Lake Como is a little bit hard for us to figure out... I have always dreamed of coming here, but now that we are here, we are a little at a loss for what to do. There are no hitorical sights here, no art museums, etc. There really aren't any beaches to speak of. I am a little at a loss to figure out what all these people are doing here?? I think maybe they come here and just enjoy the beautiful view, sit and read a book or take a boat ride. Maybe we Amricans need to learn a little more about relaxing.
The girls are definitely aware of the beauty of the surroundings... Bridget sat on the balcony last night for a while before going to bed.
It's funny though, while we have been in Como, each one of the girls has said at least twice: "This makes me think of Door County memories."
We tried to get out early and do some town hopping via boat. We all wore our swimming stuff because we thought we would be swimming at some nice beaches that we had found through our research last night.
We went to Varnenna first which was very picturesque, literally cut out of the side of the mountain. We walked around quite a bit and, after discovering that our much anticipated beach was a non-beach, found our way to our fallback beach on Varnenna which was pretty lame. we decided to do as the locals do and took a dip despite our misgivings.
We wandered around Varenna some more and found a beautiful area by the lake that had 4 cafes side by side. As is our custom we did 30 min of research and discussing before deciding on the cafe that was a good fit for us. We take into account the menu choices, the price, cover charges, view, etc. Our stomachs are growling by the time we sit down. The girls (including Maggie) ordered cheese pizza (so much for sampling the local cuisine) and I ordered an eggplant, onion and Gruyere cheese(sp?) panini which was very good.
there was a shingle beach below our cafe and the girls went wading after lunch. There are lots of huge fish in the lake which produced voluminous screams from our girls to disturb the other diners. We headed back to the boat dock, landed in Bellagio (which is absolutely stunning when viewed from a boat), had gelato and boarded again for Lenno. My speculation is this is where Jay Leno's family is from.
Lenno was beutiful, but again no becah could be found. Maggie asked a local fisher man, "Dove il lido", and he excitedly pointed across the bay to a skimpy looking beach. It didn't look like much but we trudged over there and swam for a bit before heading back to the boat.
It felt like we were looking for something that didn't exist in Como and I still find my self wondering, what are all these people doing during their vacation.
We had a nice dinner at home -- Ravioli and Tortellini and true Pan Forte for dessert. I asked the girls what new food they tried that they liked the best and what food they would like to try before they left Italy. Most everyone referenced the restaurant we went to in Lucignano where we had a nice sit down meal. I think we have been trying to save money and so we've missed some opportunities to try new Italian foods. We only have another day here before leaving on the night train from Milan to Paris. It's a little sad to think about leaving, we have seen so much but want to experience so much more. Oh well. I'm certain the girls will come back someday and explore further. Maybe Maggie and I too.
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