It was a week in Italy entirely for free using points and miles. We flew to Milan via Heathrow using Avios coupled with a British Airways Travel Together ticket in BUSINESS CLASS!
We were thrilled with our stay at the centrally located Park Hyatt Milan where our accommodations consisted of a huge, lavish room and bathroom and a very very comfortable bed. We booked this FREE stay using World Of Hyatt Points.
We ended our stay in Italy in Lake Como, which I had booked very late. (At the last minute, I ditched Cinque Terre for fear of the crowds and booked us in Lake Como instead). 
In Lake Como we stayed at Filario Hotel in the town of Lezzeno. The stay was “erased” using a bunch of Capital One Miles.
Our accommodations were very nice with a lakeview terrace that I took advantage of every chance I got when I was in the room. Early mornings were especially peaceful and scenic. 
The pool was warm like a bathtub with an amazing view and there were plenty of cushy lounge chairs at the beach on the lake. One day, we enjoyed a yummy lunch at the al fresco bistrot at the hotel. In addition, there were complimentary kayaks, paddle boards and pedal boats available for us.
However, the location of the hotel was not ideal by any means. We wanted to explore Lake Como and the surrounding towns. We didn’t have a car (and I don’t think I would have wanted one…crazy drivers, no parking, etc. ) and were reliant on ferry times. Water taxis were prohibitively expensive and road taxis needed to be arranged in advance (30 euros one way). Lezzeno was a difficult place to base. Our friends stayed in Bellagio (where we went for dinner 2/3 nights) and they were tucked away in their cozy beds while Rob and I waited for our taxi to take us back to Lezzeno. I think our accommodations would have been perfect if you wanted a place on the lake and didn’t want to venture out. I would not recommend the place if you do not have a car and you wish to explore the other lake towns.
We took full advantage of the food, culture and outdoor adventure in Milan and Lake Como. Here are the details as to what we saw and how we spent our week.
Milan
Walking tour of the city–We hit the highlights like the Duomo, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Teatro alla Scala (aka opera house) and the Sforzesco Castle. It was hot and yes a bit boring for all of us non history lovers, but it was short and we got a nice overview of the city center.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci–This was the highlight of the tour because of the fact that tickets to see the famous painting are so hard to come by. You must buy your tickets in advance and even with a ticket, you only get to view the masterpiece for 15 minutes. At the 15 minute mark, you are ushered out by one of the staff members. 
They only let a limited number of people into the room at one time, so there is quite an intimate and magical feeling when you are viewing the expansive painting (entirely different from viewing the Mona Lisa in Paris with the masses surrounding the small picture). The painting adorns a wall in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Tickets go on sale about 4 months in advance, or you can gain access to the painting through a tour company like we did.
Barolo Wine Tour-This was my favorite activity of the whole trip. We left Milan for a wine-filled day trip in the Piedmont Region of Italy. We visited two wineries. 
The first was Marrone Wine where we learned about their products, process, and even tasted their wine directly from the barrel. (Tanya, we know you can fit in the barrel). The day trip also included a beautiful and delicious lunch in the family-run winery (best bruschetta of the week) in a setting that was absolutely perfect. 
We shared a case of wine with our traveling companions that we shipped home and I now have 6 bottles of their Barolo-Pichemej that I am excited to enjoy here in NY.
On our way back to the city, we stopped at Bosca Spumanti where they make and bottle sparkling wine. The tour here was the complete opposite of the refined Marrone tour. This tour of their underground caves was set to music with video and visual effects. Our Bosca narrator/tour guide would pause for effect and drama. It was weird and annoying. 
The whole thing was like a cheesy Disney ride. The bottles however were so pretty that we ended up buying a few in the shop (strawberry and watermelon flavors). Rob and I looked forward to breaking out these colorful bottles of bubbly at our pool for guests this summer. Um, rookie mistake-huh? We had them with us in a shopping bag as a carry on at the airport. Bye Bye to our bottles of Bosca Spumanti, into the garbage they went! Luckily, the bottles are also sold in the states so we really could still serve them, but it’s not the same!
Food tour in the Brera District-Here we visited various restaurants and shops. We started out at a small bakery where we indulged on small pastries. Next, we sat down at outdoor tables at Rossi & Grossi, a salumieri, and enjoyed a sampling of cheeses, prosciutto, salami and crusty bread. This was my favorite stop. Then we went to C’era una Volata, a more formal restaurant, for some risotto and red wine. Because we needed more carbs, we went to a well established and very beautiful market for meatballs and lasagna and some more bread called Antico Pastificio Moscova. We proceeded to a very old wine shop where we sampled some of their stock. 
This was my least favorite stop. Finally, we ended the tour with the best gelato I had on the entire trip at Tasta. I got the same flavors every time on my trip, a scoop of lemon and a scoop of strawberry. Look how pretty this one was with the cookie and quite creamy and tasty too!
Morning Coffee at the first Starbucks in Italy-It was only last September, 2018 that Starbucks has opened its first branch in Italy in the Poste building in the Piazza Cordusio in Milan. The location was a mere 5 minute walk from our hotel. The shop is the biggest Starbucks I have ever been in, with 2 levels, copper appliances and a 500 pound in-house coffee roaster in its center. Note, the coffee is hotter back in NY!
An afternoon of shopping on “Milan’s golden quadrilateral” Via Montenapoleone and the surrounding streets-This is the place to go luxury shopping in the city. It is home to many big designer brands like Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, etc. I was with my friend Tanya, who was the perfect shopping partner as she is very savvy and stylish and helped me pick the perfect little Valentino. (After all, this trip was free, I felt justified to do a bit of shopping :-). ). She assured me that the price was more in the States and it became even less when I considered that I got 12.5 percent back in value added tax (aka VAT). It was fun trying to get that back as when we got to the office, it was closed for the day. We needed to delay our journey to Lake Como the next day to deal with getting the 12.5 % back. Still, it was worth it as 12.5 percent of a lot is a lot! Footnote-Tanya ended up with just more than the one shopping bag in the photo. 🙂
Our dinners…
Da Giacomo-This restaurant kept coming up when people made recommendations. The bread basket was I think my favorite part, with various freshly baked crusty breads and rolls. We all enjoyed our food. I had sea bass and was very happy with my meal. Some got the pasta special and raved about it. It’s all good. This place had been around for a long time and is popular with the locals as well.
La Brera District-When the eight table, no reservations, Latteria San Marco had over an hour wait, we bailed and picked a random outside restaurant in the Brera district on La Brera street. Brera is one of Milan’s most popular areas. It has a cozy ambience with its narrow, cobbled streets lined with boutiques and cafes. It was here we had our best Margherita pizza of the week that we gobbled up with penne arrabbiata and steak. The cafe was also perfectly placed for people-watching which we enjoyed as much as the meal.
Navigli neighborhood-This area has 2 canals that run through it and along those pretty canals are tons of bars, restaurants and boutiques. Again, we just picked a random restaurant and the food was as expected, fresh and good. This area is hopping and it was another great spot to scope out the locals and the tourists. We strolled a bit along the canal to walk off (a little bit) of our meal.
Lake Como
Kayak tour of the Bellagio region–Since Rob fell asleep on our very pricey private boat tour on Capri a few summers ago, I didn’t want to suffer the same anger and frustration with him. So, I booked us a kayak tour of the Bellagio region on the lake. (Let’s see him try to fall asleep while paddling a kayak!). We booked the tour through Bellagio Water Sports. (Follow them on instagram) and there were five of us in total with one guide. It was a two hour paddle around the mid lake region. We paddled to the actual center of the lake which was marked by two red and white poles. We also made our way to the deck of the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, where our friends awaited our arrival with the cameras ready. The place to begin the tour is about a 10-15 minute walk from the Bellagio town, so plan accordingly. I would recommend the kayak tour. It was an easy paddle with breathtaking scenery along the ride.
Watercolor painting lesson with Italian artist/sculptor- Abele Vadacca is an award-winning sculptor and painter. He offers instruction in painting various lake scenes in the very beautiful Gardens of Villa Melzi d’Eril in Bellagio. Abele, despite his limited English, is there to guide you every step of the way from from mixing the colors (using real egg yolks-huh?), to the design and strokes of the brushes to the finished product.
He has an assistant there too who can fill in some of the missing bits of info that get lost with the language barrier.
Watercolor painting lesson with Italian artist/sculptor-
He has an assistant there too who can fill in some of the missing bits of info that get lost with the language barrier. 
This was our most unique activity of the trip and although the guys were reluctant at first, we all really enjoyed our two plus hour lesson despite the fact it started pouring during our session. 
Hike from Bellano to Varenna via the Sentiero del Viandante (aka The Wayfarer’s Path)-The Sentiero del Viandante runs along the eastern edge of Lake Como and is marked by small orange signs (um, they need more-we got lost a few times). The section of the path that Rob and I did was the stretch between Varenna and Bellano which was about 4 miles. It was a moderate hike with some short very steep sections. The hike took us about 2.5 hours however, we got lost a few times. Throughout the hike, we had gorgeous views of the lake and opposite shoreline. It was the perfect combo of amazing scenery and a good workout without killing a big chunk of time.
Vezio Castle-This was a stop towards the end of our hike before proceeding the extra 15 minutes to Varenna. The castle is a medieval fortress overlooking the central lake and the views from the veranda are beyond spectacular. The castle staff offers falconry demonstrations but there were no shows at the time that we were at the castle. I learned that the falcons will not cooperate if the weather is too hot, and it was certainly hot the day we hiked to the castle. We did see a few of the birds in their cages and had fun climbing around the castle and up to the lookout tower. Rob even got a t-shirt as his shirt from the hike was soaked with sweat, so the stop was beautiful and productive!
Lunch and a stroll in the town of Varenna-We had a well deserved leisurely lunch after our hike at one of the many restaurants on the water. The food took forever, but it was one of the best lunches (maybe even meals), we had. We shared bruschetta, Rob had a panini and I had a tuna nicoise salad that came in a heart shaped bowl. It was very pretty! After lunch, we strolled the waterfront shops and made our way up to the central square for a peek at those stores and restaurants and some cool pictures. We had delicious gelato before boarding the ferry to get back. Varenna would be a very nice place to base on Lake Como!
Our dinners…
Dinner at the ever so popular Trattoria San Giacomo in Bellagio-this was the most recommended restaurant to us prior to our trip. It did not disappoint. We knew that the establishment did not take any reservations and knew the wait would be long. Rob and I put our names down for a table for 4 at about 8PM. They quoted us an hour, which we had expected. We got 2 glasses of wine, from the wine shop across the path, (the wine shop is owned by the restaurant as well-smart!) and joined the many other patrons sitting on the steps outside of the restaurant. There was a sense of camaraderie among us as we eagerly awaited our tables. To our surprise and delight, we waited only about 35 minutes before we were seated. This was one of my favorite meals in Italy, not just because of the food (all the food is so good), but also because of the atmosphere. I would definitely try to get here for a meal if you are in Bellagio, despite the no reservation policy. We topped off our meal with some delicious gelato, right down the cobblestoned path, at Smooth Operator.
Drinks and dinner at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo-since I booked the Lake Como part of this trip on the later side, this hotel was not an option for us due to lack of availability and a ridiculous price tag for what was available. However, I had heard about this hotel from many friends who had come before me. So we timed our ferries and booked a reservation for drinks in T Bar with dinner to follow at the L’Escale Trattoria & Wine Bar. Drinks were in a pretty room with subdued live music overlooking the lake. Dinner was in a renovated wine cellar and although the food was very good, the restaurant was not that crowded or lively and the service was painfully slow. I would definitely suggest drinks at this hotel, but we may have been better off at the hotel’s pizza place, T Pizza. Next time!
Final dinner at La Punta-As the name implies, this restaurant in Bellagio, sits at the vertex (the point) of the upside down Y that is Lake Como. The restaurant’s panoramic terrace offers wonderful views of the three branches of the lake. For our “last supper” (ha), we dined on salads, pasta and fresh lake fish. It was sad to say goodbye to Lake Como.
