Coastal Path? Mountain Trail!

With the weather forecast for the next few days not looking that great, this morning we set off along the coastal trail from Monterosso to Verazza. All started fine but soon the path became narrow and steep with lots of steps to climb...and very crowded. All in all, it was not a pleasant stroll but rather a lot of hard walking...which wasn't what we really needed after the last few days. Still, we made it all the way to Venazza...and caught the train back to Monterosso as the rain set in for the afternoon.

 

Down to the Sea in Trains

A leisurely slightly wet start to the morning today as we packed up and left Varenna and Lake Como. After a somewhat unsatisfactory experience with Italian trains getting to Varenna, our departure was much better. The first hour was getting back to Milan and for that we had a very new train...with First Class. It even had a real-time display and we were doing up to 140 km/h through the Milan suburban area.

From Milan we were on an older Intercity train to Monterosso. We were in a 6-seat compartment with two couples from Austin, Texas...who were very nice people considering they were Americans! About 3 hours after leaving Milan we arrived in Cinque Terre...and found ourselves swamped by tourists. We found out later that they were from cruise ships that dock in La Spezia and come "visiting Cinque Terre" for the afternoon.

After fighting our way through the crowds to get out of the station, we walked around to our B&B that is right in the middle of the old town...another brilliant choice of a place to stay courtesy of Trip Advisor.

 

A Wet Day

The forecast for yesterday and today had been for rain...that didn't happen yesterday but it did today. After a slow start to the morning, we finally decided to go out at about lunch time when it seemed like the rain had almost stopped...but it hadn't. We wandered around Varenna getting wetter the longer we stayed out as the rain was getting heavier. For the want of something to do, we ended up climbing up to Vezio to visit the Castello di Vezio...only to discover that it doesn't open when it is raining! Somewhat bedraggled, we took a different path down to return to Varenna and to dry out.

 

An Easy Day...That Wasn't

We thought we would have an easy day today...and it all started off fine with a leisurely breakfast by the lake. This was followed by a stroll through the local market in the town square before setting off to visit the Villa Monastero.

Clinging to the hillside and stretched along the water's edge of Lake Como between Varenna and Fiumelatte, the Villa Monastero and its gardens are well worth a visit.

After our visit we decided to wander into Fiumelatte...only about one kilometre away. This village's claim to fame is the River Fiumelatte...Italy's shortest river. There is a path to the river's source so we thought we would have a look...and that's when our day stopped being easy. Only 20 minutes the signs said...what it didn't say was that it was straight up the side of the hill...and around here the hills are really steep!

So off we went, struggling up the steep steps made even more difficult with the river flowing down them. We eventually made it to the top where the river gushes out of the mountain side. It source isn't really known with the water coming from deep underground. Not looking forward to picking our way down the slippery steps, we took a different path which wound its way along the mountainside back to Varenna.

Messing About in Boats

A leisurely start this morning saw us wandering down to the waterfront just before 10:00 to buy breakfast. After our late breakfast and getting the laundry organised, we strolled around to the ferry terminal and bought all-day tickets for the middle section of the lake.

Our first boat trip took us across the Bellagio which is on the point that splits the southern end of Lake Como in two. Bellagio is quite different to Varenna as it is the place where the "rich & famous" hang out. We wandered around its narrow alleys and looked inside the Basilica di San Giacomo before having a light lunch in a park.

We then wandered back to the ferry terminal and this time took one to Menaggio which is on the other side of Lake Como from Varenna. After another pleasant stroll and a wonderful gelati, we made our way back to the ferry terminal for our last boat for the day...back to Varenna. 

Bellagio and Menaggio were both nice in their own ways but for us, Varenna is best.