Lake Como

So we left Riomaggiore and headed to Varenna on Lake Como. We figure if it is good enough for George Cloony...good enough for us! =) But FIRST, we had a stop to make. We hadn't really even planned on going to Lake Como and certainly not to Milan, until we saw a special on the travel channel about the two. Turns out, the Last Supper painting by Da Vinci is on the wall of a church in Milan. I thought it was just a painting that was in some museum somewhere! Turns out you have to go to Milan to see it or you never will. Plus an earthquake could destroy it at any given time! Then they went on to talk about Lake Como, Varenna in particular, and we just decided we had to go.

So I booked us a time to see the Last Supper - they do 15 minute viewings with a tour guide to explain. We basically got off the train in Milan and took the subway to the church. The painting was incredible. The church was almost totally destroyed during WWII but luckily not this wall. The painting was almost totally covered up at one point as well, so it is pretty much a miracle that it was ever found, recovered, restored, etc. It was very interesting and I was glad we had taken the time to see it.

After that we had a little over an hour until the train to Varenna and we were starving. I have decided that Milan, being the fashion capital of the world, also thinks everyone should be skinny models able to wear those fashions, because we could not find ANYTHING to eat. Maybe we were in the wrong areas, or maybe because it was Sunday, but the only thing we could find was McDonalds, but I swear that was the best Big Mac I have ever had. =)

So anyway, we finally catch the train and head to Varenna. The train ride was beautiful. We were getting up close to the Alps and the mountains were gorgeous. Most still had snow on the top. The train went sort of around the lake as we got there so we got to see a couple of the towns, and then we got to Varenna. I think they said the population was about 800 people so you can imagine how small it is. Not as small as Riomaggiore, but still small and so cute. We had a hotel right on the water and we were given a room in the 'villa' which basically meant another house next to the hotel with a few other rooms in it, bed and breakfast style. Our room was awesome. So charming. We had two balconies that opened out to the waterfront and a really nice bathroom. It was great.

We got there around dinner time and I had heard the restaurant at our hotel was amazing so we ate there. And it was. I had heard they made home made ravioli so I tried this ricotta and spinach ravioli that was ridiculously good and then I had local fish as my main course. It was SO good. I am sure they probably caught it out of the lake that day and I ate the whole thing. Jason had a potato pasta - the closest thing we could find so far to gnocchi...apparently the Italians don't love it as much as we do - with ragu sauce that was delicious and a steak.

Oh by the way. Did I mention that day was my birthday? My 30th birthday to be exact. Pretty cool way to spend the day if you have to turn 30. So my husband, being the wonderful man that he is, told the lady who owned the hotel and also ran the restaurant, and she brought me out a tiramisu with a birthday candle and then gave me a kiss on the cheek! I was thrilled and the tiramisu was delish! =)

After that we pretty much crashed and then slept for over 12 hours I think. The next day was planned to be a take it very easy day. We had been going at full speed and needed a break. So we got up around 10:30, mosied on down the waterfront, had pizza for lunch and just sat by the water for a while. Then we had some gelato. Then we went to the internet cafe for a while. Then we made dinner reservations at this other place I had heard was good. Then we took a nap. For almost 4 hours. =) It was a very relaxing day.

Then it was time for dinner again (does it seem like I put a lot of emphasis on meals? Sorry they are just all sooo good!). We were escorted down the waterfront by a little gray snake. I freaked when I saw it, but he just happened to be heading the same way as us and was paying us no mind, so we just followed him down the path a ways until he slithered off in to the water.

We had the BEST tomato soup I have ever had. It was barely creamy and served with a shot of vodka. Yes, vodka. Jason and I just assumed you put it in your soup so we did. For the main dish I had risotto with gorgonzola, scamorza and radicchio. SO GOOD. I was pretty full by this time, but I managed to scarf down a strawberry gelato as well. We just knew we would never make it to sleep after such a long nap. But we did and slept for a good 8 hours. It was a much needed rest for us for sure.

Next up, Venice. A very cool and different city that we were in for all of 24 hours, so stay tuned!