Still more Como...

And by now, you're thinking, WTF? He never posts three days in a row! Has never done so since he started writing this blog!

Oh, well, there's a first time for everything.

Okay, some more Como, and then we'll be done with Italy.


Another pretty rhododendron species.


More rhodos.


More azaleas.
 
Trekking up a steep and long path of concrete slabs that formed stairs, there wasn't  much flora for distraction, I couldn’t figure out why people kept going up the path, but they weren't coming back down. This was a tiring walk! It was steep, and fairly arduous. It was pretty warm, and we had been walking around for about 45 minutes already; about halfway up, Jess told me to go ahead. I didn’t blame him. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. What was up there? Was it worth it?
 
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This is what awaited me when I arrived! Fabulous rhododendrons the size of trees lined the sidewalks, and they were just stunning.


Here's another view...


Here’s a closeup of one of the flower heads on the tree rhodies, which is one of my personal favorites from the entire trip. When we got home, I promptly printed it and had it framed.
 

I walked back down on the far side of the gardens and found a couple of beautiful vistas overlooking the lake…



When we arrived back at the dock in Como, we looked for a taxi to take us back to the train station, which was about 2 miles from the dock. There didn't seem to be any taxis running. Shit. We began walking back in the direction we thought the train station was, but we didn't know...we just walked. And walked. And walked. Finally, I noticed a street that looked familiar. We started to walk up it, and there was an Italian couple walking with their dog. There was awkward conversation as Jess asked them where the train station was. But they finally understood and showed us; fortunately, we were on the right track and hadn't walked out of our way. But we had just about a minute and a half to make it to the station platform as we turned the corner on the road that led to the station. We sprinted. We made it. It was warm, and we were tired, thirsty, and overheated. Fortunately, the train was cool and comfortable, and we were able to buy something to drink on board.