A round journey around Lake Como

 Monday

26 August

Day 57

39 to go

We woke to lightning and thunder this morning. The storm predicted for yesterday finally arrived. Thankfully the worst of it was predicted to be over by 10am and we would just have cloudy conditions. We needed to be up at 730am, as we had a train to catch at 9am. 

We had breakfast, caught up on news back home and then were out the door. It was very cloudy, nothing like yesterday’s beautiful day weather. We watched strings of white fluff float over the top of the mountains. There were plenty of signs of rain. 

We arrived at the station, bought our tickets to Varena and then waited on the platform in the cigarette funk. It was disgusting. The train was 10min late, but it didn’t matter. We made our way towards Varena, before being held up at Abbadia Lariana. The view to this point, when we weren’t in tunnels, was stunning. We were finally on the move again at 9.45am, passing by the Moto Guzzi  factory. In the end, we didn’t make it to Varena until 10.30am, only an hour late. 

Once off the train, we tracked through the centre of Varena with the crowd and then followed google. Thankfully there was also a sign post indicating the same way. The way though was up a tiny, cobbled, very steep and dark track. It had us puffing for most of it. We were very glad to finally reach Castle Vezio, just as the rain began. 

Paul paid the entry, 5€ and we wandered the small castle grounds. The castle is now known for plaster cast ghost like figures, that can be found sitting on walls enjoying the view and that view is pretty spectacular.

We made our way around a lower square, meeting a caged owl and playing with the dress ups, before going into the tower and climbing a few floors. We then made our way to the dungeon. Unfortunately, I missed the step and landed heavily on my bum. We were both glad that I didn’t roll down the flight of stairs. I am bound to sport a bruise tomorrow. The dungeon display was a lot of fun, with scary voice overs and cobwebs. 

Once we finished, we returned to the entrance and the track, making our way back to Varena with very careful steps, wary of the wet cobbles. We had a few slips, but no falls. Phew. 

We walked to the lake, locating the ferry terminal, the boat was due at 1245pm. We had 20min, so bought a croissant and drink, before returning to the ferry and boarding the boat. It wasn’t a long journey and before long we were pulling up to Bellagio, so glad to return. 

We joined the crowds on the packed lanes. We walked up and down a number of them, finally locating the painted wine bottle store. It was no longer a little hideaway and was in a different position, but there were plenty of bottles. 

We returned to the lake, walking the promenade before enquiring about boats to Como. The timing wasn’t great, so bus it was. We had about a 20min wait, before it arrived at 2.10pm. The journey was slow given the narrow, winding mountain road. It did however provide a stunning view. At times, I was thinking how precarious my position against the window and lakeside was. 

At 3.20pm, we arrived in Como, somewhere we haven’t visited previously. We were dropped by the water and preceded to walk along the front, taking in the view. Our priority was to find a super market, as we needed breakfast supplies and some food, as Ezio had let us know dinner would be around 8pm. 

Successfully navigating to a market, we bought what we needed and then found a bench seat to sit and eat. We both felt better for eating and were then ready to explore the city. We wound our way through the lanes until it spilled out into the piazza housing the duomo, not quiet to the Milan extreme, but still beautiful in its own right. 

The streets were old and interesting. Many colourful buildings reached up from the road. There were old walls once enclosing the city. Everywhere we turned, something caught the eye. 

We stopped for our afternoon spritz and beer. The barman was a helpful young man, helping us out with our travel questions and giving directions. 

Happy with our afternoon, we made for the bus station, passing the bus we needed along the way. We hoped the time between wouldn’t be long. By the time we git to the station, we had 40 minutes to wait. 

We walked to a different part of the lake and watched the cabin cruisers, full of tourists and a dog, speed about on the water. We could see the funicular train climbing and descending to a mountain top town and just enjoyed the Vista, now that the sun was shining. 

We returned to the bus station and waited for the bus. It arrived 15 minutes early, so we were able to climb on board and settle in for our one hour journey.  Unfortunately it turned into a 90 minute ride through the various towns and a stop at a road blockade in Erba, due to a fire and rescue truck. We were so glad when we finally saw Lecco and were dropped at the station. 

We got in at 7.30pm and it was straight into shower and change, before meeting Fabio, Ezio and Daniella for dinner at Ristorante Tabula Rosa at 8.30pm. We made the short walk from our apartment and met them outside. The place was relatively busy considering the time. 

We enjoyed a lovely meal, Paul especially, as he had a large plate of fried seafood. 

When we were done, we went in search of dessert, gelato. It felt a bit decadent eating it at 10pm. We wandered back to our apartment to show the others what it was like and then we said our goodbyes, so ready to end our very long day.