Wednesday June 15
This morning I took the ferry over to Bellagio. The views of Varenna from the water were wonderful, and as we approached Bellagio, I had a chance to capture some great landscape shots of the colorful town.
Bellagio is beautiful and much more commercialized than Varenna with numerous shops and restaurants at the waterfront and up and down the many narrow stone staircases.
It is very clean, like Varenna, and there is a sense of good taste with all the shops. None are tacky even though this is a tourist town. Some things are quite expensive however, as I walked into a pasticceria and the cookies were £25 per kg.
Pescallo
About ten minutes on foot away from the center, is a small fishing village called Pescallo. I walked down the hundred or so steps on vicolo Strecchetta to reach this place on the other side of Bellagio.
It is very quiet and a nice change of pace from the more crowded parts of Bellagio. I stopped in for a cup of cappuccino where there was free wifi and made a Skype call and a few other things while I had the chance to be connected.
Pescallo
I really liked Bellagio and after making a few small purchases, I had lunch at a lakeside outdoor cafe. I noticed that most of the tourists spoke English, and many of the shopowners were fluent in both Italian and English.
After walking around some more I took the ferry back to Varenna, and the views from the boat were great opportunities for me to take another 20 shots of Varenna.
Varenna
I lucked out without any rain on the way home, and visited a cemetery on the other side of my hotel. Italian cemeteries are much different than any I have seen in the US, especially since they frequently include a photo of the deceased on the monument.
When I got back to the hotel I sat out on the terrace for hours and did some writing, totally enjoying the quiet and lack of any agenda.
Ishita
Beautiful Margie. This post needs to be out there 🙂
margieinitaly
Thank you so much Ishita. I really enjoyed Bellagio and Varenna both
Lori Samarin
Once an area completely covered by glaciers, today the Adda river makes its long 313 km journey from the Swiss alps into Lake Como, Italy, forming its distinctive “upside-down Y” shape. At 410 m deep and an area of 146 km squared, it’s Europe’s deepest and 3rd largest lake.
Most hoteliers, restaurant owners and staff speak English because this area mainly caters to the
” cosmopolitan high end tourist” who are quick to spend a pretty penny: ( My own student from Palm Beach who went to Italy last month, in May w/ husband and another couple, leased a 60 foot yacht for a 4 hour cruise of Lake Como).
In as far as the cemeteries, they are truly special, in that they are set in beautiful, enclosed areas, away from the main roads; 99% have marble or granite tombs and headstones w/ photos, statues, bronze vases which are regularly filled with fresh flowers by visiting relatives, mausoleums, cypress lines paths, chapels or places for contemplation under wieping willow trees, etc. The cemeteries here in the States are so sad, and abandoned like the deceased who are seldom visited, banking major roadways, no privacy, nothing special. Brrrrr!! It gives me goose bumps. I would notwant to be buried here!
margieinitaly
Thank you so much Lori for adding a great perspective and information on cemeteries in Italy!!
margieinitaly
Actually Bonnie, Rick Steves suggests Varenna as the place to stay to relax on Lake Como!
imarancher D.
I would think that most European cemetaries would be very cramped, having buried thousands of years of ancestors. This part of the world has only been burying people for a few hundred years with the exception of Native American mounds. And some of those go back 19-20K years and are amazing earthworks. If you ever want an appreciation for the Age of Vaccines, go thru the children’s section of the cemetaries. So many children dead under the age of five. You see nothing like that now. Thankfully.
You sure have found the most beautiful part of Italy. I do not recall any Rick Steves shows on the area. Lots of places you started with I have seen. I have seen the Lake Como section but the pretty little towns he kept to himself. Very wise of him, lol.
Bonnie