up in front of our hotel.
We weren’t left to our own devices with this super car. We had a guide for the day who explained how to use the car and rather than relying on sat nav we would be following behind him so that he could show us round the beautiful Italian country side.
Explanation done with Mr Silver was behind the wheel and on the road.
Our first stop was to grab a coffee and to wander round the cobbled streetsof Menaggio, one of the gorgeous Italian villages surrounding Lake Como.
With such beautiful weather…
…stunning scenery…
and fantastic culture, I was falling in love already.
Ok, so the village surrounding Lake Como had my heart, but what about the food? Back in our car we headed along the mountain road towards our lunch destination.
The wind was in my hair as we zipped along the road, feeling well and truly like a celebrity. Actually lots of star live on the shores of Lake Como, one of the most well-known residents being George Clooney, but Madonna, Sylvester Stallone, Julian Lennon and Richard Branson all have homes there too.
Built by the lake are several gorgeous villas, many of which have great historical significance. Villa d’Este was built in 1568 by Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio and was later the home of Caroline Brunswick, the estranged wife of the Prince of Wales. Today it is an ultra-luxurious five star hotel with the most incredible views I’ve ever seen.
The hotel’s gorgeous lakeside restaurant was the perfect place for us to stop for lunch on this beautiful day.
How could anyone not fall in love with the stunning villa and it’s gorgeous lakeside location.
Well we hadn’t tried the food yet…
Mr Silver and I love Italy, I can honestly say, I’ve never had a bad meal in this country.
After lunch we took a brief ferry ride across the lake so we could have a chance to explore the other side.
Doesn’t this look like a perfect picture postcard…
From our new location we got back in the car and headed up the mountains…
…until we reached this view point…
….and who could fail to fall in love with a lake this beautiful, especially when you enjoy it with the love of your life.
The day was one of the most beautiful and romantic experiences I’ve ever had. Mr Silver and I fell totally in love with Lake Como and we were so happy to have the experience together.
Have you ever fallen in love with a place, and what was it that made it so special?
