Italy Day 2 - Lake Hopping

Italy Day 2 – Lake Hopping

Continental breakfast at the Nest is very continental indeed, sitting on the balcony with couples from Germany and Canada. We drive back into Bellagio, buy a Mid Lake Pass and hop on the ferry to Varenna. 

Founded in 769AD, Varenna is an incredibly steep, tight little town anchored to the rocky hillside just north of Bellagio 15 minutes by water aboard the hilariously named ferry Spluga.  (I’d be hours car – you’d have to drive all the way back to Como and up the other side of the Y).  Varenna laid back and charming, far less commercialized then Bellagio.  From the water, all the buildings appear to be one singular tiered structure, but on foot you realize each tier is separated by a narrow alleyway horizontally and dizzying riverstone staircases vertically.  The stairs and alleys form the streets of the old town, doors randomly being a shop, business or small home.  The area is known for its exquisite leather goods and we can’t resist a few brightly colored bags for Mandy and belts for me.  Lunch at Nilus Bar overlooking the lake consists of Caprese salad and simple pizza with garlic, both simple dishes executed wonderfully.

Back onto the ferry and 15 minutes across the lake.  From the water all the villages and towns up and down the lake look homogeneous, with brightly colored, tile roofed structures set into the hillside.  Menaggio is the fourth of the lake towns we have visited and we marvel at how different each one is from the next.  Menaggio has the kinetic vibe of Monaco with the matching upscale clientele.  It’s been a long day punctuated by several Aperol Spritzes, so time to head back (with a quick lemon gelato for the road.)  The road back is as death defying as ever and this time Mandy opened her eyes to video.  How is this already seeming normal?

Back at the Nest, we watch the sunset over the mountains that formed the lake, complete with a yacht bisecting the picture perfect reflection.  Dinner nearby at Crotto dei Pescatori, where our waiter mistakenly serves us a bottle of local white wine instead of the red we ordered.  I roll with it and taste the sample offered.  We are typically not white wine drinkers, but this 2016 Ca’Brione Nino Negri is a spectacular white, dry, crisp, complex and fruity.  It’s paired perfectly with our caponata app and next presentation of fresh lake fish, but even holds its own against my rich osso buco and risotto.