Monday 20 May - Another grey day in Milan greeted us when we awoke. As we had a late checkout, we took our time packing, then went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We agreed to meet Eve and Max in the foyer at 11.15am, to give plenty of time to find the right platform at Central Station. The train to Varenna was departing at 12.30pm.
Trundling our bags across the square in the misty rain, we found our way to the correct part of the station from where trains travelled to the far corners of the country. The departure board listed the train to Varenna but no platform. So we found the station café and had cappuccino while waiting. Eventually at 12pm, the platform was listed as number 12. Off we went, bags in tow, to find the train already waiting at platform 12. Asking a porter where was the first class carriage, he indicated one further up. We hopped on and stowed our bags in the overhead racks, then selected seats. Just as we got comfortable, another train official came along and said no, no, first class was the first carriage. Personally I thought the carriage we were in had more comfortable seats but there was more leg room in first class. As we could see our bags from where we ended up, we left them in the second carriage. It was no mean feat hoisting 4 bags weighing approximately 17 kgs each above head height, even for Michael and Max.
Finally the train got under way and we spent a pleasant hour gazing at the Italian countryside slipping by. About halfway into the journey, we caught glimpses of Lake Como, obviously an incredibly large body of water. We were looking forward to reaching our particular stretch of the lake.
After managing to retrieve our bags and alighting from the train, we made our way single file along the very narrow platform to Varenna station. Maria and Peitro, the owners of our apartment, were there to greet us. Eve and Max had a taxi waiting. While Eve and Michael were finding out from Maria where was a good place for us to meet up, Max came rushing back from the taxi, telling Eve to hurry. Apparently their taxi driver had another fare to pick up and she was getting impatient. We had been in Varenna for all of three minutes!
Maria and Pietro were very friendly, engaging in broken English small talk while driving to our abode. They parked in a narrow street and we walked down a short, steep flight of steps to the gate of the apartment. To call it an apartment was a slight exaggeration. Picture a small bed-sit, with a tiny kitchen, and a bathroom with shower, toilet and bidet. The view of the lake was from outside the apartment, on the minuscule balcony. Maria enthused about the outdoor table, at which we could sip wine and admire the view. To put the table and chairs out, we would not be able to get into the apartment, as the only door was right on the edge of the balcony. Never mind, there were plenty of places in Varenna to sit and sip wine and admire the lake. Our bed was comfortable, there was heating, and the water was hot.
After settling in, we met Eve and Max in the town square. We plonked ourselves at the nearest café and ordered buckwheat pasta for Michael and me, while Eve and Max had pizzas, plus beers all round. The scene was picturesque, with a church dominating the square, cafés dotted around. There were two small grocery shops, a bank complete with an atm machine and an information centre. Among the apartments lining the steep alleyways leading from the lake were quite a few restaurants, wine bars, a couple of dress shops, a laundromat and also a dry cleaners which took in washing as well. This was our preferred way to do laundry, well worth ten euro to have our clothes washed and dried for us. The online blurb about the apartment included a washing machine but this turned out not to be the case. I guess there was no room!
An afternoon rest watching an English tv channel, followed by a 7pm rendezvous with our travelling duo. We ate dinner at a restaurant next door to our lunch time café. Eve and Max had pasta, Michael had sausages and chips while I opted for calamari and salad. And plenty of quality red wine. So far Italy had not let us down in the food and wine department and Varenna was no exception. Relaxed and content, we parted company until the morrow.
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