Beautiful People (Varenna)

As much as I enjoy a small group tour, particularly one of Matt's food and wine experiences, (or should that be indulgences?) it is always nice to be back on our own, making our own decisions. Today, dear reader, we thought a slower pace and some time spent planning our stay on the lake would be our agenda.

The morning view from the balcony.

One thing I didn't mention from last evening was the beautiful people. Nah, I'm being polite, I mean the vapid and vacuous, the selfie crowd, those that primp and posture and pose are everywhere. They appear to be more intent on documenting how fabulous they look, at the expense of enjoying where they are. Shallow as a mud puddle. Look at me, look at me.

And then there are the new Porsches being driven from all parts of Europe to crowd the narrow cobblestoned streets. So far I have seen Porsches from Italy, of course, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Our balcony.

Of course that brings me to today's title, Beautiful People by David Guetta and Sia. No need to explain if you read the lyrics.

The view from the back balcony looks out across the lake. In one direction, it is dominated by the ferry terminal. A slight turn north-west captures the water view between the hotel and another building. The position of the sun alters the light and creates a constantly changing vista. We are in an excellent position to watch the tourist traffic come and go. I thought the ferry terminal might pose a noise problem, but the double glazed windows are very effective.

Looking away from the terminal.

First thing this morning, a stroll along the Lover's Walk into the piazza looked inviting before the hordes arrived from parts unknown. It is very picturesque and the impatiens are still flowering beautifully although many other plants have finished blooming. The walk itself could hardly be described as romantic later in the day when it resembles a cattle run with streams of people fighting for position, walking in both directions. Happily today we almost had it to ourselves.

The Lover's Walk.

There are a number of cafés and restaurants further around toward the piazza and we scoped these out as we continued walking. We turned up a laneway toward the piazza where we had dinner last night to discover the breakfast options were limited. A quick visit to the tourist information centre to gather some brochures and ask some questions would assist in planning. We learned the landmark villa, del Balbianello, is only open Tuesdays and weekends and is totally booked out while we are here so it has been scratched from our list. We won't lose too much sleep over that omission as we are neither Star Wars nor James Bond fans.

The last of the spring flowers on the Lover's Walk.

Back down to the walkway we settled on Bar Molo. It has mixed reviews with the food being described as "hit and miss" but a killer view of the lake. Today it was both. We were hit by the expense, we may as well be in Switzerland, but the food was definitely a miss and the coffee was not strong enough.

One of the disappointing facts about the breakfast options is the number of cafés offering an "American breakfast". This is Italy, not America. Travel is about the experience and broadening the mind, not eating the same food you would at home. Then again, I guess it's about catering to the crowd. It seems every American with a passport is in Italy at the moment.

Laneways are steep.

At breakfast, a young woman sat waterside with her phone on a selfie-stick (and aren't they so uncool) and filmed herself not eating her breakfast. Another young man, female partner dutifully walking 5 metres behind, waltzed in with his handbag on his shoulder to be told there was no take-away service. We saw them both last evening, curiously wearing the same outfits. They looked a little weather worn in the mid-morning.

Not a great picture, but you get the idea.

The walk back along the water was fascinating. It is wedding season. The number of brides could not be counted and they were all lining up with their groom, photographer, flowers and entourage to board the old fashioned timber speed boats. The tour groups and crowds were growing in number so we returned to our apartment to plan for the next few days.

It's unkind, but I was hoping she'd fall in.

Varenna is one of the smaller, quieter villages on the lake. Allegedly. It seems crowded to us. While well serviced with ferries, we wanted to go to Como and deciphering the ferry timetable takes the skill of a quantum physicist. We had no idea and decided to visit the ticket office later in day and pose the question.

Mid-afternoon we ventured out once again to both ends of the village to two different 'convenience' stores to purchase supplies for dinner and wine. We also checked out the local church, San Giorgio. It's a thing in Europe, you can't walk past a church because you never what hidden beauty lies inside.

Look closely, a fascinating fresco.

The altar in black marble.

A 17th century confessional.

The salumeria in the piazza had a queue out the door because they also make sandwiches and the square was packed with lanyard wearing people, looking for sustenance. The other end of town towards the train station was not so crowded and also cheaper. Dinner requisites purchased, it was off to the ferry ticket office.

At this stage, we had read about the ferry service, checked out their website, attempted to purchase tickets online and read their timetable. Well, attempted to decipher the timetable. The line was small and moved quickly. Once at the window, we were informed that you could not buy tickets online, despite the website saying it was possible, and you could only buy tickets on the day of travel. So, we'll be back tomorrow.

The terminal and part of the crowd.

I unfurled the timetable on the kitchen table and thought I could make sense of it. We would opt for the fast ferry tomorrow so I would walk the few metres to the ticket office and buy our tickets in the morning. Jayne had everything mapped out for a day in Como and for the following day in Bellagio and then Bellano; it was time to sit on the balcony and watch the passing parade and have a medicinal glass of wine. Or two.

It was warm on the balcony but the heat was tempered by a nice breeze. The crowds continued to swell and dissipate as the ferries came and went. Their numbers dwindled as the sun began to set and we retired inside for a light dinner. No, dear reader, not a Matt's Produce Tours light dinner, a genuinely light meal. We consumed so much food last week, we don't really need to eat at all. We had purchased a loaf of bread on our travels which we toasted, slathered on olive oil and topped it with fresh tomatoes, cheese and a selection of mortadella, prosciutto and salami. The perfect end to our first full day. There may also have a been a chianti to wash the meal down.

Lover's walk from the balcony, glass in hand.

Tomorrow is the ferry experience. Wish me luck.

Alla prossima.