So here is where we temporarily drift from our Swiss itinerary into an Italian detour. Having driven across the border to Bormio, the next items on our list became James Bond fanfare. We were never going to be closer to Lake Como and the Verzasca Dam. This brings us to:
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| Varenna, Lake Como |
Tuesday, September 18
Varenna
We left Bormio early, with this being our only day planned to spend at Lake Como. We decided to take a scenic route along the lakeside, by heading towards Varenna (about 2:30 away). We found parking in Varenna's town centre. Yes, another old town but this time Italian style, with brightly coloured narrow townhouses, narrow lane ways, and of course the beautiful Como coastline.
Walking along the coastline, there are several restaurants to choose from for lunch, which we were thankful for after the slim options in Bormio. We selected a restaurant based on wherever had reasonable prices and room on the terrace. At the end of the day, this felt like a tourist hotspot and the restaurants didn't seem fussed with providing outstanding food or service with the crowds of tourists guaranteed to come by.
There were a few stands at the shoreline for boat rentals, but none of them had service representatives. It's probably easier to contact rental companies by phone if you'd like to rent a boat. We wanted to rent a boat to travel to a couple of towns on the other side of the lake, but ran into trouble arranging this without having booked in advance, both here and in Bellagio.
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| Varenna's lakefront |
Before leaving Varenna, we drove up the mountain to the
Castle of Vezio to see the birds, the view and the historical fortress. The parking for the castle is not clearly defined, but when you can't drive any further, that's a good sign to park. You have to make your way through the town, and the residents minded their own business while we got lost in the maze of laneways. Eventually we found the beginnings of a garden, down a long and straight path, with a sign towards the castle.
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| Panoramic view from the top of the Castle of Vezio |
The bird show was too late for us to see, but the birds were on display outside. They were tethered to posts for guests to see, attached by little anklets on their feet. The information sheet specified that the birds are rotated between their shelters and the display posts.
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| Falcon at the Castle of Vezio |
We headed to the ferry terminal. It was pretty easy to find, as we had noticed it on the way into town. As I recall, the ferry for the car came every 30-40 minutes, so if you miss it it's not a big deal. The ferry was docking just as we reached the terminal, so Mike got the tickets and I ran to the boat, and they waited for Mike to bring the car, along with another car behind us.
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| Castle of Vezio |
On the ferry to Bellagio, we got out of the car to enjoy the view.
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| Varenna - view from the ferry |
Bellagio
The famous Bellagio, made home to celebrities like Madonna and George Clooney. A town of prestige and culture. There's a casino in Vegas modelled after this town.
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| Bellagio - view from the ferry |
We first checked into our
airbnb accommodation, which was about 10 minutes drive from the town. This was a great find and very well priced! Our host tried to help us connect to the internet and call some boat rental companies, but we were unable to arrange a boat rental since they prefer you arrange them in advance. This was a bit disappointing, but entirely my fault for assuming it could be arranged on the day. We were hoping to take a boat across the lake to visit a couple of James Bond sites, like the Villa la Gaeta (featured in Casino Royale) in San Siro (the one on the lake, not the one in Milan), so yes, after
all that fuss, that plan fell through.
Instead we returned to Bellagio, easily found paid tourist parking by the coast, and took to foot. It's a pleasure to walk around this quaint town. Mike went shopping for Como silk ties as souvenirs, they were selling for pretty cheap (around 18-20 euro each), and Mike wishes he had bought more while he was there.
On a good recommendation by our host, we went to Lezzeno for dinner, at the
Hotel Villa Aurora. This was a modestly priced restaurant for the area, and the food was probably better than anything you'd get in the tourist district. The restaurant also has some limited parking and an outdoor patio by the lake, making for a relaxing atmosphere. Looking at the website now, it appears to have been a favourite on Trip Advisor for 2013.
Now, as for our
B&B, we couldn't have been happier. There were minimal breakfast supplies in the kitchenette - some packaged pastries, some eggs, coffee and milk, the usuals. The kitchenette and living area was shared with the residents of the other room, but they weren't around much. We had a private bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom had effective blackout shades and was 100% soundproof. I have never had such a good night's sleep! Everything about our stay here was very comfortable, and I'd definitely recommend it if you're willing to stay a short distance from Bellagio on a budget.
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