We’re in Bellagio, situated on Lake Como in Northern Italy. Today we’re going to have lunch in Varenna, another little town on the lake. We want to scout out the train station at Varenna because tomorrow morning, we’re going to take the train from there to Milan. But first, we need to buy boat tickets to Varenna.
As described last time, Lake Como boat schedules were WAY more complicated than I had imagined. I eventually came to believe that our best option was to take the early autotragehetto, even though it stopped at Menaggio before stopping at Varenna. We haven’t heard much English spoken here so far, so I was prepared to ask for the tickets in italian.
Due Biglietti per Domani…
We left the hotel and walked across the street to where boat tickets are sold. I walked up to the window. A young girl greeted me. We both said “buon giorno.” Then I said, in what I knew was very poor italiano, “due biglietti per domani, per il autotraghetto a Varenna alle otto e quarto.” (“Two tickets to take the car ferry to Varenna tomorrow at 8:15 AM.”)
Was the look on her face amusement or just pity? Perhaps a bit of both. Anyway, she replied in perfect english, “Are you taking a boat to Varenna to catch the train to Milan?”
Whoa. How’d she know that? And where did her no-accent english come from? And what made her think I spoke english instead of german or french? Never mind. I don’t want to know!
“Yes,” I said, (in english!) “Well then,” she said, “ why don’t you take the battello at 8:45? It goes directly to Varenna and it will get you there in plenty of time.”
“Yes, yes… the battello at 8:45… That was the other option I was thinking of. Of course… the one at 8:45.” Nah, I didn’t say that. So much for my intensive boat schedule research. But on the bright side, I knew we had the right tickets for tomorrow.
Varenna Scouting Trip
We also purchased tickets to go to Varenna today. In fact, we hopped on the next batello. We went upstairs where we could enjoy the view. The lake was beautiful, and it was nice being out in the brisk air. Twenty minutes after we left Bellagio, we pulled into the dock at Varenna.
Approaching Varenna on water is like approaching Bellagio. These towns are so beautiful, they’re almost dreamlike. Did they just evolve that way, or was some master architect hired to design the most picturesque lakeside towns imaginable?
Varenna is even smaller than Bellagio. I had a map, but it wasn’t necessary. There was a sign on the dock pointing the way to the train station. I was getting the feeling that we weren’t the first ones to come up with this day-trip-to-Milan idea.
It took us ten minutes to walk from the dock to the train station. Bing bang boom – our day’s assignment was done! Time to check out the rest of Varenna.
Back at the dock, we followed a walkway built into rocky mass at the edge of the lake. There was a sheer stone wall on one side and water on the other. Flowers and greenery hung down all around. — Very picturesque.
Ora di Pranzo! (Lunchtime!)
We came to some hotels and restaurants nestled in next to the water. We were too early for lunch, but we picked out a table under some trees and sat down. No one else was around. Pretty soon someone appeared and brought us menus that were in at least five languages. I guess I wouldn’t need my translator from the boat ticket office, eh?
In no time at all, the place was full of people. The tables were under some trees, right by the water. The actual restaurant was about thirty feet away, so the servers had some walking to do.
After the gigantic dinner we had had last night, we wanted to take it easy for lunch today. We decided to split a bruschetta appetizer and a pizza. Ahhh… lakeside pizza and beer, gazing across the water at the Swiss Alps in the distance. We must be on vacation!
Domani (Tomorrow)
Tomorrow’s going to be a big day. After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll take the battello to Varenna , then take the train to Milan. We’ll have to change trains in Lecco. (That should be interesting). The last stop will be at the huge central train station in Milan.
From there, we’ll take the metro to Piazza del Duomo, in the heart of Milan. We’ll take a tour that goes to Sforza Castle and then to see Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. We’ll have lunch in Milan’s famous shopping area called “The Galleria,” just to check it out.
Then we’ll go to a museum called the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. The main attractions for me there are Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, and a volume of Virgil’s works that belonged to a fellow named Petrarch. (More on that later). But for now, let’s just sit back and take it all in.
To be continued…
