Italia -the motherland

We left rainy, cloudy Lucerne and drove through the shrouded Alps. We drove through many long tunnels through the mountains and then we went through a 10 mile tunnel (warning to tunnel-phobes : it went on forever) and we emerged into the SUNLIGHT! We could actually see the little houses in the mountains and the water just running down the mountain sides. We stopped in Turnino Switzerland which is on a lake. The water was reflecting the mountain forests so it was the most beautiful forest green. All the lakes are so clean that you can see to the bottom and you can see the fish swimming around. Turino is in Switzerland but the culture is italian. Many well dressed older ladies looked fabulous just to walk into town or walk their dogs. Then we headed to Lake Como and got lost - just couldn't find the ferry to get us across the lake from Menaggio to Revenna where we had booked a room at the Eremo Guadi. Well, from the ferry we saw the hotel perched high up on the steep mountainside. The Wolfs had stayed at the hotel but they forgot that they are very physically fit, they bike, swim, hike. We DeRoy's drink wine and use the computer so the trip up the mountainside to the building with our room was quite a challenge. Bob manuevered the car through the narrow old streets and up the hill to the hotel reception building. From the reception building we took a finicular/incline STRAIGHT UP THE MOUNTAIN! Then we got off the incline and had to take ANOTHER ONE even higher up the mountain to get to our building. We dragged our luggage off the funicular and into the building that used to be a monastery. The manager met us in the building and then led us out the building, down a garden path of rock and down stone stairs to the entrance to our room. We dragged our luggage along in stages and when we arrived at our room we had the most beautiful view of the lake and the towns of Varenna below us, Menaggio across the lake in one direction and Bellagio across the lake in the other direction. This morning, Sunday, we could hear a cuckoo in the trees. We walked into Varenna town square where there is a Lion's Club festival taking place. The club has set up tents all over the little town with antipasti, glace, apertifs and who knows what else for sale (but I plan to find out). There is a band playing and it is a beautiful Sunday morning. We stopped to tour a garden and use the internet at a villa and we'll head back into town to the festival and then go see a falconry exhibit at the castle that is even higher than our hotel on the mountain.
Tomorrow we take the ferry to Bellagio as everything in Varenna is closed on Mondays.