the cadys

Aaaahhh, Tranquilo

It was so nice to go somewhere small and peaceful this weekend. We took a trip to Lake Como, and without meaning to, took this a little bit to the extreme. The lake has a huge coastline, so there are so many different towns to stay in. The main train station on the south end is in Como, and ferry service runs to the smaller towns... Francois found what looked like a terrific hotel on line in a village called Moltrasio; from a monument we saw, we think the composer Bellini either lived or was born there. In any case, Moltrasio is so small that they only have two restaurants, both of which are owned and run by hotels! If you want, check out pictures from the weekend.

We managed to find a train to Como that leaves from a smaller station fairly close to here, so we were able to walk to the station in the morning instead of riding the metro to Stazione Centrale, which is always busy. The ride took about an hour, so we arrived a little before 11 am and were able to walk around town and grab some lunch before taking the ferry to Moltrasio. We saw the cathedral, found a playground (surprise!) that's actually right within the remnants of the 11th century city walls, and enjoyed some panini at an outdoor cafe by both the duomo and the lake. Alessandro Volta, who invented the electric battery, is from Como -- the "volt" is named after him.

We only had to go about three stops on the ferry, so it wasn't a long ride, but gave us some great views of the lake and the coastline. All around, the coast is very steep (especially in Moltrasio) and it's pretty amazing how much has been built. Every now and then we'd pass a giant villa, most of which are now luxury hotels, and many of which have grand gardens to go with them. The hotel we stayed at had actually been bought by Best Western (go figure), and while it wasn't quite on par with the experiences we've had in tiny family-owned places so far, the scenery and the surroundings made up for that and then some.

We took a walk around town and were joined by a older Italian man who was quite charismatic and fancied himself a tour guide. (Both of those characteristics might have been a result of the liquor on his breath?) :-) He didn't speak a word of English but talked for quite some time! After that, we found a very good deal on a tasting menu at the restaurant owned by the other hotel in town; in spite of the late hour and no nap to speak of, Simeon did really well. However, he did have his first ever experience of stepping in dog mess! It was huge and stunk, and when he sums up the weekend he says, "I no step in dog poo again."

This morning, it was SO NICE to be awoken by birdsong instead of traffic and neighbors. We made the steep climb up a bunch of stone steps to church and were rewarded with a beautiful church and a spectacular choir. Apparently all the kids from in town sit together up front... we were right behind them, and I was a little surprised at how many there were. The church itself was small, but FULL, and they had a zillion candles lit on the altar.

After a ferry ride back to Como, we took a cable car up to a hilltop village called Brunate, saw a panoramic view of the lake, then headed back down for some gelato and a train ride home.