Last Day on the Peninsula

Today we enjoyed breakfast and packed up. After checking out, we read on the terrace and enjoyed the view below:



After reading for a few hours, we had lunch at Bar Il Molo. It was recommended by the Americans we met yesterday. Specifically they enjoyed the avocado with shrimp - it was tasty, but we think they were more excited it was an avocado, because they're from California. I had a salad with tomatoes and eggplant while Amanda enjoyed a pasta.

Once lunch was over, we checked the train schedule and decided to take the train leaving in 25 minutes. So we picked up our luggage from our hotel and clickety clack, dragged our luggage across town to the train station. We caught the train that took about 50 minutes to get back to Milan. We were at the Milano Centrale train station for our fourth time. We walked a few blocks to the Hilton. I actually do not like staying in American hotels overseas as they cost too much, but ironically enough with the Expo, this was the most reasonable hotel that met our needs.

We checked in and conveniently enough were upgraded to an Executive Room (for the win) and researched our last dinner in Italy. While listening to BBC, we decided on La Latteria San Marco. We took the metro 3 stops to Moscova and after walking in the wrong direction for a bit, finally found our restaurant.

It was a cash only 7 table restaurant that changes the menu daily. It was fantastic and fresh. Amanda had fusilli pasta with tomato and cheese and I had a lemon and spicy pepper pasta. Afterwards, Amanda had stuffed artichokes and I had calamari. All of it was seasoned so well - a collage of our final meal below:



After dinner, we decided to have one last gelato. I sprung for 2 scoops - hazelnut and chocolate while Amanda had pistachio - a perfect way to end our last full day in Italy.

On our walk back to the metro, we were also again surrounded by cottonwood seeds that seemed to fill the spring air. They were indeed flying everywhere at the Expo and managed to even fly into our restaurant and into the subway. I think they follow us, because they don't want us to leave!

Lake Como

After a lovely breakfast at our hotel, we relaxed in our room. Then it started to downpour, so we waited out the rain and napped before we headed out.

Amanda had read about a short vertical hike here in Varenna. I was a little nervous about a "short vertical hike", as the last one I remember is going up Wanya Picchu in Peru. It was a bit slippery on the wet leaves, but it was fine. Here's a photo as we started to ascend:



The walk was lovely as the rain had refreshed the village - the air was crisper and the haze was gone. We walked by a cemetery and up into the hills. Our goal was to see a river spout that feeds into the lake. A photo below - apparently this is glacier water originating from the Alps:



Descending was lovely too - here's a photo:



We walked through the eastern part of town and past the Villa Monastery. Here's a photo:



After our hike, I had a chocolate and hazelnut gelato. It really hit the spot! We then walked over to the ferry docks to catch a boat to Bellagio, another town on Lake Como. Here are a few photos of the Swiss Alps from our short boat ride:





I would also like to apologize to Amanda. She handed me a few pages on Bellagio that she tore out of her guidebook. While I was reading, a gust of wind blew them into the lake. Luckily, we still had a map and these towns are small, but clearly we did not want to litter in Lake Como!

We arrived in Bellagio looking for a wine tasting room. We ended up at Apertiivi where Amanda ordered a Tuscan flight and I had a Lombardy one. Between our first and second glasses, two old colleagues of mine, Kevin and Christina who are married to each other, entered the bar - such a small world! I hadn't seen them since September, but coincidentally, they too had seized the same travel deal! Although they just went away on their honeymoon in February, they felt Milan for $400 round trip was too good to pass up. We chatted and caught up over a few glasses and they headed back to Como on an early ferry.

After some Italian cold cuts, cheese, and more wine, we finally left and walked a loop in Bellagio. Here's a photo of Bellagio - you can see the shining lake:



While waiting for the ferry, we chatted with Americans that we had run into last night. They were planning to hit the Expo this week and asked for some tips. We took the ferry back to Varenna and Amanda and I ate at a cute restaurant. I had eggplant parmigiana and linguini with lobster. Amanda had the same linguini and then a steak frites. Here are a few photos:



After a relaxing day of drinking wine and not doing much, we returned to the hotel. I'll say, it was a perfect day in Lake Como!

Last Supper

As some of you may know, I work very hard to get difficult tickets. Machu Picchu in Peru and the Alhambra in Spain are just two examples of where I refresh that extra tab in my internet browser, waiting for the day when the tickets are released and hoping to get U.S. credit cards to work on overseas websites. Getting tickets to see Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper" was no different.

They release about three months in advance and the website is a bit frustrating as it will say tickets are available when they are not and vice versa. However, I was able to get tickets for today at 9:30 am, one of two sessions that includes an English guide! The visit lasts a mere 15 minutes and you have to enter two different rooms to control the humidity before entering the actual room. And obviously, photos are forbidden.

The painting that has been restored several times, endured bombing attacks, vandalism, and even a simple enlarging of the central door and removed Jesus' feet, is simply unbelievable. It's much larger than I expected and seeing it in real life and the perspective Leonardo had, was the highlight of my day. Here's a photo of the copy that you can take a picture of in the bookstore:



The painting hangs in the Santa Maria Della Grazie in Milan. Specifically, it hangs in the originally Dominican monastery dining room. Here's s picture of the church and the courtyard, as well as the entrance to the viewing:



After our 15 minute visit, we visited the lovely church - here are a few photos:



After our visit, we retrieved our luggage from our hotel that was just across the street and headed to Cadorna station where we caught a train to Como Lago Nordo. The train ride took about 50 minutes and we arrived at the southernmost point of Lake Como. We walked a few blocks to catch the ferry. Here are a few photos of Como as we were leaving the docks:



Our ferry lasted 2.5 hours. Lake Como is an inverted Y-shaped lake that has beautiful Lombardy towns. We stopped in Tremezzo, Bellagio, Menaggio, Lecco, and Lenno. You could see the pretty villages, villas, grand hotels, churches, and gardens. Here are a few photos including a villa that was in a Star Wars movie and a hotel pool within the lake:



Although the ferry ride was lovely, I had forgotten to take my seasickness pills before it was too late and I was pretty queasy. As such, I was pretty happy to see our final destination, Varenna - a photo below as we were docking:



We walked along the lake to our hotel, Hotel Du Lac. We have a top floor room which is actually a duplex and has a panoramic view of the lake. Here are a few photos:



After an afternoon nap to sleep off my nausea, we walked around town. It feels very medieval with the cobblestones, alleyways, and paths. It is charming, quiet, and peaceful - exactly what we were looking for to decompress. Here are a few photos - we even saw wedding photos being taken:



As we hadn't eaten lunch, I was starving, so we sat lakeside and I ate some bresaola with mushrooms, cheese, and arugula with a glass of wine. Amanda had something similar. Here's a photo:



We were also entertained by ducks who also enjoyed al fresco dining lakeside:



For dinner, we ended up at Osteria Quatro Pass where we shared a chianti, and I had buckwheat ravioli which is a local specialty and Amanda ordered fresh perch. Our food was tasty, but putting it all together in a photo collage makes it look very white or bland - we did have grilled vegetables, salad, and fruit, but I didn't take photos of those:



After dinner, we returned to our hotel that is quite charming, despite the thin walls. The next few days will surely be peaceful as we relax before the end of our trip!