Doing the tourist bit

Saturday 7 July 2012  -Ello, mountains and Lake Come

Day 85 and 74 to go

Today started with a sleep in 8.45am I woke up after being out like a light since getting to bed. We got up and sorted before going into the house. Ezio had bought brioches that we ate gladly. They are so delicious.

We attempted to use his internet to book our ferry from Ancona to Split but his line was not wanting to play so instead we went for a walk around Ello.

The walk was very peaceful as we wandered through wooded areas, past streams and small fields of vegetables, including Ezio’s plot on which he has raspberries that we enjoyed picking and eating. A little further on and we coluld see Tina’s family home Presacco that has now been fully renovated by Angelo’s family and is surrounded by a large garden. Our next stop was a lake that Paul had fished with his Nonno for trout. It was a lovely spot.

We eventually came out at Dolzago and had to climb the street back towards home. Urghhhh. It was steep and long and in the humid sun. My legs were burning and Paul had to keep encouraging me to keep going. That certainly walked off breakfast,

 At about ¾ of the way up the hill we stopped in to see Angelo and Sylvanna. It was great to see them. Angelo looks well despite suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis that makes his hands, shoulders and knees swollen and sore. Sylvanna also looked terrific.

We only spent a short time with them before we returned home. Fabio had returned from France last night so we were able to see him. We used his computer to book our ferry ticket to Croatia next Monday and then we returned down stairs where the whole family and Roberta and her mum had come for coffee and to say Ciao. We listened to the banter, not understanding much before Ezio dragged us out so we could go for a drive into the mountains.

We took Roberta’s mum home first and then made our way up the slope passing many picturesque towns along the way. We stopped at one as there are many murals painted on the buildings. We then continued our climb to a spot where we could see the three branches of the lake and Bellagio in the middle. It was beautiful but unfortunately it was quite hazy so the mountains were not clear. 

With lots of pictures taken we then made the decent into the town of Varena where we stopped again. This time we wandered through the town. It was quite crowded as it was warm and sunny. We walked the ‘lovers walk’, something we did last time, though this time all the flowers were out and it was beautiful.

We stopped at a Gelataria for icecream and sat watching people wander by. We again met the American man from Bellagio and had another chat. Ezio and Roberta were surprised we knew someone.

We continued to walk a short distance before we returned to the car and drove along the edge of the lake back to Lecco. It is a beautiful drive. You can drive around the lake edge in a day. Paul and I would like to come back and do it on a motorbike next time.

When we reached Lecco we stopped at a supermarket and bought things we needed for the van and then we returned home. Roberta went off to see her cousin and we had a brief rest before heading into the house with Ezio.

While waiting for Fabio we checked the internet. Casey Stoner has pole for the German MotoGP tomorrow Yay. I did a quick flick through Facebook and my mail before Fabio arrived and we went out for dinner.
We were taken to a popular restaurant on the lake and as it was a beautiful night we were able to sit and enjoy the view. The restaurant was very busy and getting our food was slow but it gave us time to chat to Fabio and Ezio. When our pizzas arrived we devoured them as we were all hungry. Once we were done Ezio took us for more icecream.

We sat by the edge of the lake enjoying the night view across to Lecco. It was stunning. We then returned home at 10.40pm and it was straight to bed ready to start our day of travelling tomorrow.