Friday, December 21, 2012

Milan 2012: Varenna, Lake Como

I'm sorry for the sudden absence. The renovation of my house has come to the point where the electricity has to be cut off for the safety of the workers and I have no idea how to connect my modem to the house next door. My gadget whizz kid, Ming, is in Shanghai, together with his siblings. They are in freezing -2 C Shanghai at the invitation of their sister, who is generously paying for everything, although someone told me she saw a video on FB of Wey begging on a street in Hangzhou. Lucky for them, I can't verify that because I have been having limited access to Facebook, during times when my iPad gets connected through Hub's 3G on his phone. So here I am, in Hub's office, finishing the overdue posts on my trip to Lake Como.

All the photos on our trip to Lake Como were taken by the iPad. I had forgotten to bring the charger for my camera to the Lake. Nothing unusual, I do that all the time. If it's not the charger, it's the memory card. Anyway, although the iPad photos aren't too shabby, I do wish I had a proper camera instead. Lake Como and the towns around it are gorgeous, with some of the best sceneries I've ever seen. We were lucky to be there in October when the tourists have mostly gone away. I hear that Lake Como is the summer can be unbearably crowded, hot and searingly sunny.

We bunked in a small hotel in Bellagio and took the ferry (about 4 euros each) to Varenna, one of the prettiest towns on the lake. The ferry stopped along the way, to smaller towns such as Menaggio. Varenna was the fourth stop. All along the way, there were terra cotta houses by the lake and up the hills. The water was mirror calm and crystal clear. I kept thinking how wonderful it would be to live for a couple of weeks in a small house, or just a room, by the lake. I could go for long walks, write that book, read by the balcony, eat at little restaurants or cook my own truffles and pasta. Ah, the ultimate holiday.

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This is Varenna, prettiest town I've seen on Lake Como.

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The buildings are set on the hills, connected by narrow alleys. Through the gaps, you can see the lake, framed by the yellow, brick and red buildings. Each gap gives a different picture.

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Up the hill, the roads are narrow and the buildings are set right on the roads.

We explored Varenna for about 3 hours before taking the ferry back to Bellagio. Although Varenna is very small, without the restaurants and shops of Bellagio, it deserves a whole day of exploring. There's an old church, the village square with a few restaurants around it, the small roads up the hills are lined with beautiful houses and villas, and some movie star just might walk out to throw the thrash. Just sit by the lake or fish for pike and trout, as a man and his son were doing, or strum on a mini guitar or even watch the dogs romancing each other. What a life.

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15 comments:

Blur Ting said...

So beautiful! There are houses for sale there. I saw an advertisement somewhere about it being the best time to buy houses there now. Go buy one!

Anonymous said...

wow u take really beautiful pictures. im captivated by it. i love all those posts on travels n foods.

Anonymous said...

Dear Auntie Terri,
We've not met before but since I'm a few years older than your daughter I think so I'll just add that 'Auntie' bit although you look much younger than alot of women I call Auntie :)
I've read just about all of your travel posts. I love how you travel- doing the necessary tourist places when you go somewhere new but also making the effort to go to local markets & small towns which I too love to do. Plus your forthright, witty writing is such a pleasure to read and the pictures, some that take my breath away, are such a treat.
So thank you so much for sharing not only your travel stories but opening up about your joys and struggles and your beautiful family.
It has made me even more appreciative about my own parents whom I've inherited my wanderlust from and thus am so grateful that they have made it a point to show me as much as possible this amazing world we're in.
Blessed Christmas & happy new year to you & your family. I'll be heading with my family to Hong Kong for the hols & filling ourselves up with as much dim sum as our bodies can manage. I'll spare a thought for you & all the food bloggers while I feast :)
-From a loyal reader in K.L.-

terri@adailyobsession said...

Blurting: tt would be a dream come true. Maybe buy a hse next to george?

Anon: you just made my day:)

Royal reader: oh. My. I teared. Such a sweet msg to me n Christmas Eve! Thank you! I've been taking it easy with this blog bc i'm loving in another house temporarily while my pwn hse is being renovated (bigger kitchen at last!) n i know many readers hv stopped reading:P but you might just be the one, along with blur ting, michelle n some others, tt i will keep writing for! Happy Holidays n yes, when you bite into tt malaigo or jeong fun, spare me a thought!. Hey , eat hokkien fried rice, very yum!

terri@adailyobsession said...

Living in another house'

Anonymous said...

hey, missed U in KK! knew you’d still be in in Italy while I was back for my niece’s wedding. U got keen eyes, equipment is secondary. So even with ipad you still can turn out gorgeous pictures. My next European trip is definitely Italy! Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

Mike C

Nee said...

Merry blessed Christmas Aunty terri, to u n family!!! I have not stopped reading ur blog ESP now w smartphone. Just don't comment much nowadays. But as usual love all ur posts. Also been stalking for cooking ideas this past week. Tq for sharing.

Heay, thought u r building ur own house, then why r u renovating?

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

The photography is not too bad.

Keep it up, as you can do better.

Love polo said...
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Anonymous said...
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