Lake Como- day one
Our trip here from Palermo took a little longer than planned but I had sort of expected that. But RyanAir was not the culprit. in fact they landed at Milan Malpensa about 15 minutes early, giving us more than enough time to connect with our 1:20 train out of Milano Centrale, the main train station.
Things progressed smoothly until the town of Lecco, near the southern tip of the lake.
After stopping here for an unscheduled 15 minutes we set off again, only to stop for a similar length of time at the next station. We were supposed to proceed to Varenna directly with no additional stops but we ended up stopping at all 5 of the following stations, apparently due to the massive crowds trying to leave the town. It turned out that the entire rail system in the area was at an almost complete standstill due to the crowds attending the annual Airshow which, unbeknown tours was just happening.
We finally arrived in Varenna almost 90 minutes late for what was supposed to have been a one hour trip.
Upon arrival at the station we alighted to find a line of hopeful passengers awaiting the train back to Milan. The line was being controlled by several local police but it appeared to extend along the sidewalk for a good half km..
We eventually found our B&B where our landlady handed us a scribbled note, essentially demanding passports and the immediate payment of 166 Euro for 2 nights stay.
She clearly spoke not a word of English and our room is clearly vastly over-rated- no fridge, no air con, not a fan in sight, not even a drinking glass.
Our source of light and breeze Is a french doorleading onto a balcony. There is no screen to keep out mosquitos etc. So we have resorted to opening the door and rolling down the automatic shutter just loosely enough to allow some cracks. A total lack of breeze outside is ensuring we will most likely have a hot and restless night.
After a quick late afternoon siesta we took a walk around the main piazza, a somewhat lopsided entangle with three churches and several restaurants. The routes to the lakefront are multiple, with some gently sloping towards the water while others were steep staircases.
Our initial impression was that it appeared similar to Riomaggiore in the Cinq Terre district and a quick look at the menus of the lakeside restaurants confirmed the similarity-( overpriced tourist trap!)
We did manage to find a place where some locals were eating so we did enjoy a pizza and a pasta dish without getting taken to the cleaners. The added plus was a waitress, originally from the UK who gave us a few tips on getting around the lake.
George Clooney was nowhere to be seen! He owns a villa in Bellagio, some 15 minutes by ferry across the lake- maybe tomorrow!
Things progressed smoothly until the town of Lecco, near the southern tip of the lake.
After stopping here for an unscheduled 15 minutes we set off again, only to stop for a similar length of time at the next station. We were supposed to proceed to Varenna directly with no additional stops but we ended up stopping at all 5 of the following stations, apparently due to the massive crowds trying to leave the town. It turned out that the entire rail system in the area was at an almost complete standstill due to the crowds attending the annual Airshow which, unbeknown tours was just happening.
We finally arrived in Varenna almost 90 minutes late for what was supposed to have been a one hour trip.
Upon arrival at the station we alighted to find a line of hopeful passengers awaiting the train back to Milan. The line was being controlled by several local police but it appeared to extend along the sidewalk for a good half km..
We eventually found our B&B where our landlady handed us a scribbled note, essentially demanding passports and the immediate payment of 166 Euro for 2 nights stay.
She clearly spoke not a word of English and our room is clearly vastly over-rated- no fridge, no air con, not a fan in sight, not even a drinking glass.
Our source of light and breeze Is a french doorleading onto a balcony. There is no screen to keep out mosquitos etc. So we have resorted to opening the door and rolling down the automatic shutter just loosely enough to allow some cracks. A total lack of breeze outside is ensuring we will most likely have a hot and restless night.
After a quick late afternoon siesta we took a walk around the main piazza, a somewhat lopsided entangle with three churches and several restaurants. The routes to the lakefront are multiple, with some gently sloping towards the water while others were steep staircases.
Our initial impression was that it appeared similar to Riomaggiore in the Cinq Terre district and a quick look at the menus of the lakeside restaurants confirmed the similarity-( overpriced tourist trap!)
We did manage to find a place where some locals were eating so we did enjoy a pizza and a pasta dish without getting taken to the cleaners. The added plus was a waitress, originally from the UK who gave us a few tips on getting around the lake.
George Clooney was nowhere to be seen! He owns a villa in Bellagio, some 15 minutes by ferry across the lake- maybe tomorrow!
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