Day 7 - Varenna Revisited

The storm seems to have blown itself out and whilst we're not back to glorious blue skies at least it's not lashing down with rain.  So the plan for today having "done" Lake Como as much as we wanted to, was to go back over to Varenna and have lunch at the same restaurant we enjoyed on Day 2.

This is the little stream we walk past every day which now, thanks to the rain over the last couple of days, is a gushing torrent.

The next boat due was via San Giovanni and Bellagio and as you can see it wasn't exactly popular.

A lot of these photos will be similar (or occasionally identical) to ones taken on Day 2 although the lighting/weather may give a different feel.

These grassed steps don't look real, it looks like fabric laid down.

 

A private water taxi, probably collecting guests for Tremezzo's Grand Hotel just across the water.

Approaching Varenna and again the shots will be similar to previous ones.

Yup, I've definitely taken this boat before, albeit from a slightly different angle.

It was far less crowded today so we could look at the buildings as we passed by without bumping into other people.  A couple of items for sale in the tourist shops, which much to Ian's evident relief I didn't even suggest we went into.

We headed up to the square by the church and discussed which restaurant we'd been to before and of course Ian was correct.  This time we sat inside in a lovely conservatory.  

Ian with the now obligatory breadstick shot.

I asked if I could have prawns added to my pizza which they were happy to do, but although delicious and very tasty I think they may have been frozen as the pizza was much soggier that last time.  Still very nice and Ian enjoyed his pasta too and then helped out by finishing my meal.  Whether or not the staff remembered us I don't know, but we were offered a complimentary Limoncello liqueur (Ian accepted, I didn't) and they didn't charge me for the added prawns.

We then wandered around for a while, first stop the church - I loved the yellow umbrella.

The traghetto (car ferry) approaching.

We sailed past Pino's River Fuimelatte which was absolutely gushing down, I should think the sound was deafening.  Its nickname is apparently milk river and you can see why.

Judging by the view down lake, we're in for another downpour soon.

The ferry stopped again at Bellagio on the way home but we decided we'd had enough and besides which we had to pack for an early start tomorrow.

Hotel Splendide - well named.

Packing didn't take very long and we finished up the remaining food, cleaned the apartment and tried to get an early night.  We left at 0830 the following morning and had a very good run to the airport despite me taking a wrong turning at one point.  We'd realised after a few days that the car was a hybrid and although we'd only used about 1/4 tank we needed to top up so looked for a garage near the airport.  We eventually found one and when a little old lady told me to pull forward further from the pump we realised she was the attendant.  It was probably the most expensive petrol in the whole of Lombardy as it cost £30 to fill up, but we didn't mind and to be honest we could have managed without a car and just used train and ferry or boat.  Interestingly the rain which we'd had the last couple of days had fallen as snow on the surrounding mountains but I couldn't persuade Ian to try and take a photo on this phone, I think he was too worried about losing the directions!

Then came the fun of finding where to drop off the car as the Avis instructions just said airport!  I put "hire car drop off" into Google but it got confused and directed us to the set down point for departures where there were dire warnings of parking charges all over the place.  So we quickly drove round again and luckily this time I spotted and overhead sign and successfully crossed over 3 lanes of traffic to take the correct lane.  There was someone to check the car and sign it off - always a relief.  We were a little early for check-in and probably a dozen of so people already queuing but it was less than clear which, if either, was the priority lane and the chap in front (Liverpudlian) was getting most anxious that someone might beat him to the front.  After what seemed like an age we got checked in OK, collected our boarding passes, cleared security and headed for the lounge.  Unfortunately it was more a café than a lounge with pre-packed, rather heavy sandwiches and other cold savouries - still it was food.

We've had a pleasant week here and enjoyed being away from home but sadly we both feel we were here for too long and that 4 days would have been ideal.  Lake Como is beautiful but there isn't much to see/do behind the façades, especially with weather like we had.

Day 6 - Yuk!

This was the sight that greeted us when we woke and it's the only photograph I took all day!

But, rather than spend another day cooped up in the flat, we decided to drive back to Porlezza and go shopping, which only goes to show how desperate we were.  The drive up the wiggly road out of Menaggio was challenging because of the streams of water pouring down but we made it successfully and spent an interesting hour wandering around Carrefour.  We were able to buy some cute mini panettones, chocolates and sweets for Christmas presents and more importantly we got out (photographed purely to illustrate the blog).

Day 5 - Villa Carlotta

We were woken several times during the night by the rain lashing down and it was still pretty awful when we finally got up.  

But we're only here once so we can't sit around in the apartment and actually the only vaguely nice room is our bedroom anyway, so we decided to arm ourselves with coats and umbrellas and head for Villa Carlotta which is at the far end of Tremezzo and considered one of the most beautiful of Como's villas.   By the time we'd had breakfast, the rain had eased quite a bit and it was fairly dry for our walk into town.  I don't think I've mentioned how clear the lake is - the bottom is easily visible and often little fish can be seen too.

Looking out past the Grand Hotel's pool and taxi rank, the mountains opposite are barely visible.

The Grand Hotel's covered parking area is tiny, but they make the most of it by having two tiered parking. 

Villa Carlotta was built in the late 17th century and following numerous changes in ownership (including one of Napoleon Bonaparte's chums) it was confiscated during WW1 by the Italian state and its management entrusted to the foundation trust established by Royal Decree in 1927.  It has a notable botanical garden (not so notable when it's pouring down with rain like today) and houses numerous exhibitions of artworks throughout the year.

Once again I was given an OAP concession ticket, although we clearly said 1+1 - I think it's end of season and they're just grateful for any visitors.

Unfortunately the rain started again more or less as soon as we entered the gardens, so some of the pictures are a bit fuzzy.

Being a "botanical" garden, there are not as many flowering plants as I would like.

But there were a few fantastic ones, like this Erythrina crista galli which is the national flower of both Argentina and Uruguay.

There are a few patches of colour.

Including ever faithful Impatiens (Bizzy Lizzy)

The Tree Fern walk looked incredible but it was raining far too hard for us to venture up it.

The gardens were very well laid out, with clearly marked paths in a one way system, but given the persistent rain it was rather slippery underfoot.  The bamboo section was amazing, with many different species growing.

There were a couple of old buildings in the process of being refurbished to show how they would have been in xxxx but as they were still unfinished we couldn't go in.

We also gave the olive grove a miss as it was planted on a rather steep slope.

 

Yet another shot of Villa Mezzi on the opposite side of the lake.

Inside there were a few sculptures etc but nothing of particular interest.

I seem to remember this painting depicted Romeo and Juliet, but then again I may have just made that up!

A few shots of the misty lake from the upstairs terrace. 

As you can see the weather had got considerably worse since the last shot of Villa Mezzi.

Looking straight down to the formal laid out gardens below you'd think it was hardly raining.

"I ring this bell when I want silence"

One of the modern art installations - a do-it-yourself crucifixion.

I'm not sure who this is - Albert Einstein or one of the Marx Brothers?  Actually it’s neither, but Gino di Dominicis, an artist who in 1971 wandered through exhibition halls wearing a black hat, carrying a furry tiger and a billboard saying “What does death have to do with it” – his take on achieving immortality through art.

And lastly a few photos taken at the front of the building.

We thought these little terrapins were stone.

But this one definitely moved.

We were quite soggy by now so decided to wander back to our little flat.  Just down the alleyway from us are large gates which appear closed whenever we pass so I've not bothered to read any of the signage.  Today they were ajar and I realised it was a cemetery so of course we had a little wander around.

Isn't she beautiful.

The rest of the day was spent playing cards, reading and trying to finish up the very large chicken.