Some friends of mine invited me to join them for a relaxing afternoon by the Lake Albano,
so I said “Yeah, sounds like a good plan”.

Now, Lake Albano is rather small lake in the hills about 12 miles from Rome

in the area called Castelli Romani.
The lake is about 170 m deep, which makes it the deepest in Lazio.
It’s about 3.5 km long by 2.3 km wide.
The lake is also known for hosting the canoeing and rowing events
of the 1960 Summer Olympic Games that were held in Rome.
I’ve been there before but I never really looked at it so I though this video might be a good excuse to do it.
so I though this video might be a good excuse to do it.
Anyway, I decided to go quite early
so I can get some footage taken for you before I meet my friends.
As I said, Lake Albano is a volcanic crater lake,
and arriving from Rome by car you first get to the rim of what used to be a volcano
and then start your descend towards the lake.
There are several little towns around the lake area but the closest one, and probably the best known one is Castel Gandolfo,
but the closest one, and probably the best known one is Castel Gandolfo,
the home to The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence.
When I saw an empty parking spot at the edge of the rim above the lake, I didn’t think twice, and I parked there. From there I wanted to investigate the place a bit and perhaps take a look at The Papal Palace.

I didn’t think twice, and I parked there. From there I wanted to investigate the place a bit and perhaps take a look at The Papal Palace.

From there I wanted to investigate the place a bit
and perhaps take a look at The Pope’s Palace.

I started to walk towards the town center,
which is a pleasant little stroll, in spite the scorching conditions that day.
There’s a typical little town Main Street
which is a pedestrian area packed with souvenir shops and restaurants with their tables outside,
for you to enjoy some open air dining.
Nearby there is also a belvedere or a viewing point
from where you can admire the lake.
There are also plenty of other little interesting spots from where you can catch an unexpected glimpse of the lake.

from where you can catch an unexpected glimpse of the lake.

All in all, Castel Gandolfo is a typical small town
with narrow streets and houses packed so closely
you can hear people’s conversations in their own homes.
As in just about any Italian little town, there’s history,
history…
and more history.
which made me think maybe I should return here
and shoot separately a proper video on Castel Gandolfo itself.
Since also there is a train going to Castel Gandolfo
I wanted to find out where the train station is,
so I have more options in the future.
They indicated a path going down the hill
and I saw nothing wrong with that and proceeded towards the station.
Sure enough, after a while the little path led me right to it.

The station looked quite deserted, there were no trains, nor passengers to be seen.
It was about mid day and by this time the sun got quite high…
If you want to take a train to Castel Gandolfo
you get it at Rome’s central Termini station.
There seems to be a train every 60 minutes, so that’s not that bad.
The journey from Rome will last about 40 min.

So, now I had an option either to return the same way,
which I didn’t fancy because of the heat and steepness,
or keep walking towards the lake and hope there is a shortcut back.
Let’s just put it this way—I don’t always make best decisions.
As you may have guessed, I proceeded downhill in a pretty uncomfortable heat,
noticeably tired to boot.
Obviously, no sunblock, no hat, no water…
Once I made it to the lake and inquired about the way back,
they pointed to the same way I came down.
To be honest, when the first guy told me that
I thought he was taking me for a ride as a dumb straniero…
so I kept asking.

Long story short, I ended up walking the same hill I just came down from,
only this time it was much hotter and I was tired.

I braved the hill and eventually made it up to the belvedere and then to the car.

I sat in the car and proceeded down the same hill again,
obviously this time much more comfortably.
There is plenty of parking around the lake but it usually fills up quickly
and you can find yourself driving around the lake trying to find a spot where to leave the car.

The parking will cost you 1.20 Eur per hour
but if you pay 4.80 Eur you can leave your car parked whole day.
I thought that was a good deal and did exactly that.
I found a spot right in front of those trattorie by the lake
and as I opened my car door I virtually stepped inside this establishment called Grapes.
The menu looked like there’s nothing wrong with it and the stack of firewood by the side looked promising.
and the stack of firewood by the side looked promising.
Me, right now I needed a cold one and something decent to eat.
The guy in the back looked like a proper Italian trattoria owner
and by his size I figured he likes his own food.
I was also quite intrigued by the huge metal box in the corner
that doesn’t usually make part of an Italian trattoria.
I was very pleased with what they brought me to eat
but didn’t film any of it
because who would be interested in looking at me munching on a burger
and sipping my beer.
I asked about deserts and he recommended his “New York Style” cheesecake.
I’ll be honest, I was highly suspicious because what you’d normally get in a restaurant
is some frozen third party cheesecake that has nothing to do with New York style.

He assured me it’s their own and I decided I should trust him.
The guy didn’t lie about it
and if anything his cheesecake tasted very much like my grandma’s,
which is a good thing.

Soon enough we developed a little bit of conversation
and to my surprise I found out the guy is from Philadelphia!
Also, I’ve finally found out what the black box is all about.

At about that point a YouTuber in me awoke and I decided I should start filming.

I thanked Tony and proceeded to meet my friends at the beach.
There is a series of stabilimenti along the lake shore.
You can get here everything you need for the day,
sunbeds umbrellas and all sorts of drinks and snacks.
This is not some pristine Alpine lake but the water is surprisingly clean.
The sand is black In character with the lake’s volcanic nature.

After a couple of hours it was a time to return to Rome.
As it got cooler the pedestrian traffic along the lake promenade picked up
as the Italians didn’t miss the chance to display their stylish clothes
and a sun drenched look.
The final impression is that a Lake Albano is a handsome little place,
definitely worth a day trip.
To leave the lake area the road takes you to a tunnel
drilled through the rim of a former volcano.

