Bella Como and the flood

Despite my mishap on the night train it was hard not smile
upon arriving in Lake Como. If you have ever seen it in the movies
(and they have filmed many there) it is even more scenic in
person. George Clooney has a home there in Bellagio...they
filmed James Bond movies there...you get the idea.

After arriving on the train from Milan, and interrogating
several people on the platform for directions I determined
it would be a 15-20 minute walk dragging my luggage through
town....so I took a cab to the port.

A large, spacious boat chugs up and down Lake Como, stopping
at every inlet and hamlet along the way; a graceful water taxi. The shores are lined with beautiful Villas and quaint fishing villages.

I fell into an easy conversation with a family of Brits, exchanging travel stories and gossiping about the Italians.

I was staying in the little town of Varenna. The streets are old, dark cobblestones winding and narrow. I walked along the shoreline for a good half hour before I found my hotel up some scary-steep stairs.

View from my room

In the small lobby I was greeted by Bettina, one of the owners. Her husband Edgidio carried my luggage to their annex building just down the lane called "Casa Rosa".
My room was modern and comfortable; opening out onto a small lakeview terrace.

After a brief nap I ventured out to get lunch. I ran into an older couple from Michigan I had met
on the ferry dock earlier and they joined me for a wonderful lunch and local Rose wine in a small
waterside restaurant. I had a smoked Salmon appetizer that was sensational and a pasta dish with bacon. We finished this meal off with gelato from a shop down the lane...yum!

our lunchtime balcony

The weather, which had been a bit misty early in the day, began to swing toward the dark and cloudy side as I wandered around snapping pictures in the late afternoon. By the time I made it back to my

room and changed for my dinner reservations it was raining steadily.

The restaurant attached to my hotel was obviously the pride and joy of my hosts. The lakeside balcony was closed off due to the rain, but the lights from across the lake twinkled in

Duck Appetizer

the darkness. I was seated in a corner seat with about 30 other diners. I chose a three course dinner menu and a glass of Prosecco. I had an appetizer of cured duck with apple confit and aged balsamic vinegar. Second course I went with the sous vide(a special slowcooking technique

involving vacuum sealing with marinade and then over 10 hours at about 80 degrees Celsius) lamb with pecorino cheese and potato souffle. Sous Vide makes the lamb sooooooo

tender. I finished with poached pear dessert.

And now for the excitement...
satiated and happily drowsy from the
wine I walked through the rainy night
to Casa Rosa to my room to retire for the night.

Opening my door I was greeted by a waterfall streaming from the ceiling into the middle of my bed! The roof was leaking badly...ugh!

I called the owners and Edgidio came over immediately. Holding his head and cursing softly in Italian he tried to find another hotel room for me but everything in the town was taken due to some government convention. Finally, after frantic calls to his
wife, he graciously offered to put me up in his
own guest room. I slept in a nice room at his
flat nearby, with my own bathroom. It was very
comfortable and they were wonderful hosts, though his daughters, in jammies and wild hair, thought I was quite interesting.