Trip to Brunate in the Funicular

This is our trip to the town of Lake Como. We took the funicular to Brunate and enjoyed the viewand the church. We headed back down and has a free day to explore the shops and ruins in the ancient town center- one of the oldest inhabited settlements in northern Europe.

Hidden Talent Painting trip to Italy included the amazing Villa Carlotta- an artist's dream!

Lucky! Lucky!
This is the second year we went to Villa Carlotta -in FULL BLOOM and in the SUNSHINE! It's pretty much like winning the lottery twice.
The pink and purple azaleas blossoms are on bushes the size of small houses and are clearly visible from across the lake. There is great variety- from bamboo gardens and bonsai to a fragrant herb wall and turtles in a pool with Calla lilies.Needless to say we split up and proceeded to photograph everything that wasn't another tourist.

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The gardens of Villa Carlotta

 We spent the whole day touring around the grounds and ferried back to Belagio then back to Lezzeno for our chef cooked supper.

Always time for a quick watercolor sketch!

Paint in Italy- Varenna

Varenna is a painters paradise-one of the many places that begged to be painted on this  trip!

Next was a trip to the most beautiful town in Europe! Varenna never disappoints- even on a cloudy day. The colorful buildings, the mountain mists and the reflection in the Lake make this a perfect place to take out the paints and capture a moment in time.

Varenna- a short walk from the ferries along the lake take countless photographs!

A short walk past the gelato booths brings us to Villa Cyprese. Two minutes past that is Villa Monestero. Both are worthy of a day to explore.

Can't resist the urge to paint!

Roman landscape elements and informal gardens and orchards!

Artists LOVE to paint in Itlay!

Painting trip to Italy- Villa Melzi

Villa Melzi is just like entering a painting! Every plant is placed where it can be seen at it's very best- different hues of green against vibrant reds and oranges with jewel pinks and reds for accents! This is one of our favorite stops- and a short 5 minute walk down a flower lined promenade to the world famous Belagio.

Artists in Italy!

ED, our tour guide takes some reference photos of the gardens

Painting the Lake Como view!

We took out our paints and had a great view of some orangey burnt sienna buildings with a flower lined path leading down to the lake. Great perspective practice! Ed and Brian headed to Belagio to reserve a table for a late lunch- an awesome morning!

Painting trip to Italy!

Early May is the 'Goldilocks' time to visit Italy-not too hot, not too cold! This was our second trip to Lake Como with enthusiastic students from Hidden Talent. Donna and Brian, Dan and Teresa were our first 'couples' to go. Brian was a non artist, but was a heck of a great photographer. Needless to say, with all that magical scenery around us he was as awe struck as we artists were. Joan, Barb, Yoon Joo and Jeanne were the other artists/photgraphers who came on our adventure.We pooled most of our photos and ended up with over 6,600!!!

On this trip we visited a few different Villas than the 2012 trip.
This time when we ferried to Varenna we walked to the enchanting Villa Monestero where we saw early Roman architecture and age old gardens. There was a lovely place to sit and paint the lake view beside the main Villa.

Villa Balbinello is directly across Lake Como  from our Albergo and this year we hired a private boat to take us to Lenno, visit the market and then walk the  15 minute path to the Villa! Well worth the trip!
A full day in the town of Lake Como was fun for the shoppers and with the old Roman gates and walls, exceptional for the photographers. It is a busy city and there was even the familiar MacDonald's where we got our full sized coffees!
Here are a few photos of our arrival: