It was cloudy but no rain, although bitterly cold at this early hour. A few other people turned up. One young man, probably mid thirties, jumped out of a car and headed straight into the waiting room. The driver of the car, an elderly woman, followed him out of the car, calling to him. He came to the door of the waiting room where she tried to hug and kiss him but he resisted her efforts, verbally and physically. She gave up and drove off. I felt sad for her. He was obviously embarrassed by her affection but perhaps did not realise that he was diminished in the eyes of onlookers by the lack of compassion for this woman, more than likely his mother or grandmother. I felt like giving him a good slap.
The hydrofoil arrived at 6.40am, and within 2 minutes, we were away. There were 6 stops in all, including Como, our destination. Como was the end of the line on the lake, the journey taking about an hour in total, a lot quicker than the normal ferry ride to Como which was about 2 hours. There was some drizzle on the way, hopefully short lived.
We disembarked at Como at about 7.45am, still very early . Our plan was to buy the return ticket before we left the terminal but the ticket office was shut until 8.30am. We headed off and found a café not far away. The café was warm and cosy and we ordered cappuccinos and croissants filled with custard for breakfast. Delicious!
Then back to the terminal for our return tickets. Michael asked for tickets to Varenna on the hydrofoil. The impatient attendant told him that the hydrofoil did not go to Varenna and we would have to get off at Bellagio and catch the normal ferry to Varenna. Michael added that we wanted to leave at 2.30pm. Oh well, that was a different story and yes we could take the hydrofoil to Varenna after all.
Tickets sorted, we headed off in search of the all day markets. Como was a large city compared to Varenna and we enjoyed looking at the sculptured buildings and peering into designer shop windows as we made our way to the markets. Once found, we meandered through the colourful rows of stalls which seemed to stretch forever. The wares were many and varied, from clothing, shoes, bags and makeup to household appliances, quirky knick knacks, books and toys. Eve and I bought tiny cars for our little grandsons while I also bought socks for all of my Albany grandies plus a plaited wrist band for the older two. I also bought myself a pink puffer jacket which seemed to be all the rage in Italy. I was after a spray jacket but this one was warm as well as waterproof so it was just the ticket. I convinced a reluctant Michael to buy a long sleeved collared sweatshirt in charcoal grey. It looked good and was the right size. Max liked the look of it and bought one as well!
Eventually we were marketed out and headed back towards the lake. Eve and I got sidetracked by the shops along the way so the boys left us to it. Eventually we reconnected for a panini lunch before parting company yet again for antother stint at the shops before meeting up once more near the ferry terminal.
The hydrofoil returning up the lake was infinitely more populated than when we ventured down. Once we were under way, the rain fell in earnest. At each stop, more people poured on, all scanning the boat for seats. One young woman, who was walking down the staircase to the lower deck, slipped and fell down the remaining steps. We weren’t sure what happened to her but it would have been a painful descent!
Eventually we docked at Varenna, alighted from the boat and headed back to our respective abodes.
We met up for dinner at our by now regular restaurant, Alberto’s and another good night was had by all.
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