Angry sky but tranquil location !
We woke to fairly steady drizzle this morning and the forecast for the next few days is fairly similar so in this part of our trip I don’t think we are going to see too much of the mountains with the low cloud cover.
Yesterday was also the end of the “summer season” here so the ferry services timetable on the lake has reduced somewhat. We planned to zigzag across the lake to visit the towns however we weren’t able to do that as there was too much of a gap in the ferry times.
Instead our first stop was Bellagio, the “up market” town. We had a couple of hours here before our next ferry so first we walked along the lake front boardwalk in drizzly rain. Then we headed back along the lake before heading up one of the alley ways into the main parts of the town. Basically all the towns are built up the hills so the only way to see them is to walk up and down the cobblestone alley ways that connect the top and bottom.
Laneways in Bellagio
Bellagio is sort of the “crotch” of two legs of the lake. There is apparently a local rhyming ditty that looses a lot in translation but describes Bellagio’s position on the lake as the “testicles” on a man. I’m sure the residents of Bellagio must love to be so known !
After our walk around, we sat at a cafe on the waterfront and had a coffee as we waited for our ferry. We then took the ferry to Varenna, on the other side of the lake to Lenno. The rain had stopped so we were able to sit in a covered outside restaurant overlooking the lake here for some lunch. It is certainly much cooler today than we have been having – only supposed to be a max of 17 today but very humid. We had pasta for lunch today – very simple but very tasty, the cooking certainly makes the most of the herbs, spices and oils in it !
From where the ferry had dropped us, we walked along a lovely walkway skirting the edge of the lake to the “old” town where we had lunch. It’s only about a 5 min walk but very picturesque – some of the walk is actually over the water on ledges built out from the cliff. I suspect a lot of people might not get here as it is a bit deceptive from where the ferry drops you – most of the other towns the ferry drops you in the middle of the town.
Varenna
After lunch we headed back to the ferry wharf to get our ferry back to Lenno. The trip takes about 30 min as it stops at a few other towns on each run. Eventhough the number if ferry services have now dropped off with the end of the season, there are quite a few options available to get across the lake. There is a hydrofoil service which runs on the lake as well – it also goes to Como. And there is a car ferry service which runs between the larger towns – Varenna, Bellagio and another town we will drive through tomorrow called Menaggio.
Back in Lenno we walked along the waterfront to see what other options might be available for dinner here – not a lot by the look of it, Lenno is a pretty tiny place – so we will probably just go to the restaurant here again.
I certainly don’t think we have seen Lake Como at its best but it is a very picturesque spot nonetheless. It has been very satisfying sitting in our room or on our balcony taking in the lovely views and peace and quiet, listening to the ducks calling in the distance or the peel of the bells from the church nearby. Very, very nice indeed I must say !