Tag: Europe

Buy This New Book

The new book of short stories by James Carey. On sale at Amazon and Kindle.

Subject: Exclusive Pre-Sale Offer: “Three Days in Hamburg & Other Stories”

Dear Friends, Family, and Esteemed Subscribers,

I want to thank you for being readers of TripswithJames. I have enjoy writing my articles for you over the years about travel and the film business. I’m truly thrilled to announce the pre-sale launch of my debut book, Three Days in Hamburg & Other Stories. 📚✨ I could use your assistance in making my first book a success.

About the Book:

Three Days in Hamburg & Other Stories is a collection of eleven captivating tales that will transport you to intriguing worlds. From crumbling marriages to lost fortunes, superpowered aliens to Viking zombies, these stories promise excitement, mystery, and unexpected twists.

Why You Should Grab Your Copy:

  1. Early Access: Be among the first to delve into these enchanting narratives before the official release.
  2. Special Price: For a limited time, the e-book is available at an unbeatable price of $0.99.
  3. Support a Dream: By purchasing during the pre-sale, you contribute to making this book a bestseller.

AMAZON LINK – http://amazon.com/author/jrc.128

How You Can Help:

  1. Order Now: Visit Amazon and secure your copy.
  2. Spread the Word: Share this exciting news with your book-loving friends and family.
  3. Leave a Review: After reading, leave an honest review on Amazon—it makes a world of difference!

AMAZON LINK – http://amazon.com/author/jrc.128

Let’s Make It a Bestseller:

Our goal? To achieve bestseller status by May 1, 2024. With your support, we can make it happen!

Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. Let’s celebrate the magic of storytelling together.

Amazon Pre-Sale Link – http://amazon.com/author/jrc.128

Warm regards,

James R. Carey Author, Three Days in Hamburg & Other Stories

P.S. Remember, this special pre-sale price won’t last long. Grab your copy now: Amazon Pre-Sale Link – http://amazon.com/author/jrc.128

MY NEW BOOK – THREE DAYS IN HAMBURG & OTHER STORIES – NOW ON SALE AT AMAZON.COM

James R. Carey’s debut on Amazon at $0.99 at www.amazon.com/author.jrc.128 , the book comprises personal, fantasy, and memory-based stories. The title short story, inspired by his own dissolving marriage amid the pandemic, is a semi-true story based on real life events.

This is my first book – one of several to come I hope. You can find it on Amazon.com for the price of $0.99 as a presale special. I hope that enough people will buy it and make it head for bestseller status. (One can dream).

Follow the link www.amazon.com/author/jrc.128 and that will take you directly to my Author page and you can buy directly from there. An excerpt to the title story follow below.

EXCERPT FROM THREE DAYS IN HAMBURG

“My cell phone rang at exactly 11 PM. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was my wife. The call caught me by surprise as we had been having some tough times for the past few months. She was calling from Hamburg, Germany, where she had gone to visit her mother. There’s a 9-hour time difference between Hamburg and our home in West Adams, an area of Los Angeles where we had lived for 5 years. That made it 8 AM in the morning there. We hadn’t talked on the phone for a week, and our few emails to each other had been very terse.

“Hey, how are you?” I asked as I answered the phone.

Silence.

“Hey, can you hear me… Are you there…?”

“Yes, I’m here,” she answered in her odd combination of American & German accent. Something that I had always found very sexy.

“What’s going on? Everything okay?”

“Look I need to talk to you about something very important,” she said in a very flat voice. Hackles rose on the back of my neck and red flags began to appear. “I have been doing a lot of thinking, and I’m calling to tell you that I’m not coming back.”

“For how long? Is everything okay with your mother?” I asked, still unsure which direction this conversation was going to go.

“Mother is fine. I’m calling to tell you that I’m not coming back to you. I’m going to stay in Hamburg for a few more months, and when I come back, I’ll probably file for divorce.”

“What the fuck?”

“Look I don’t want to fight with you about this, please?” she said in a stern voice, cutting me off. “We just do this all the time. I’m tired of the tension. I’m tired of the arguments. I’m tired of being tired and stressed. I love you very much, but I just can’t go on living like this. So please respect my decision. Don’t call me and don’t write me one of your long angry emails. I just can’t take it. Please. And if you do call me, I’m just not going to respond. Okay? I love you, but I just can’t live like this anymore. I’m sorry.” With that, she hung up.

Shocked, I sat staring at the wall for what seemed like hours. Yes, we had not been doing well but I didn’t think it was this far gone. She went to Germany about three weeks before to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday and to take a break from us and the tension in our house. It was the middle of the semester and I had not been able to leave my teaching gig. I had Face-Timed with my mother-in-law on her birthday and had briefly spoken to my wife. Things had seemed to be okay at least for the moment. This came as a major surprise.

Then I got angry. Really angry. I tried to call her back, but of course, it went straight to voicemail. Predictably, I left her an angry message. Then I poured myself a large Jack Daniels and stormed around the house for the next couple of hours holding imaginary conversations between myself and her telling her what a bitch she was, how unfair she was being and defending myself from all the supposed wrongs that I had done to her over the last few years. Finally, at about 1 AM, I took several hits of pot and fell asleep on the couch.

Somewhere I heard the distant ringing of a cell phone and some part of my brain realized that it was mine. Pulling myself from a deep sleep, I reached out for the phone where I had left it last night. Hoping that it was my wife, I looked at the caller ID and saw the number for work. It was 9:45 AM and I was an hour late for work.

In a groggy voice I answered, “Hello?” Lynda, my department head goes, “Where are you? You’re an hour late for your class.”

My thoughts just could not seem to connect last night to this morning, but I knew I had messed up in a major way. I just decided to tell the truth. “Lynda, my wife is leaving me. She’s in Germany and I have to catch the next plane to try and save my marriage.” – End of Excerpt!

(Excerpt from the short story “THREE DAYS IN HAMBURG” by James R. Carey. From the Book, THREE DAYS IN HAMBURG & OTHER STORIES. Copyright© 2024, James R. Carey. All Rights Reserved. Published with arrangement with CareyOn Creative, LLC, Atlanta, GA .)

Can be found at www.amazon.com/author/jrc.128

I HAVE ALWAYS WRITTEN –

My original plan for this book over four years ago was to be a few short stories surrounding a novella called The Ticket that I’ve been writing for about 5 years. It’s a great story in my head but it never has quite come together the way that I wanted it to on the page. So, it has never been finished.

That was the idea and then real life came along changing everything. A crumbling marriage, the pandemic, a move to the other side of the country, and a new city and start all seem to move the stories in another direction. The stories began to take on the form that they wanted to take, and I just kind of followed along.

Some stories are very personal, others are fantasy. Some are memories of people or places, and some are combinations of all the above. Some are new, and some are old. Some came very easily, and some took months to write. This collection of stories is quite different than the one I intended, but it is the one that came to life.

The title story was written in the early days of the pandemic in my home office in Los Angeles as I tried to come to grips with my dissolving marriage. My then wife and I were still speaking, and she was the first to read it. Her appraisal of it was “very hard for me to read but it’s very good”. Not sure if she meant that or not, but I will take it.

As a young boy I wrote ideas for stories and comic books. First it was crazy little stories about flying turtles or other idiotic ideas, but I thought they were funny, and it kept me entertained as I listened to my parents argued downstairs or sitting by myself in the school cafeteria. Later in my teenage years, the stories became dark ones of loneliness, escape, teenaged angst and desire. However, they could never finish because I wasn’t old enough to know where life was supposed to take you. So, if I didn’t throw them away, they got stuck in a drawer.

In college I discovered three things that I loved. First, was girls. The second was music so I wrote a ton of bad poetry and awful songs, truly little of which has survived to this day. The third thing I discovered was theatre so I wrote some unbelievably bad plays and screenplays. Not any of those survived.

Yet, I still continued to write down little ideas, thoughts, dialogue, situations, dramatic conflicts and the best of those got stuck in that drawer.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I had a writing partner for a while, so some of those ideas that had been stuck in the drawer for years came out. They were dusted off, reexamined and rewritten. Some were used, some were thrown away and some got stuck back in the drawer. Later when I opened my own theatre in Los Angeles with my partner Denise Ragan Weihenmayer called the Attic Theatre Ensemble, we had a lot of stage time to fill and actors to keep busy. So, I started adapting short stories and updating old plays to fill that void. The reaction to those adaptations was positive. I continue jotting down ideas and dialogue.

Eventually, I got married to a minor television star in Los Angeles and when her TV show got cancelled, I wrote her a play. She never performed in that play because we got divorced before I finished it. I did finish it, however. The play was a full-length comedy with dancing and the Devil, and a lot of food called Dancing in Hell. It got produced twice. Once at a university near Los Angeles, and once at my own theatre. It got complimentary reviews, but when those two productions were over. I put the script in the drawer.

I wrote a couple of short film screenplays that got produced, Owlman and A Cost of Freedom, but this was before the Film Festival circuit had become so big. So, the films and the screenplays went in that drawer.

An opportunity to start doing theatre festivals both in the United States and other parts of the world presented itself. This became a time period where I would write and perform one man shows and tour them around these various venues. The first one called Coming To Zimbabwe which debuted in Africa and was later optioned by a German production company to be done as a radio play for German speaking audiences around the world. It was the story of the first time I ever went to Africa and what a life-changing experience it was for me during a difficult part of my life. My second one-man show was called Mi Casa Su Casa where I talked about my large old house in the West Adams area of Los Angeles where I ran an Airbnb for 11 years and the people from all over the world who stayed with me. That was performed in Los Angeles, Atlanta, New England, and various parts of the United States and won several awards. Yet when those shows had run their course, those scripts got stuck in that drawer.

I married my second wife; a Danish woman and we had a very passionate but turbulent relationship. As our marriage fell apart, the pandemic struck, and I found myself stuck in my house in Los Angeles by myself for months. To keep myself busy I decided to paint a couple of rooms including one that had been my home office for over 15 years. As I was clearing out the room and moving items, I discovered that drawer with all the ideas, conversations, dialogue and scenarios that I had left shut for such an extraordinarily long time. As I read through the material, I realized that I had written a lot of stuff. I had written award-winning screenplays and theatre plays. So, with all this time on my hands, I decided to try and write short stories and see what happened.  I started and finished the first short story that I had written in probably 25 to 30 years and polished it in a couple of days. Then I rewrote a couple of stories that were in that drawer except now I was approaching them from an adult perspective. I changed them around a good bit and they’re in this book as well. With my marriage finally coming to an end, I wrote a fictionalized version of the last trip that we took together to Hamburg, Germany. Parts of the story are absolutely true, and other parts are as they used to say in an old television show, “the names have been changed to protect the innocent”. That story turned out to be Three Days in Hamburg and became the title story of this collection.

Over the past three years I’ve written more short stories, discarded them and written new ones. I have a novel I’ve been trying to finish. A memoir about my time in Africa that I have worked on sometimes. Written three more screenplays and a couple of them have being produced, but this book of short stories was always something I wanted to finish.

Now I have and I hope you enjoy it. I can’t say it was easy to write but it brings me immense joy to see it in its published form. Thank you for taking the time to pick it up.

Can be found at www.amazon.com/author/jrc.128

© Copyright Tripswithjames.com 2024. All rights reserved! Tripswithjames.com is a domain owned by CareyOn Creative, LLC, Atlanta, GA.

THE SECRET BATHING POOL OF THE QUEEN OF NAPOLI

The place where she meet her secret lovers while ruling for 40 years.


Outside the town of Sorrento, Italy, the Gateway to the famous Amalfi Coast is a hidden natural swimming pool with a natural arch that leads out to the sea. The pool is a beautiful bluish green color. It’s a beautiful and romantic protected cove and you can understand why the Queen of Naples would come here to relax and have fun in the sun. At one time there was an old Roman temple here (I do not know which God or Goddess it was for), so it has been an important place since before the birth of Christ.

Cliffs for swimming and fishing at Cape Sorrento

It was a moderately warm but drizzly day in Sorrento where I was staying for a few days as I toured around Italy. I had already walked all over the city, eating amazing Italian food, taking a wild bus ride along the cliffs of the Amalfi coast to Positano and I needed something to do on this gray day. I was not going to stay in my hotel room just because of a little rain. I had heard of Queen Giovanna’s bathing pool, so I decided to go see it for myself.

Queen Giovanna’s Pool

The swimming hole of Queen Giovanna is not actually a secret today. It is quite a famous tourist attraction during the summer months along the Amalfi coast because of its wonderful views of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, the cliffs and the swimming. This spot along the Cape of Sorrento has been a popular destination for the rich and famous since the start of the Roman Empire. The ruins of a sprawling Roman villa called – Villa Pollio Felice – dating from the 1st century BC. still stands and can be visited. You can go down into the foundations of this Roman villa and hang out if you want. Many people do as evidence from the graffiti covered walls, the empty beer cans and wine bottles, and the odor of weed that lingers in the air. The original owner of this Roman villa could have never imagined that what is basically his basement would become a party place over 2000 years later.

Foundations of Villa Pollio Felice

The area around Bagni Regina Giovanna (or translated to Queen Giovanna Baths) is an archeological site and park but in true Italian style it is not protected like an American archeological site. It is a secluded spot located off the beaten path and there is no supervision or guard on duty so you can do whatever you want here on the cliffs above the bay. You are free to wander around, swim or sunbath, fish, have a picnic or cliff dive if you want. Yet, you must be careful because the paths are very rocky, and some are in disrepair, so it is easy to slip and fall to the rocks below. A staircase leads down to the pool. It is shallow and perfect for swimming.

ruins of Villa Pollio Felice

How To Get There –

The baths and ruins are easily reached by bus with a short walk and climb. Begin on Via Capo from Sorrento, staying on this street until you reach Traversa Punta Capo. You can reach the road by cab for about 20 euros from city center you can also hop a bus here as well. There is a store where you can buy water, sandwiches, and basic supplies very close to the bus stop. Walk a few yards along Taversa Punta Capo and off to the right you will see what looks like an old Roman road with high walls along each side. You will follow the road down towards the Bay for about 20 minutes. You should take good walking shoes and the climb back up by this road can be tiring because it is uphill all the way, so you need to be in decent shape or take your time.

Road to the pool and villa

You will be passing old villas and homes – some lived in and several not, but on the other side of the walls are olive and lemon groves that seem to have been farmed for centuries. The road is wide enough for a small car or truck to pass by and the road is very old. It is paved but rough walking in many places.
You will eventually come to a staircase that will take you down into the park area. The trails in this area are in rough shape and the stairs down to the pool look unsteady but they seemed safe. You will find the Villa ruins here with its sweeping views, you can sneak down into the foundations if you want. You can make your way along a path that leads to a stony beach for swimming in the bay or take another staircase down to the bathing pool. I did it in November, so it was not crowded at all, and it was cool. During the summer months it will be much warmer and much more crowded so just follow the people.

Who was The Queen of Naples?

Queen Giovanna

Regina Giovanna or Joanna (1326–1382) was a legend before her time. She inherited the kingdom of Napoli from her grandfather at 17 years old during the time when it was extremely rare for a queen to be the ruler of any Kingdom. It was assumed by everyone that she would give up her authority to her husband as soon as she married. Her first marriage took place when she was seven years old, and she married her cousin from Hungary who was six years old. His name was Andrew and of course they did not consummate their marriage until she was 18. Giovanna was smart, ambitious and spent most of her life defending her right to be queen from all the medieval men who kept trying to take her throne. She was married four times, lost both of her children, and had to defend herself from the Pope, her Hungarian relatives and her own family members who were determined to take her throne. Yet in a time of male dominance and when the entire political system was turned against her, she managed to stay on her throne for over 40 years. In the end she was betrayed by one of her Hungarian relatives who invaded Napoli, laid siege to her castle, imprisoned her and finally put her to death.

Queen Giovanna’s Pool

Unfortunately for Giovanna she is not remembered for her determination to stay on the throne, but instead for the legends that accuse her of murder, ruthlessness, sluttiness and general bad behavior. Whoever she was and whatever she did, it is no wonder that because of all the political intrigue and drama that took place in her palace that she needed a place to get away too. That place was this secretive but beautiful protective cove which allowed her to escape the worries and cares of ruling Napoli. According to legend, the Queen spent much of her time at these baths where she and her ladies-in-waiting waded around the waters with their various lovers. Call it scandalous, or call it sexy, either way this paradise stays, and today the Queen is honored in her favorite place in Naples by thousands of visitors each year.

Bay of Naples and Mt. Vesuvius

All Photos by James Carey

Copyright 2023 – CareyOn Creative, LLC. Atlanta GA.

Positano, Italy: City on a Cliff


Before I start my account about Positano, I owe my subscribers a bit of an apology. I promised this story to you almost three months ago and yet here it is the first time you’ve heard from me since August. My professional life has gotten very busy recently but that’s not an excuse. I just got lazy. Between directing a show, pre-production for a film, some acting jobs and being asked to write a film for a producer here in Atlanta, I just kept saying I’ll do the Positano story tomorrow. And of course I’m just getting to it now. So please pardon me and expect a lot more articles on Trips With James in the coming weeks.

Positano is the first village that you come to as you leave Sorrento, Italy on the Naples side of the Amalfi coast. It can be reached by bus along the cliffs, or you can take ferries from Naples and Sorrento to reach it by sea. Positano is a layer cake of houses and shops and churches built on a cliff side that reaches all the way down to the Bay of Naples.

The photographs and the short film that are part of this article describe much better than I can in words how beautiful and colorful Positano is. There’s one highway that comes into Positano and connects you with the rest of the Amalfi coast, and there is one road that goes through the village all the way down to the shoreline. Yet Positano is a city of steps and stairways that lead in all directions as you walk through the village. These steps and stairways and paths lead to plazas, elegant shops, beautiful homes, small churches, large cathedrals and everywhere restaurants. Each one of these places has a magnificent view of the Bay of Naples.

I have two brief tales of things that happened to me as I entered Positano. As some of you who have read this blog before know I am scared of heights. Not ones made by nature, but ones made by man himself. I am perfectly fine standing on a cliff or mountain but flying in an airplane or riding over a high bridge scare me stupid. Taking the bus from Sorrento towards Positano, I had climbed on board and sat on right side of the coach. The Italian roads around the Amalfi coast are very narrow but the bus drivers speed around those corners and curves like it’s the Indianapolis 500. To get from Sorrento to Positano you have to cross over a mountain and come down the other side and the views are incredible, but you are literally traveling on a road that is suspended over the ocean anywhere from 500 to 1000 feet above the Bay of Naples with all the views on my side of the bus. There was literally nothing next to us. We were completely supported on this tiny narrow road by man-made construction. There had never been a road there before and there really should not be a road there now. It was breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly scary as we whipped around those corners in this 30-foot bus.

As we arrived in the village an incident that took place was right out of any classic Italian genre comedy. What took place was so cliché that you almost would not believe that it happened, but it actually did. As I stated before the highway is very narrow and in the villages people actually park on both sides of the highway in many places so there’s only enough room for one car to get through one at a time, but Italians don’t wait for anybody they just keep going. As we pulled into the village there was a small pickup truck in front of our bus traveling in the same direction and coming from the opposite way was a very large Mercedes-Benz. They both arrived at the same place at the same time and neither one of them would move out of the way for the other. What ensued was 10 minutes of Italian drivers standing in the middle of the road screaming at each other and waving their hands around in that secret language of Italian hand gestures that only they understand. Our bus driver also got involved as he got out of the bus twice and went over to the group of screaming Italian men. He proceeded to yell and scream while jumping up and down a bit and then came back to the bus. With the cars stacking up behind us on the busy coastal road, drivers from 5, 6, 7 cars away would get out come to join the loud discussion and then walk back to their cars shaking their heads. Not knowing the language, I could only guess what the argument was about. It seemed that the driver of the Mercedes-Benz, a very elegantly dressed older man, seemed concerned that his Mercedes would get scratched by the pickup truck. The driver of the truck didn’t care and that seemed to be the main concern. Finally after 10 minutes of this comedy of errors in Italian, the elegantly dressed man got back in his Mercedes and actually could drive past the pickup truck. There had been really no reason for this entire kerfuffle to take place, but it was exciting to see that the cliches that you think happen in other countries like Italian drivers screaming at each other in the middle of a road actually do take place. No one pulled a gun, no one threw a punch, no one tried to stab anybody else, there was just a lot of yelling and screaming and gesticulating about who was supposed to go first or get out of the way.

It was a bright, clear and warm November day as I took my time wandering through Positano down staircases, across plazas, entering shops and the large cathedral there as I made my way down towards the shoreline. Arriving at the shore of the Bay of Naples, I turned around and realized what an amazing feat of architecture this was. It was a layer cake of colorful houses and shops, churches and plazas that are all built on top of each other. Places where people live and work and shop and eat and live their lives. It is incredible to behold, yet you wonder who was the first person to decide that we could build an entire village on a side of a cliff?

At the bottom of the cliff, the shoreline was filled with expensive eateries and restaurants that serve fresh seafood and amazing Italian pastas and wines. After lunch, of course, it took me a bit longer to go up the staircases to the road then to come down them. I almost missed the bus back to Sorrento because while there is a bus schedule it’s a little bit flexible in an Italian way. Most of these villages don’t have a bus station there’s just a place where people gather and if you miss the bus you may be there for another hour or so before one returns.

Positano is beautiful, colorful, and certainly worth the visit.





A Day in Positano, Italy: A Short Film

A short travel log about Positano, Italy

Positano (Campanian: Pasitano) is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.

A Day in Positano, Italy

TRANSPORTATION TO POSITANO:

Positano can be reached by the SS163 Amalfitana national road, or by the SP425 provincial road. The nearest airports are the Napoli-Capodichino (NAP) and the Salerno-Pontecagnano Airport (QSR) and they have shuttle buses to destinations across the Amalfi Coast, including Positano. Ferries link Positano to other towns including Capri, Naples, Salerno, and Sorrento for transportation. The Sita bus links Positano to Amalfi and Sorrento.

Next Blog will be about Positano!

Film directed and edited by James Carey. All photos are by James Carey. Sources for the information are from Wikipedia and journals of James Carey. The film and this blog are copyrighted by CareyOn,LLC 2022.

A DAY IN SORRENTO, ITALY – A SHORT FILM

A SHORT FILM – A DAY IN SORRENTO,ITALY

A SHORT FILM – A DAY IN SORRENTO,ITALY

Sorrento, Italy is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. Sorrento is a coastal town in southwestern Italy, facing the Bay of Naples on the Sorrentine Peninsula. Perched atop cliffs that separate the town from its busy marinas, it’s known for sweeping water views and Piazza Tasso, a cafe-lined square. The historic center is a warren of narrow alleys that’s home to the Chiesa di San Francesco, a 14th-century church.

Looking across the Bay of Naples toward Mt. Vesuvius.

A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located within easy access from Naples and Pompei. The town is widely known for its small ceramics, lacework and marquetry (woodwork) shops. It also serves as one of two gateway cities to the famous Amalfi Coast. From Sorrento you can have views of Naples, Mt. Vesuvius and the Isle of Capri. The Amalfi Coast Drive connecting Sorrento and Amalfi, is a narrow road along the high cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea. Ferries and hydrofoils also connect the town to Naples, Amalfi, Positano, Capri, Ischia.

The city is also famous for its Limoncello, a liqueur made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water and sugar, which is grown in lemon groves right inside the town.

My next blog will be about traveling to Sorrento and things to do there.

Film directed and edited by James Carey.

All photos are by James Carey.

Sources for the information are from Wikipedia and journals of James Carey

The film and this blog are copyrighted by CareyOn,LLC 2022.

The 5 Best Things to Do in Lake Como

If you only have five days to spend in Lake Como these are the things that you need to do.

Lake Como is a spectacular place with an incredibly beautiful lake, views of the mountains, interesting villages that date back to the Roman times and the entire area filled with history and beauty. There are enough things to do there to keep you busy for weeks on end, but if you only had five days to spend in Lake Como these are the things that I would recommend that you do.

  1. The Como–Brunate Funicular

The Como–Brunate funicular (Italian: Funicolare Como-Brunate) is a historic single-track funicular railway that connects the town of Como on the lakeside with the village of Brunate at the top of the mountain. The line has been carrying passengers both tourist and local up and down the steep mountain slope between the two towns since 1894.

The Como–Brunate funicular

The 7-minute ride up the steep 55% incline is breathtaking with its sweeping views of the Lake Como area. The current price is 5.70 Euro per person over 12 and cheaper for under 12 for a return trip. Most days it runs every 15 min. Be prepared to wait for your trip up and down as this is an extremely popular attraction. The wait is worth it though as you have splendid views from the top and you can go hiking in the area around historic Brunate as well. The railway starts operating with the first trip around 6 AM and the last trip down is 10 PM. Make sure you are in line early to go back down because they do close off the line after a certain point. Then your only options are to walk down or take a bus or cab.

The view from historic Brunate.

The address for the funicular is Piazza Alcide de Gasperi, 4, Como CO, Italy. The incline can be seen from every place in Lake Como and the ticket office/boarding station it right on the lake side, so it is quite easy to find. Enjoy!

2. Two Beautiful Hikes

These hikes are very different from each other. One is within the municipality of Como itself and the other you must take a short bus ride to the village of Colonno for a somewhat strenuous 10-kilometer hike through beautiful villages and spectacular views of the lake.

Greenway del Lago di Como at Colonno

The Greenway is a leisurely and pleasant hike between Colonno and Cadenabbia following traces of the Antica Strada Regina, the antique connection road that was built by the Romans. This 10 km long itinerary leads through ancient villages with wonderful examples of architecture, along villas and gardens with charming views.

While the guides and brochures say that The Greenway is an easy hike that is not always true. The trail wanders through neighborhoods and parking lots and backyards and ancient trails. It can go up or down flights of stairs. Some places you walk along the small two-lane roadway that is next to the lake. Cars and buses zip by. The Italians pay no mind to the traffic, but for less trusting people that busy roadway can be a little intimidating.

In the spring and summer it is beautiful, but you must remember that you are also in the foothills of the Alps. The altitude in the Lake Como area is around 650 feet but when you are hiking along the Greenway it can go from 650 ft to 900 ft and then drop back down in a short time. The trail in places has very rough pavement. The entire path is paved but each community takes care of the Greenway in their own way. For someone who is out of shape this might not be the best hike for you. While the grade of the trail itself is between a grade 1 and a grade 2 it can be quite strenuous in places. And the hike is certainly not for casual shoes, it requires hiking shoes. But the payoffs are spectacular views of things that you will never see from either the lake or from the highway as it passes next to graveyards, small out of the way churches, ancient villas and spectacular views of the lake and the islands around Colonno. Utterly worth it!

• ITINERARY: Colonno, Sala Comacina, Ossuccio, Lenno, Mezzegra, Tremezzo, Griante
• TOTAL WALKING TIME: 3.30 hrs.
• ASCENT: 100 m.
• DIFFICULTY: easy walk suitable all year round
• TRAIL SIGNS: green metal signs on the pavement and road signs
• CONNECTIONS to Colonno by bus – C10, from Griante: by bus – C10 or ferry
• See: http://www.lakecomo.it/sites/default/files/allegati/sezione/The%20Greenway.pdf for map and description.

3. Villa Olmo and Parco Di Villa Olmo and the Paths Beyond

The Villa Olmo stands at the north-western end of the city of Como, at the end of the Lino Gelpi lakeside promenade. The villa was named after an elm tree planted in the middle of the ornate gardens, which is no longer alive today. It was acquired in 1924 by the municipality of Como and today is open to the public only during exhibitions, while the lakeside gardens are freely accessible during the daytime.

Walking along the promenade and admiring the stately homes overlooking the lake you can perceive that romantic feeling that between 1700 and 1800, made the shores of the Lario a coveted destination of the Grand Tour of the European nobility and that Villa Olmo, with its park, still evokes today.

The park (Parco di Villa Olmo) behind the Villa, accessed through two side porticoes, is the main public park in the city of Como: it extends for about five hectares, excluding the surfaces of the various buildings and represents one of the most important historical parks not only in the city but in the whole province. The park offers different pathways that lead to pleasant clearings that offer panoramic views among the tree patches beyond which you can see the lake and the mountains above.

Once you pass through the park you come to a bridge which crosses the highway to Colonno and on the other side are paths that wander up into the hills. This entire area is full of villas from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries when this was a playground for the wealthy nobility of Italy and Europe. Some of these villas are now closed, some are still privately held, and others are owned by the city of Como. While these pathways and different estates have no overriding theme or focus, the walks through this area are incredibly gorgeous. You can walk far up into the hills, or you can stay near the lakeshore, and you will see some amazing architecture but eventually you come to the beautiful Villa del Grumello which is owned by a private association and is used for special events and social engagements.

While you will not find a dedicated hike that goes from point A to point B, you can wander the forest path ways and estates taking in the wonderful architecture and views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. You get a real sense of the grandeur of Lake Como when wealthy nobility traveled to this serene place in the foothills of the Alps.

4. Trip of Bellagio and Ferries Rides on Lake Como

While there are guided boat tours that cruise up and down the lake and stop off at various villages, I recommend that you save (depending on the size of your party) money and do the tour on your own. I am not taking anything away from the tour guides but if you read any of the comments on Tripadvisor.com you find that certain people feel that the guided tour is not worth the money.

The public boat service connects the major towns along the shores of Lake Como. Navigazione Laghi, the operating company, has a fleet consisting of three types of boats including hydrofoils. Lake Como ferry prices depend on the destination and type of ferry. There are three types: speedy ferry, regular ferry, or a ferry goes around Lake Como. Ferry tickets can be bought at the ticket office near the dock. In case there is no ticket office in the town, you can also purchase tickets for the ferry on board. Ferries from Lake Como connect to the following cities: Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia.

Nestled at the tip of a promontory jutting into Lake Como, Bellagio boasts unparalleled shoreline and Alpine views. Add in boutique-lined cobblestone streets, Italian villas, and fragrant gardens, and it is no secret why Bellagio is known as the Pearl of Lake Como.

Bellagio is a small village which only takes short while to experience. The village is on two levels, the lower one by the lakeside where there are outdoor eateries that cater to the tourist and the upper level, which is more residential, and where the main road comes into the village. The two levels are linked by steep stone-paved alleyways and along these alleyways are restaurants, shops, and homes. The village walkways are no place for casual high heel shoes. You should have a good pair of flat walking shoes to enjoy your tour Bellagio.
Other things to see in Bellagio besides the quaint village and cobble stone stepped lanes are the Villa Serbelloni Park, an 18th-century terraced garden with lake views, the Tower of the Arts, a venue for exhibitions and performances, and the Romanesque San Giacomo Church.

The easiest way to access Bellagio is via ferry. A hydrofoil runs from Como to Bellagio, making stops at the other towns on Lake Como along the way. Bellagio is accessible on either side of the Larian Triangle by slow, narrow and winding roads from Como or Lecco. It is much safer to drive from Como up to Cadenabbia and use the reasonably priced car ferry for the quick trip across to Bellagio. An alternative is to take the four-lane road on the eastern shore of the right arm of the lake to Varenna, then take the ferry to Bellagio. For more information, visit Gestione Governativa Navigazione Laghi. Narrow stone stairs make most of Bellagio inaccessible to cars. Public buses run daily from Como to Bellagio.

5. Sea Plane Tours

And finally, for something a little more exciting then hikes or cruises on the lake might be a seaplane tour of theLlake Como area. A little farther past the docks where you find the ferry and cruise boats, you will find the Aero Club Como where you can take a flight lesson in a seaplane, or you can take a 30 minute tour in a seaplane that takes off from Lake Como and flies over some of the most spectacular villages and villas in the area. On any day you can watch the crews push the seaplanes from the hangers out onto the lake and then whether it is a lesson or a tour you watch people climb onto the pontoons and then into the plane. You watch the plane cruise out to the designated takeoff and landing area on the water and off they go.

While you are in the cockpit of the seaplane you get to experience the pleasure of being able to observe the instrument panel, and help guide the aircraft. You also get to experience the speed of a thrilling takeoff and landing on water, or to observe the scenery that flashes quickly past your eyes. Tours consist of 30-minute flights for two people at about 140 Euro. Must book at least 4 days ahead during peak summer season. Maximum group size four.

https://www.lakecomo.is/project/seaplane/
Address Viale Masia 44
Phone 031 57 44 95
Website www.aeroclubcomo.com
Price per 30min flight per person €90

All photos are by James Carey.

Copyright 2022 by Carey On Creative, LLC., Atlanta, GA.

Tripswithjames.com is a trademark of Carey On Creative, LLC.

Travel Bulletin : Europe Starts to Drop COVID Requirements

Copyright @ SCOTT’S CHEAP FLIGHTS website

The Countries Ending Covid Restrictions.

As international travel reemerged in 2021, tourists were generally asked to show one or more of the following:
Proof of vaccination
Recent negative test
Proof of recent recovery

But a trend has emerged quietly over the past month: countries, throughout Europe especially, have been getting rid of their Covid entry rules altogether.

Two months ago, every country in Europe still had Covid restrictions for travelers. Today, the following eight countries have entirely scrapped any pandemic travel requirements. No test, no proof, no problem.

🇬🇧 UK
🇮🇸 Iceland
🇮🇪 Ireland
🇷🇴 Romania
🇳🇴 Norway
🇲🇪 Montenegro
🇸🇮 Slovenia
🇭🇺 Hungary

And over the next month or two, expect this group to double in size if not more.

At this point, if you’re a vaccinated American, there are just two countries in Europe that require you to also show a recent negative test: Serbia and Poland (temporarily).

International travel is still down 30-40%, in large part because of uncertainty about border restrictions. The trend towards countries removing these (as the World Health Organization and others are urging) will certainly boost international tourism. But until the US removes the requirement for all arrivals—regardless of vaccination status—to show a negative test, overseas tourism will stay depressed.

WARNING: The BA.2 variant is on the rise in England and may appear here in the States in just a few weeks. So still look out for warnings or changing schedules or entry rules. COVID is still around and still deadly. Safe Travels!

Wonderful Train Ride to Lake Como, Italy

Lake Como was beautiful beyond belief.

It was the first week of November and I was seating in a lakeside cafe in Lake Como, Italy. It was 54 degrees Fahrenheit; the sun was shining and the small city was crowded with tourists. Since the month was just starting, I could only imagine how crowded this popular tourist destination was during the summer. I was eating shrimp ravioli in a saffron and cream sauce while working my way through a half carafe of Italian Chardonnay. I’d been in Italy about five hours, and I was as happy as a clam. Lake Como was beautiful beyond belief and after spending four days in the gray rainy dreariness of Zurich, Switzerland to be sitting in the sunshine watching beautiful girls pass by I felt like I had won the lottery.

Yet it wasn’t easy to get here. While I had spent several hours online getting all the required documents and certifications that I needed to travel from the United States to Switzerland to meet all the COVID restrictions, I spent almost as much time getting the documents that I needed to travel from Switzerland to Italy. Because Switzerland is neutral, and Italy is part of the European Union, I had to acquire a complete new set of documents.

The main form that I needed was called the EU Digital Passenger Location Form also known as the dPLF. You can find the form at this web address https://app.euplf.eu/#/ .

The form is fairly simple to fill out. It’s only three pages long and has sections that include your permanent address, where you’re staying in Italy, how you’re entering the country either by train or by plane, how long you’re going to be there, what countries you’ve traveled to in the past 10 days and also if you were vaccinated. And then it has a declaration stating that you are vaccinated or have had a rapid test to prove that you do not have COVID. I filled out the form online and then downloaded the PDF onto my phone and also onto my computer. There is also a “Green Pass” QR code that you can use. This is the Italian version of the Swiss “Green Pass” which allows you to enter restaurants or concerts or museums. However, I found it very difficult to download even in its QR form. Unless you’re a citizen or are planning to stay there for a long time, the short-term passenger finds when they download the Italian Green Pass that it is only good for a couple of days and then you have to reapply for it. Instead of downloading their green pass, I just carried around my American passport with my vaccination card and that allowed me to get into any place that I needed to go.

So a warning for anyone who’s traveling to Italy from another part of Europe by train. No one will check your digital pass for the EU when you board the train. You must show it to the conductor when he comes through which was 30 minutes after I had boarded the train and we were already 20 miles down the tracks. When we crossed from Switzerland into Italy, the train stopped at the nearest station, and it was checked again. The conductor wanted to see my dPLF document and my vaccination card, because just like Switzerland they take this very seriously. If you don’t have the required material they will kick you off the train at the next station, and on many trains that cross borders there are armed police to enforce rules.

As you cross the border from Switzerland into Italy you will notice a very funny thing that happens. Switzerland is a very organized country. Its grass is cut, fences are fixed and there seems to be no trash anywhere. It’s not only a beautiful country, but also a well-maintained country as well. I saw little to no graffiti anywhere the entire time I was in Switzerland. Italy has a completely different mindset that is more relaxed about graffiti, the care of their lawns and their fences or their trash pickup. It’s as noticeable as night and day as you cross from Switzerland into Italy. Italy is a gorgeous country, it’s just a different way of life.

I had bought a ticket at the main train station in Zurich. The train from Zurich to Lake Como is about 3 hours. Traveling to Europe, you can be told if you’re an American that you need to buy a EuroRail pass online before you travel to Europe. That is not true at all. Europe is full of trains running in all different directions. Local trains, regional trains, and high-speed trains that cross borders. Trains are the main way that most people travel in Europe going from one place to another. It is not difficult to buy a train ticket, and the savings that you will get by buying a European Rail Pass in America online are not that significant. I personally just find it easier to go to the train station and buy the ticket that I need instead of worrying about which train my Rail Pass will allow me to get on.

I chose an excellent hostel that was located very close to the train station and was only four blocks from the main city square and two blocks from the lake shore. The hostel I chose is the Ostello Bello Lake Como Hostel and their address is Viale Fratelli Rosselli 9 Como, Italy 22100. I prefer staying in hostels as opposed to hotels for a couple of reasons. One they’re cheaper and two there is a built-in community of people who are doing the exact same thing that you are. It is an easy way to meet people. You already have something in common and they may have wonderful advice on places that you need to go see and things that you should do. I rented a single room with an ensuite bathroom. I’m just too old to share a dorm room with three or four other people. The room that I had rented was lovely with a view of a private garden and a bathroom with plenty of hot water.

Ostello Bello is a chain of hostels all throughout Italy, and you receive a discount of 10% to 20% at the other locations when you book through them. They have locations in Como, Florence, Milano, Rome as well as others though out the country. The hostels are all different in size and accommodations but the staff in each one is very friendly. I highly recommend them.

The town of Lake Como is not very big. The city centre is probably 10 blocks by 10 blocks and filled with cobblestone walkways, old churches and timeworn buildings but also filled with tons of restaurants and modern upscale shops. The city was founded by the Romans as a holiday getaway for the ultra-rich of Rome, and the gorgeous scenery of the lake and mountains is unparalleled with blue skies and snow-covered mountain peaks.

In my next blog, I write about all the things to do in Como from museums to visiting the ancient lakeside town of Bellagio.

Till then Ciao!

All photos and film by James Carey.

Copyright 2022 Carey-On Creative, LLC. Atlanta, GA.

Tripswithjames.com is a Trademark of Carey-On Creative, LLC.

A Day in Lake Como, Italy – A Short Film

An Amazing Italian Lake Vacation!

A short travel video of Lake Como, Italy from this year! A blog about traveling in Italy during COVID will be loaded soon. Happy Holidays 2021.

A short film by James Carey, produced by Attic Studios

Copyright 2021 – a film by James Carey @ CAREY-ON Creative, LLC. Atlanta, GA.

Tripswithjames.com is a trademark of Carey-On Creative, LLC

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