Como. Alps. BUFFET!!!!

This weekend Jon, Rob, and I went up to lake Como. Getting to the lake is quite a journey from our trash littered city. I wish I could say that the trip was uneventful, but we were disturbed from our rest in our first class seats and deported to second class. When we booked our train tickets on our rail passes the machine told us that first and second class were the same price. Of course no rational human would turn down a reclining seat and free drinks and cookies. However, when they came to check our ticket they told us that we had no right to buy a first class ticket. Of course, seeing as it was 8 in the morning, which is quite early for me, I resisted this fascist train-ticket-checker's commands by stating that we could not be expected to choose second class at the same price. Also, the point was made that we had these seats reserved all the way to the final stop of the train and that no one would be using our seats, so who were we hurting? He wouldn't back down, but also was resistant to reserving us seats in second class, but finally realizing we wouldn't move, he booked us seats in second class.

We caught a connecting train to Varenna, which is on the opposite side of the lake from our final destination. We got off the train in Varenna and were immediately struck by the amount that time seemed to slow down. As we exited the train station I noticed, for the first time in my life, the smell of fresh air. I have smelt cleaner air in many places, but being in Naples and coming to Como was the biggest and most noticeable jump. We caught the ferry across the lake and arrived in Bellagio.

Bellagio is really amazing. It just seems kind of frozen. People were going about doing their own things, but they were never in a rush or impatient. It was easy to fall into the rhythm of Bellagio and the lake.

The first day we found a nice spot to sit and relax. There were stairs that just sort of walked right into the lake, which was pretty cool. Surprisingly despite the number of people walking around during the day, there were rarely any other people down on these steps.

Our spot

It rained in the morning on Saturday, which was a great way to start the day. For the first time in almost a month it was cold when I woke up. I welcomed the chill coming through the open window and looked outside to see the lake and the mountains. The rain had just stopped and the cold air coming over the mountains was pouring the clouds over their peaks and towards the lake. All of a sudden the clouds would just level and drift to the middle of the lake and just dissipate.

We decided we were going to go across the lake to Mennaggio and rent kayaks, but the weather was not calm enough, so we rented bikes instead. The guy at the hostel where we rented bikes said that the trail was not so steep. He must have been comparing the ascent to some inverted rock wall. Climbing the hill was pretty tough. I really missed my super light bike.

After a little while we got to this flat part on the saddle between two peaks. There was a park and a music school. We parked our bikes and walked onto this tiny, fence-bordered soccer field that overlooked the lake. Lucky for us there was a ball to play with, so we did that for a bit before heading up to the top of the mountain.

After a bit more riding we came to a small restaurant on the river where we had lunch. The restaurant was really cool. They had their own fishery and some animals just loafing about. We ordered a cheese plate a jug of wine and fresh pasta with smoked trout. It was amazing. Amazing except for one of the cheeses that I am not sure anyone could become accustomed to. They put a bunch of raw honey on the cheese plate, which is something that I have never seen, but I will continue to do back in the states.

the fish spot

We kept climbing until we got to this church where I got the heebie jeebies scared out of me when the bell went off at 4.

We had a bbq back at the hostel and the manager drove us to the ferry, which was pretty cool of him. Sunday we got up and wandered about until we found a place with a buffet, which was AWESOME. I Love BUFFETS.

No one kicked us out of our seats on the ride home. and we got the snack trolley twice. BOOM!