Easter at Lake Como

Harbor in Menaggio

Sounds fancy, right? But let's be honest from the get-go, how fancy can you really be when you're traveling with four kids, all under the age of three??

Little MG and K Bear playing play-doh

We rented a house in Menaggio with two other friend-families, the T's and G's, and yes we have four little ones between the three families, ranging from 1 month to 2.5 years. If you're traveling with a family or families, I would highly recommend renting a house; mostly because the kids typically have more space to run around, and in this house they had separate places to sleep, each family had their own bathroom, and the parents had space to hang out after the kids all went to sleep.

Getting some energy out at a playground on the Lake

We explored the area, criss-crossing Lake Como numerous times and enjoying time outside. The weather was pretty good, allowing everyone to get out of the house often, and also to enjoy plenty of food and drink of various terraces throughout the area. One of the first afternoons we found a great little place in Tremezzo, called Hotel Rusall, that had delicious food and an equally amazing view to go with it. The kids could run around in the courtyard, and being outside we didn't bother other diners too much.

K Bear and AT discussing something important

Taking in the view

During the other afternoons the kids stayed with a babysitter and the parents headed across the lake to visit Bellagio and Varenna. Both are charming villages on Lake Como, and are exactly what you picture when you think of an Italian village in the mountains. In Bellagio, we went to a great little wine bar, Cava Turacciolo, where the staff are passionate and informed about their wines, and they also serve great meat and cheese plates from around the area.

Ferry crossing Lake Como

BK and I out for the afternoon

All of the streets are like this...charming, but don't bother with the stroller

Church in Bellagio

Of course, we went for Easter, and our visit was not complete without Easter brunch together and an Easter egg hunt for all of the kids. We all felt really grown up the night before, stuffing eggs for the kids, and talking about how much random stuff our parents made happen for us! The dads did a little bit too good of a job hiding eggs for the kids, kind of forgetting that they are all under three. We made it work though, and had fun finding all the little treats.

Searching for eggs; hoping for only eggs with chocolate

The dads didn't take the hunt that far, but K Bear was pretty sure there were more eggs

Enjoying her spoils

Easter night we had a private chef come to the house to cook dinner for us. It was a great way to end the trip, minus the couple of power outages we had due to weather. He sent the menu beforehand, and we chose three appetizers, a pasta course, a meat course, and dessert. They brought a white tablecloth, all the utensils, and good wine glasses, to really set the stage. Considering that we have to pay a babysitter for the kids anytime we go out, and we typically were enjoying nice meals together, the private chef coming to the house really wasn't anymore expensive than a regular night out.

Parent time!

We all headed out the next morning, as Easter Monday is a holiday in Europe, so everyone had the day off, but the guys also had to get back to work the next day. If you're traveling around Italy and want a relaxing getaway, Lake Como is a great place to find that- lots of fun times with great friends!

Little MG and K Bear relaxing together at the house