Hi Everyone!

I'm officially in the Italy parts now of Italy. What I mean is, it wasn't feeling very "Italy" when I crossed over from Switzerland up in the Alps, but now it's just like what I've seen and loved from the movies.

Milan is the fashion capital of Italy and where all the famous brands (Gucci, Versace, etc.) are all headquartered. This goes back 100+ years and makes some sense as this is also where the raw materials and fabrics are created.

Milan is an ancient city going back to Roman times, and it was also the host to many famous great masters of the Renaissance including Leonard de Vinci for a time.

Lake Como, just a 40-minute drive to the north from Milan, is where many rich families would "summer" in spectacular villas. The town of Como is the home of Alexandre Volta - famous for many advancements in electricity including the battery (Electric Volts are named after him). The people of Como are very proud of him and there are a few statues of him around the place.

Lake Como might not be familiar to you in name, but it has been used as a filming location in thousands of movies. Perhaps most notably would be Oceans 12 and where James Bond recovered in Casino Royal. Visiting, it felt like I was in a movie - everything was so carefully looked after with such an attention to detail. Overwhelmingly picturesque at times.

The ferry rides between Bellagio (original place that the hotel in Las Vegas is named after) and Varenna was particularly memorable for me.

Such a beautiful place, but certainly now only for the rich and famous. George Clooney bought a Village on the water there in 2013 for approximately 10 million Euros. Today that same villa is estimated to be around 70 million Euros. It's hard to believe that a piece of property could go for that much - it's crazy. Of course, this is all second-hand info that came from our tour guide, so who knows :).

I'm having a blast here in Italy so far. Can't wait to see Venice next!

Hope everyone is doing well.

Eric