HK Independent Traveller Blog

  It is my second time to visit Varese . Unbelievably, the first visit was 14 years ago, covering Villa Panza , the Church of Saint Maximilian Kolbe and Sacro Monte . The sightseeing points this time are totally different: churches in the town centre, Palazzo Estense with a gorgeous park and Parco Lugli Zanzi . Varese is nicknamed ‘Garden City’. It is built on seven hills and embraced by beautiful lakes. Many gardens and green spaces dot throughout the city. Varese offers a wealth of walks and trails for jogging, cycling and walking.  Apart from the beautiful nature, Varese is also an enchanting old town with portico walkways, adorable villas and religious monuments. From the 17th century, nobles and the rich from Milan began to build second residences around Varese's historic centre. Palazzo Estense is among all a magnificent one.  The Duke of Modena and Governor of the Duchy of Milan, Francesco III D’Este , bought the territory with an existing building in 1765 a...

Lecco is a city in Lombardy , 50 km away from Milan .   It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como . Nearby is the Bergamo Alps .  At time of our visit in October, peaks had a trace of snow on top which added beauty to the town. The most famous person of Lecco is Alessandro Manzoni , a famous poet and novelist between 18th and 19th century. Lecco is so proud of the poet and name itself as City of Manzoni . The first sentence of his novel Betrothed is shown at the river side. uel ramo del lago di Como, che volge a mezzogiorno, tra due catene non interrotte di monti......... After visiting Villa Manzoni on via Mendona briefly, we descended down to reach and cross the river. Walking along the promenade are one after one scene of tranquillity and beauty.  We spent quite much time strolling there and enjoyed the views very much. Saint Nicolo bell tower is easily seen from the waterfront.  It is situated at the bustling square...

I arrived in Milan on 29 April 2017.  Friends had a plan of visiting Varenna after my long flight from Hong Kong as the day was blessed with sunshine but the weather would be bad on Monday. It is a bit more than one hour drive from Milan.  I could take naps and was delighted with the little beautiful town along Lake Como . We were lucky to park our car close to Villa Monastero which we aimed to visit. It was owned by a German and becomes a place for conferences.  Its location is between the street and the lake which means the area of the villa is rather long and narrow.  Nevertheless, the architect managed to scatter the villa, different sections of a garden and many spots for magnificent views of the lake. The villa has some grand and strange decors.  For example, a sunken bath, intricate patterned toilet and portraits with funny scenes. Click here to have a better understanding of the different rooms inside the villa. ...