Laglio Life

by Lena

elena levon laglio como italy - 09

930 Habitants, 2 Restaurants, 1 George Clooney …

If you ever find yourself in Laglio, Italy, you should definitely stay at Ca’Spiga.

It’s a beautiful place with the views of Lake Como and mountains, homemade breakfast, warm and hospitable hosts, that make you feel as their family.

I was lucky, the whole villa was basically my own for a week.

Awakened by the sun rays on my pillow, I would stretch on my huge antique bed, tiptoe barefoot to the window and soak up the morning sun…

elena levon

Life in Laglio is very slow and relaxed. Small family shops, villas, beautiful scenery and a group of really angry swans. After breakfast I would walk all the way to the water, to the only somewhat public sunbathing spot in all Laglio.

Me and other travelers were forced to share this spot with a bunch of really angry and territorial swans. I thought, that throwing them some bread will get them into more friendly state, unfortunately for me, no amount of bread would make us all coexist peacefully on this spot under the sun.
So all of the people ( about 5 of us ) constantly had to fight them for our clothes and a few minutes of relaxation.

Swans were not the only distraction. Well, since this is Europe, not USA, I happily sun bathed topless. A group of Italian men would stand a few feet from me pretending not to look…

Italian-Men

Ummm, no ladies, unfortunately, they didn’t look like that… They were much older and with much more body fat…

Italian Men'sGlof Club

What was funny, is that they would call up their friends and tell them to come over, so in 20 minutes they doubled in number.

The fact that this little spot by the lake was easily seen from the road, every time there was someone on a bike, they for some reason just HAD to stop and walk to the water, with a “I’m just here for the nature” look in his eyes.

Laglio is very special though. It has a feel of untouched beauty about it.. savage almost. You can stroll for miles and explore villas, nature and taste absolutely delicious Italian food in one of their two existing restaurants.

And then of course, there’s George Clooney. Residents do know where he lives and always wink at you knowingly when you pass his villa with a “oh, I know why you’re here” look …

Basta!

The truth is, I wasn’t here for that… Worked with him once, then he was a jury of a festival in Los Angeles, where he voted for a film I acted in back in 2006 and then, we went to the same parties and awards for a few years, back in my Hollywood days. I came to Laglio, because it’s one of the most peaceful of all places near Como. And after my crazy journey through Italy, was ready for some peace. Laglio is perfect for that. Very similar to Cori.

All of the sudden on one of my several mile walks it starts to rain like crazy. Quickly hid my camera and ran as fast as I could back to my villa. Seemed like my only company were thunder and lightning. My white tank top, that was being worn bra less (naturally), was soaked. Was kinda glad that there were no men around at this point… I picked up the speed, laughing from the fact that my drenched skirt was sticking to my body, making it hard to run faster… and here, looking like a total mess, I ran by “The Villa” …

And as I’m running by it, noticed that the gates were opening… a few seconds later, saw a motorcycle in the distance that was turning to the entrance of George’s villa… with laughter, soaked through hair and barely there clothes, I make an eye contact with him…

At that very moment a very famous smirk was now facing my direction…

I continued to run in the direction of my villa in attempt to save my camera and lenses.

In a few weeks, noticed one of the main news on yahoo was that George split with yet another one of his beauties.

Mr. Bond thinks it’s my fault…

“This is what happens when you forget your bra at home”

~

Wishing all of you a fantastic New Year’s from New York City. I hope that 2014 will bring health, happiness, prosperity and peace, to you and your loved ones. 2013 wasn’t an easy year, it had its challenges, tragedies, bad health and mistakes. But it also brought me joy, love, new friendships, understanding and hope… and those are the things worth to be taken with me into 2014. All the others can stay in this year. Dear 2013, thank you for all the blessings and all the lessons…

Excelsior!

love,

Lena

Christmas 2013 in New York

Christmas 2013 in New York

elena-levon-christmas-new-york

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The woman behind the words …

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