Pescallo, Lombardy, Italy Saturday, September 1, 2012

Our Train at Vienna

It is raining when we get up. We hurry down to breakfast as we have to catch a train so time to eat is limited. Walking in a pretty heavy rain is never fun. We didn’t put on our rain pants so by the time we get to the station our pants are pretty wet. They do dry fast but we have to remember to wear our rain pants when walking more than 15 minutes in the rain.
The train to Varenna has a change in Milan. We get on the regional train and it is really flying. Much faster than we thought it would go. One hour and ten minutes later, we make our switch in Milan. We are on a newer more comfortable train for this leg.

Rain Gear in Varenna

At Lecco, we finally travel along Lake Como. Unfortunately, when we stop in Varenna, it is still raining. We put on our rain pants this time and take a walk along the water front and in to the town plaza. We visit a church and walk back to the boat dock. It seems like a nice small town that is much better enjoyed when the sun is out. The ferry to Bellagio goes across the lake to Mennagio first. Then we cut back halfway to Bellagio arriving in the pouring rain. We have written directions to our hotel and head out in what we think is the right way. We are soon walking along a road with no sidewalks which doesn’t really make us happy. As we crest a hill, we see a sign pointing left with our hotels name on it. At least now there is a sidewalk and the rain is tapering off a bit. It is still all uphill and my legs feel the weight of the pack with the incline.

View From Our Room

Following another sign we turn again and then right down another street descending to our hotel. Turns out we did not take the best route and walked quite a bit further than we needed to. We have lunch in the room and it becomes partly sunny so we decide to walk to Bellagio. First we want to see if we can find a restaurant that was near the hotel in a small village of Aureggio. I thought I had seen a sign for it when we were walking here so we head up a hill back in that direction.there is a sign for a restaurant pizzeria in Aureggio. Lots of uphill and we get there but it is not the one we wanted. We explore a few backstreets of Aureggio seeing no one and head back to the main road. Going the other way we find the restaurant and find an alley of steps we can go down that is very close to our hotel.

To Bellagio and Beyond

Back where we started we now look for the short cut to Bellagio. We go through the small fishing village of Pescallo and find the small alley way to town. Up a lot of stairs of course, and then back down, we emerge in Bellagio.
Strolling around town, we find a place to eat. It is just OK but at least it doesn’t break the bank. It is starting to rain again when we leave and we make it back to the hotel just before it gets heavy. Early day in to bed I suppose. Hopefully tomorrow will be better weather for us to enjoy the lake. My impression of Bellagio is that it is a bit overrated and set up for tourists. Stresa had a much nicer feel to it and many streets and spots where you felt like you were in an Italian village and not just a shopping district. Bellagio itself, does not have that feel.
CNC

Expenses
23.70E- train tickets to Varenna
9.20E – 2 boat tickets from Varenna to Bellagio
20E- dinner
87E-hotel Nuovo Miralgo

Miles Walked – 8 Miles