After coming through Milan without taking a proper look twice, I finally decided to spend half a day there before driving my way up to Lake Como. Almost every discussion thread I read adviced against renting a car to go from Milan to Como, but I really needed to get the driving out of my system and I was ready to use any excuse to get my hands on a car
Day 1
I immediately discovered the joy of the strategic placement of Milan's Metro extrance/exits. They almost all emerge in the perfect spot. And because of the construction around it, I have railings to lean against, and a flat and roomy surface to put my water jar on it without having to bend down to reach it. Just perfect placement. So there I was, leaning back comfortably while sketching the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, along with some men who were waiting for their wives to come back from shopping.
As I was almost wrapping up, 2 Chinese girls stood next to me and seemed to be shooting some promotional video for a product or service. They rehearsed a bit and shot multiple times with the same script "are you worried about keeping thin this summer??"...and then they were off looking for passer-bys to interview. The ideal interviewees need to be, in their word, proper Italian looking and easy-going
The Duomo is really a difficult subject. There are so too many details...if I want to capture the details, there is no way I can fit the whole building into one page. And if I do the whole building, I lose all the details on the fascade...which is actually one of the main charms of the building. The only silver lining is that one of the side was closed off, so I had a dead-end (almost) to myself with relative low tourist traffic. In front of me and directly at the fence (I was leaning against the metro entrance) were a young American couple and a tour guide. They were having quite an interesting session explaining the Duomo and the couple was impressed how old everything is here in Italy. And the tour guide said, well, you guys also gave us a lot of high tech stuff! In the end the tour guide asked, by the way where in the US are you from?" The couple replied: San Francisco. I almost choked. Well, well, well
I decided to do the Duomo again, but with some more details this time. I settled myself into the shadows of a column off the pedestrian shopping street. I noticed a person standing to my right for quite a while, and he eventually came over, asked "can you speak English?" and "you should pay attention to you bag" while pointing to my messenger bag at my feet, and then left. I amused myself by thinking what if I responded to his first question with "sorry, but I don't speak Australian"
I was planning to immediately head out to draw after settling into my Airbnb at Lake Como, but I was exhausted by the drive (only 1 hr, but I haven't driven in almost a year) and had to take a long call with a colleague.
Day 2
I headed out the next morning to see the lake proper. The community park at Mandello del Lario was really just a few steps away from the apartment and right away the view was stunning. A few teenagers were jumping off into the lake from the pier and I felt it were mostly Italian families chilling in the park.
This view of the colourful buildings was what comes up most often when I search the town up, and it did not disappoint. It was super peaceful save a handful of groups walking by quietly. Once the dad of a family asked if I would draw him in? (The daughter appeared to be super embarrassed) and I, completely used to these questions, just said smoothly "if you stay there long enough :) all is good
This scene really had nothing to do with lake Como, but the snow capped mountain was really difficult to resist. I found a super quiet community park overlooking a private boat club. The strong shadows from the boat sealed the deal. I thought I was doing a terrible job but it actually turned out to be one of my favourite works.
In between here I took my lunch break and decided to swing by Varenna by train on my airbnb host's advice. Long story short it was a nightmare with the tourist crowd and heat and disorganization, so I immediately took the next train back to my quiet town. No view is worth fighting with the crowds. I immersed in the calmness back home and drew Mandello's ferry terminal.
This one is by far my favourite. I originally passed up on it because I expected to spend the entire afternoon in Varenna. Now that I have more free time I decided to come back. The shadows changed, but because of the narrow street it was still interesting (my airbnb is actually right in front of the pink house) This and the small opening to the lake behind me was constantly blowing refreshing wind
Day 3
The next day (Monday) I woke up to some not so good news about layoff. I was kind of concerned but forgot all about it as soon as I saw the lake again. The sky is overcast but it brings out another mood on the lake! I drove all the way to the northmost tip (bypassing Varenna thank god) and took a break at an almost deserted parking lot in Gera Lario. The northern side of the lake was noticeably less developed and more spacious
My last stop was in Como city. I was surprised by how tight the parking situation was. There was no empty spot when I arrived at the multi-level garage, and I almost panicked until I noticed somebody leaving and quickly took that spot. Phew. It was here that I forgot to take my water jar and brush (which was resting in my jar) with me when I left. I was distracted by a random guy who asked "is it okay if I just watch you paint"...to which I replied coldly "it's up to you" and then he just stood to my right awkwardly for a good 10 minutes, while licking his ice cream.
