While I didn't feel up for traveling this weekend, the pope is visiting Milan. I expected that this would bring crowds and chaos and that I wouldn't want to head into the city. Faced with staying at home all weekend, I looked into heading into the mountains... after some recommendations from my Italian instructor, I decided to stay on Lake Como and booked a hotel from my cell phone.
I'm currently in Varenna, which is half-way up the lake. I left work a little early and was able to see the scenery from the train (before the sun set). After checking in to my hotel, I wandered the streets. I love ancient mountainside towns - it is difficult to tell what paths are meant to be roads and what ones are sidwalks/alleys... all of which incorporate stairs! My plan for tomorrow is to take a ferry to Bellagio. There are villas with beautiful gardens both here in Varenna and in Bellagio - and the weather is supposed to be 70 degrees. It is supposed to begin raining tomorrow evening, but I hope to have a nice day tomorrow.
The last time I was on Lake Como, I was in Lecco in January and it was freezing! Now there are flowers in bloom, even though I can stll see some snow on the more distant mountains. Tourist season begins tomorrow - yet everything felt very empty here, which was a bit surprising for a Friday evening. There are some tourists around - British, American, Russian. Hopefully things will still be quiet and peaceful tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow - I've been exhausted all week, but the magical combination of mountains, lake, and ancient streets should re-energize me!
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