LAKE COMO: A TRIP OF NEVER FORGOTTEN WITH LESSON LEARNED

When choosing to study abroad, I knew I wanted to travel as much as possible! So, for my first trip, I decided to have it ready and booked before I even got to Amsterdam. I have always wanted to go to Italy, and seeing as we were leaving for Amsterdam in August, it was the perfect first trip. 

My group and I booked the trip in May, and got our flights to Milan Malpensa Airport for 16 Euros roundtrip! We couldn't believe it, but we soon later realized why. Our flight was at 2:30 AM and weren't too worried about it at the time, but we didn't consider all the flight times/airports we would need in between. We also decided we would love to stay in Lake Como, and we found an Airbnb in a location town called Griante in Lake Como! So, we booked our flight, and our Airbnb and didn't give it a second thought. 

Fast forward to August 22, 2023, at 11:30 PM as I finish packing, I only then realize we need to get onto the metro to the airport as soon as possible because the last train going to the airport leaves at 12 AM. We head out and the Schiphol Airport is about a 35-minute train ride from us.

We arrived at 12:30, and we went through security, which was very quick. We sat at our gate until boarding at 2:15 AM and finally got on our flight. Arriving at Malpensa Airport at 5:30 AM, we were all very tired and ready to get to our Airbnb! 

This is when we realized we were 3 trains away from even getting to the town of Como. After 2 hrs of trains, we finally arrive at the train station in Como and need to board a small bus that comes every hour for 45 minutes into Lake Como. We board the bus, but there are no seats so we must stand with our bags for the next 45 minutes. Finally, we arrived around 8:30 at our bus stop and were so excited! We are tired, hungry, and dehydrated in the 108 sun, looking for Airbnb. We are confused and then we see these stairs that look like they lead to the sky and that is when we realize, we have to walk to the top of the hill.

At this point we were so tired we were delirious, I took about 30 minutes alone to walk this 13-minute flight of stairs. Finally, after all this, we get to the top and we soon realize another fact: there is no AC used in Italy. We all decided to shower, grab pizza and water from the closest restaurant, and take a nap in our bathing suits. Needless to say, the first day was a very rough time. It didn't help that this was the first time we all had met in person, so it was overstimulation at its finest. 

The next two days were amazing! Full of exploring the local towns, eating as much food as humanly possible, and tanning by the water. Everything was heavenly, that was until we had to leave. 

      

We soon learned we were met with a slight problem, our flight to head home was at 6:00 AM but the first bus out of Lake Como was 8AM and the last was 8PM. So, the day before our last day was spent exploring all our stuff. We took the last bus out of Lake Como, walked around Milan for dinner, and then arrived at the Milan Malpensa Airport. We spent over 10 hours in the airport (sleeping overnight). All I can say is I blacked out that experience.

The rest of the trip was amazing, swimming, gelato, shopping, and relaxing. I am so glad we went but if there is one lesson I learned for the future is to take traveling time into account, and to please plan your travels safely and smartly. Thank you for reading and I will see you in my next blog!