99 TOP GEAR + COMO + ALFA + JETSKI + RACE...

I've been binge-watching old Top Gear episodes as I've been off work with the plague. I caught up with Series 21, Episode 2, which features a lot of things I appreciate: Jeremy Clarkson bombing around the Spa Grand Prix track in the 904-horsepower McLaren P1, James May in Camp Bastion in Afghanistan looking at the incredible vehicles the army used out there, and Loki being the Star in the Reasonably Priced Car.

But the film I was really interested in was Richard Hammond's, where he road tests the Alfa Romeo 4C. I wasn't particularly bothered about the car - this may come as a surprise, but I haven't got £60,000 knocking about to splash out on a small Italian racer - but my interest was piqued by where he was testing it.

Hammond took the feather-light, 237bhp, 4C for a pleasant ride around the picturesque shores of Lake Como, putting it through its paces. 

The film showed how beautiful the area is, briefly showing Menaggio - where the Alfa proved to be a little too large for the small roads that hugged the shoreline - and whetted the appetite for our trip next year.

As a bonus, we got to see Clarkson on a quad bike that turns into a jet ski racing a hydrofoil to the strains of music from various James Bond films (click on the image above to watch the clip).

Lake Como has always been on my 'to-do' list, and this film only reinforced my desire to visit. I can't wait to see the quaint buildings, cobbled streets, and beautiful waterfront. The bonus is that we will spend time there, eating and drinking (within reason) - a real-life moment.