Our first stopping point in northern Italy was the town of Lecco which is on Lake Como. Lecco is at the southeast end of Lake Como. Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin which you can see by the multiple branches which would have been glaciers between the mountains. Lake Como's shape is like an inverted Y. It's the third largest lake in Italy and one of the deepest lakes in Europe.

Lake Como is at the foot of the Alps and has been a popular retreat for the wealthy since Roman times. It also boasts various artistic and cultural items and its shores are dotted with villas and palaces, some going back many centuries. Some palaces and villas are known for their historic architecture and elaborate gardens.

Our Italian guide said that towns have two main places, the church and the town hall. You can see the top of the main church in Lecco below, with its roughly 300-foot tall clock tower. That's a landmark for people out on the lake or around the lake.

We stayed in Lecco and Lake Como for three days. I wasn't about to complain about the weather after three straight days of viewing the Matterhorn in Zermatt. But I asked our guide about the weather here and mentioned that it didn't look like the brochures. She laughed and said that it was a very large lake surrounded by very tall mountains, so what did I expect? She said that it takes very strong winds to clear out the sky here. We never got any strong winds, not for three days here. Oh well...

We could see that people here love the outdoors for dining and such in nice weather. But outside seating was readily available on our visit.

We were sitting in the main square area (which is not square) when I noticed a very busy booth right across from where I was sitting. I went over to check it out. It was the Lions Club selling chestnuts and also selling roasted chestnuts.

Shortly after I sat back down, a fellow tourist said it looks like a fire down the street as the smoke poured past us. I said it couldn't be a fire, and I went and investigated. Yep, it was the Lions Club guys roasting chestnuts. I waited for the smoke to clear to take this photo.

We took a boat ride out on Lake Como from Lecco. It was a nice ride and we got some nicer views of the lake and villages along the lake but it was still on the cool and cloudy side.