Welcome to Villa Lario! Our hope is that this weekend feels less like a packed itinerary and more like a relaxed vacation with a few beautiful moments where we’re all together. Other than the few things we have planned, we encourage you to use this time as your own; head into town, read by the pool, jump in the lake; we are simply happy to share this experience with you.
xoxo,
Bartinellie
Plan ahead
Our recommendation
We recommend flying into Milan, either Malpensa (MXP) or Linate (LIN), and reserving a taxi or private car to take you directly to Villa Lario in Pognana Lario. This is the simplest and most stress-free option, especially after a long international flight.
lakecomotravel.com has a few taxi and car services for booking in advance, and the Villa Lario concierge can also assist (+39 031 5375064).
If that option feels a bit too pricey or you simply prefer the scenic route, here are a couple more options.
Alt Option 1
Step 1. Take a train from Milan to Como San Giovanni. Schedules and tickets at omio.com.
Step 2.From the Como Town — Stazione Lago stop, take the C130 bus (direction: Bellagio) and get off at Pognana — Via Statale 21 “Da Rosa,” about a minute’s walk from Villa Lario. Timetable at asfautolinee.it.
Alt Option 2
A ferry from Como Town to Pognana Lario, operated by Navigazione Laghi. A gorgeous arrival, but ferries get extremely crowded in July; book in advance.
Step 1. Train from Milan to Como San Giovanni.
Step 2. Walk to the Como ferry terminal and take the ferry to Pognana Lario terminal.
From the Pognana Lario terminal, walk along the lakeside path to the front door of La Luna Como and the bottom of Villa Lario. To reach the Villa Lario front desk, walk through the gate by the lake (look for the big red cup statue) and head toward the rock wall to find the elevator. Take it up a level and someone will guide you in. Important: don’t follow Maps from the ferry terminal — it will route you up 20+ flights of stairs. Don’t make the same mistake we did.
Tip.The ferry terminal is a great way to reach other towns and villages around the lake if you’d like to explore over the weekend.
Summer 2024
In June, Ellie flew to New York for the Fancy Food Show and invited Bart to come meet her and her two coworkers (one of whom, Lin, is now Ellie’s soon-to-be sister-in-law). Bart trekked in from New Jersey in 100° heat, on a sweaty subway, and somehow still showed up with beers already waiting for everyone; then immediately confessed he’d just dried his sweaty head under a bathroom hand dryer. The honesty worked. We laughed like old friends.
We hung out again the next night at Chelsea Market, and it felt eerily easy, like we’d known each other for years. Ellie had a 7am flight back to Seattle the following morning, and Bart set an alarm for 4am just to text her goodbye and tell her he’d love to take her on a real date the next time he found himself on the West Coast (he’d never been).
When Ellie got home, she didn’t really expect we’d keep talking. But a few days later she ordered some candy Bart had recommended and texted him a photo when it arrived. After that, we FaceTimed every single day for hours, usually starting around 5pm Seattle time and going until 1am. Bart would stay up till 3 or 4am his time just to keep talking. We talked about everything: philosophies, traumas, hopes, values. We were honest and vulnerable from day one. We fell in love over the phone, before we’d ever kissed.
At the end of July, Bart asked Ellie to be his girlfriend. She said yes and immediately asked him to fly out. He came in August planning to stay a week and ended up staying a month. He came back in late September and extended again. Eventually Ellie just asked: would you ever consider moving to Seattle? Without hesitating, Bart said yes.
No gifts, and we mean it; your presence in Italy is more than enough.
