Day 11 - Varenna/Lake Como - 5/17/14

4:30pm - late afternoon rest at the B&B in Varenna.  Woke up around 7:30, finished packing, walked to Cioccolati to have another marocchino, and had a brioche roll filled with melted dark chocolate.  Finally met Chiara, the girl I rented the apartment from, to give her back the keys.  Luckily there was a taxi stand in the square by the apartment so I hopped in one to the station.  It was less than 8 Euros, which was less than the taxis in tiny towns like Verona and Mantova! 

Made it to the station nice and early and got the 10:20am train to Varenna.  Beautiful views of the lake on the way.  Arrived right on time before 11:30 and after briefly getting lost, I found the B&B, which is actually a quick step away from the main square in the old part of town.  Checked in, had a quick look at the amazing view terrace, and started walking around town.

Found a little cafe/bar off the square and had a 4 euro sandwich of speck (smoked prosciutto), scamorza (smoked mozzarella), and olive paste. Huge, and delicious.  Got it to go so I could sit on a bench on the water and eat.  Got a gelato at recommended Riva, which was also delicious.  Started walking on the path beside the lake and back up to the train station.  Backtracked and stopped into a beautiful little ceramics shop and bought a couple little things, then walked back and up to Villa Monasterio, one of the many villas all around the lake with pretty gardens to walk through.  This one opens up its house too. 

Came back to the B&B for a rest and to get up to date on my pictuers, and enjoying the view from the terrace at the B&B!  It's definitely a rustic place - shared bathroom, single-pane windows, non-working fridge, etc.  But for 50 euros a night with that view terrace, I'll survive!

10:40pm - back after a lovely evening.  Went back out around 5:30 or 6pm and the wind had died down. Wandered a bit and had an early dinner at Il Cavallino.  I was intrigued by the chicken wings on the menu.  Yes I realize that is probably the farthest thing from authentic, but I love chicken wings and was kind of interested to see what they would do with them.  They were simply grilled with three sauces, one was tomato, I guess, one was an herby/garlicky one, and one was mayo-based.  It was quite tasty indeed.

Finished just as the sun was setting and got a gelato and took a million pictures. Around 9, went up to the B&B view deck to take some more pictures.  A couple, Kay and Phillip, from Texarkana, are about to join a Rick Steves tour and are spending a month in Italy to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Good on them!! Chatted with them for a while, then took a walk back down to the water to take yet more pictures. 

Tomorrow I'll take the boat around the lake and visit some of the towns and villas! Hopefully the weather holds up! 

Today's walking: 20,719 steps, 8.24 miles, and 51 flights of stairs. 

Pictures tomorrow, it's late and I took a LOT of them!