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.