Close Encounters of the Como Kind

At our hotel's front door, we caught a bus to Como, with the intentions of renting a car. But after scraping by buildings, trees, other buses, winding around curves, cars backing up to make room, having cars pass our bus on the narrowest ''2''-lane road at speeds too hight to calculate, we decided we weren't driving.

We have driven most everywhere in Italy, but Como, like Capri, is not for the faint of heart.

So we spent the day in Como, a beautiful city on the lake, high-fashion shopping, fantastic museums and churches, and a 10-star lunch of risotto and of veal cutlets alla Milanese.

Then back to Cadenabbia by hydrfoil: no stress, and best of all, without a scratch.

Traveler's Tip -- cashmere scarves saved the day, as the mountain tops around Como received their first snow. Early for snow the locals tell us [October 3rd].