This is how Dix Trips started. It was October, I was on holiday and, as we slid across the lake in the perfect fall weather, I decided to pull out my tiny digital Flipcam and shoot something.

Lake Como on a day like this is everything you imagine Italy will be as you set off on your holiday – full of beautiful vistas with another delightful coffee shop around the corner. The Lake is also the location for the final major European bike race of the year, the Giro di Lombardia, aka ‘The race of the falling leaves.’

Travel Tip Fly to Milan, rent a car at the airport and drive North to the lake. Do not, under any circumstance try and drive that rental car into the center of Milan at any stage of your trip – it’s a frustrating mess of diabolical one-way streets and you’ll want to kill yourself long before you get into the center of town. Return the car to the airport and take a train into the city.

Music: “Italian Holiday.” You can license it here