It drizzled the moment we (my cousin and I) sat foot on our first “vaporina” – economy class. I think if you truly looked at the scene, it could have been quite miserable. But this was my dream destination, my moment to enter the play as an “extra” and to be the favourite mannequin in “Keeping up with the Clooney’s.”
Part of the Lombardy region, the scene is usually described as “dramatic” and for me, quite theatrical to say the least. Being swept up in the vastness of greens, turquoise and more than fifty shades of blue, I can understand why the ancient Greeks referred to the lake as “Lario” – meaning “deep”. Every emotion is felt deep within your soul as you are pulled towards yourself – La Dolce Vita, love.
En route Bellagio, the scene is set for the movie theatre and you can actually hear the director whisper “Action”. Hill sides, covered in Villas and homes of the Northern Italians, sets the tone for spectators to observe and to sense the a dreamy ideal. My cousin and I, two young women in our 20’s, knew this outing will be absolutely divine and we even dressed classy for “only travellers” – I mean, this is an occasion.
After a few pit-stops along the way, we arrived in Bellagio – wet, but ecstatic. Pebble roads, narrow corridors and antique boutiques are only a few scenes that makes your heart “contenta”. We wanted it all, and we wanted it now – Grazie. Silk – all things silk – and I’ll leave it at that.
As I said – it was drizzling when we left our vaporina, but after our Italian pranzo, it was raining. And no – we did not carry umbrellas in our hand luggage. We ran from store to store, restaurant to restaurant, taking it all in as we went along. On one corner, we entered a store, filled with glass Christmas tree decorations, and I was in awe. The whole store was a capsule for glass ornaments and decorations. Extremely careful not to touch anything and even breathe to hard, I could hear jingle bells playing in my mind and I almost slipped into a state of musicophilia. Every Ornament ball was decorated by hand, every detail thorough, sophisticated, elegant and delicate – just molto bello. I decided that if all else fails and even if the Clooney’s relocate one day – I will be this store’s mannequin – a Christmas mannequin.
We left the store and continued with our journey whilst singing in the rain – but this décor store stuck with me. A description of anything Italian: the details, the class, the sophistication: I will always remember that time as my Christmas in Como – a Christmas in May.
- – and scene.