Lake Como really is one of the most romantic places on earth and Grand Hotel Tremezzo was the perfect choice for our three year wedding anniversary. The best way to see the gorgeous scenery is to sail across the water by boat, which also happens to Mr S’s favourite mode of transport!
On our second day in Lake Como, the sky gleamed a brilliant blue and the lake shimmered in the sun, the perfect opportunity to go for a ride in one of the hotel’s own beautiful yachts!
Just like the hotel itself, the two yachts that you can hire are steeped in history. Our ride for the day was a period Venetian boat named Ruy after its first owner, Tiberio Ruy Brandolini d’Adda. It was actually built in 1961, found by the family who own Grand Hotel Tremezzo and carefully restored at the Ernesto Riva shipyard in Lake Como. 
We comfortably settled on the boat’s beautiful white leather seats ready for our romantic journey…
And from here we had the perfect vantage point of the hotel’s beautiful facade.
Right next to Grand Hotel Tremezzo is Villa Carlotta, and though we didn’t have time to visit ourselves our boat trip was a great opportunity to admire the gorgeous museum from the outside. Once home to the Milanese Marquis Giorgio Clerici, the villa was bought in 1843 by Princess Marianne of Nassau who gave it to her daughter Carlotta as a wedding present. Now the Italian jewel is open to the public and houses a museum, art master pieces and twenty acres of botanical gardens.
Really all there was to do was lie back…
Enjoy the warm wind in our hair…
Watch the colourful houses roll by…
And listen as our driver pointed out famous mansions and villas owned by aristocrats, celebrities and even royalty. 
Our driver pulled up at the beautifully picturesque village of Varenna. Located on the Eastern shore of Lake Como, Varenna is smaller and lesser known than some of it’s neighbours. 
We headed down winding stone paths and stairways, past the colourful fisherman’s houses and small boutique hotels noting points of reference along the way so that we could find our way back to the boat. 
Before finding the village centre and a gorgeous little cafe right on the water where we could stop for a cup of coffee.
I’m a big coffee lover and there really is nothing better than an Italian coffee – especially with this view. 
After coffee it was time to stop for one of my five a day – ice cream that is – and we headed to the gelateria to get our fix! Varenna is also home to the Church of San Giorgio as well as the historic Villa Monastero but with our captain waiting for us it was time to get back to our boat…
And our turn to drive!
Before our captain popped open a bottle of prosecco, for us to enjoy for the rest of the journey. 
We passed by the gorgeous town of Bellagio, I was really sad not to visit the town known as ‘The Pearl of the Lake’ but I know we’ll be returning to Lake Como again and again! One place we have been to is the famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas which was modelled on this historic village.
As we sailed along we picked out our house for when we eventually retire to Lake Como. This beautiful mansion with it’s perfectly manicured topiary was my choice – unfortunately it already belongs to someone – Richard Branson to be exact.
After our beautiful three hour ride across the lake and we arrived back at the marina of Hotel Grand Tremezzo. The perfect time and place for lunch.
With a view of the hotel’s beautiful floating pool we settled down at the T Beach restaurant and ordered a glass of wine.
We both craved something simple on this relaxing day and Mr S went for a beautifully cooked steak and I opted for spaghetti pomodoro 
Having not had a chance to explore the hotel too much the day before owing to the terrible weather we decided to head up to the hotel garden and to the flower pool 
Sitting in the shade of the hotel’s T Pizza restaurant we ordered a cocktail each and briefly discussed whether it would be right or wrong to order a pizza as a second lunch. In the end we decided against the second lunch idea and headed up to make use of our gorgeous private hot tub with its panoramic view.
With evening coming it was time to get ready for our romantic night out…
And as golden hour set in we headed to the hotel’s T Bar for our tradition of glass of rose and crisps before dinner.
For dinner we headed out of the hotel to the most unbelievably romantic destination restaurant, Crotto dei Platani. A beautiful cellar restaurant, dug into the rock and right on the Lake! Fairy lights twinkled behind us and the glimmering towns of Como fringed the lake providing the perfect ambience for romance. The restaurant was founded in 1977 by Fernando and Renata Cavadini and it is still in the family today run by his son Francis serving rustic food typical of the area and using local ingredients.
I have to say, I was glad we gave the secondary pizza lunch a miss as Mr S insisted on a multi-course meal after seeing a menu favourites. White fish tartare with black truffle.
Fried prawns, red mullet and zucchini flower in batter.
Fresh ravioli whitefish and char with spring onion and mullet.
Fresh whole wheat pasta with wild local deer meat sauce and cocoa beans.
Wine is kept in a natural cave where temperatures don’t vary and there are over 400 of the finest Italian wines. 
Whitefish sautéed with capers and lemon sauce.
After fantastic days of lots of incredible food and wine, we headed sleepily back to the hotel.
Every night a gift and a message from the hotel was left for us at turn down. Just another reason why this hotel had such fantastic attention to detail!
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