In the afternoon, we visited the impressive Villa Babianello, made famous in both the James Bond and Star Wars films. It lives up to its reputation, perched atop lush formal gardens with a gorgeous scenic overlook of the water. After such beautiful views of the lake that day, we treated ourselves to an elegant dinner with another breathtaking panorama of Lake Como below. Dinner was amazing with red pepper prawn soup, scallops in pumpkin risotto, caprese salad and delicious wine to wash it down!

The next morning we awoke rested and raring to go, so we boarded a ferry that would first take us to Bellagio. The photographers and tourists spent most of their morning exploring town and the botanic garden, shopping and shooting, while we set up our easels in the lush public gardens nearby. The morning was a little overcast so we chose to focus on the vibrant foliage and plantings rather than the view of the harbor, so that our paintings would be full of color!

Next up on our Cinque Terre and Lake Como Art Trek, we drove to the peaceful town of Varenna at the northern end of Lake Como. Our hotel has the most amazing views of the lake and the colorful town below. It’s my idea of paradise!