Como, Italy

While visiting Lugano, Switzerland I make a side trip across the nearby Italian/Swiss border to Como, Italy and the famous Lake Como. Nothing special about this lakefront city of 80,000 inhabitants. I say this because I've heard so much about the many wealthy and famous having homes along Lake Lugano and was expecting Como to be more upscale. Lake Lugano, Italy's third largest lake, is narrow and Y-shaped. The road around the lake is narrow, winding with never ending up and down segments. I cycled 40 miles around the lake's perimeter and doubt if that even took me a third of the way around this picturesque body of water. Though it was a hot summer day, nary a person was seen swimming in the water. Why? Lake Como is seriously polluted. And no, I never ran into actor George Clooney or saw his lakefront villa.