Ferry's, Gelato and Give Me Twenty!

Saturday's full schedule took a toll on us, so we had a bit of sleep in on Sunday. Actually it turned in to more of a sleep-in then we had anticipated as Europe moved forward an hour for day light savings time this weekend. While the kids and Stacey slept a little longer I walked around Varenna looking for some groceries. There are two stores in town, and they are not big. I would say that they are both about the size of our dining room. BUT, they are packed with goodness. I would bet that one of the stores has a better selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars than any store in Calgary. If you like wine, you will be happy to hear that you can get a bottle starting at Euro 3.60 ($4.76)! That is not a typo.

The view from our apartment door to the water.

After a homemade Italian lunch (Come on, what else did you expect? There isn't a big Asian section in the stores), we walked all the way down from our house to the water (about 30 meters). Thank god there was a gelato shop there.

The yellow wall at the top of the stairs is our place, Casa Varenna. Bronwyn is smiling because the gelato shop is to her right. Steps like this are everywhere in Varenna.

A much needed gelato break after the long walk down from Casa Varenna.

Today we explored Varenna and two other villages on Lake Como, Menaggio and Bellaggio. To access the towns we had to take a ferry. The ferry's run quite regularly and the process is super simple.

While waiting for the ferry Fintan instituted a new rule. Every time he punches Bronwyn he has to drop down and do 20 push ups. This 20 received a "bellissimo!" from an Italian jewellery vendor.

Two happy ferry passengers on their way to Menaggio.

First stop was Menaggio. It takes about 15 minutes to get there from Varenna. No word of a lie, as soon as we got there Fintan asked if we could have gelato. The core of the village is much flatter then Varenna and features a long boardwalk. The town was packed with weekend tourists, mostly all leathered up in motorcycle gear. We were able to negotiate with Fintan down to a cappuccino and hot chocolate, so we found a spot in the town square to sit outside in the sun. Within a few minutes it got super wind and cloudy which kinda killed the setting. The cooler temps only lasted about a half an hour and the rest of the day was brilliant. Menaggio was nice, but the quaint charm, and hills of Varenna is more to my liking.

Menaggio from the ferry.

The boardwalk in Menaggio.

Menaggio make out artists.

After a few hours we hoped on the ferry and made our way to Bellaggio. I am not sure what happened when we got on the ferry, but when I turned around Fintan had hit the deck.

Nice form. At this rate he will be ripped by the time we leave Italy.

Post punch up and push up. She doesn't look as pleased with the results as he does.

The view of Bellaggio as we pulled into port.

Bellaggio is much more like Veranna with the long steep stairways, and tight narrow streets. The main difference is that Bellaggio's streets are lined with shops. It is a beautiful little village with a lot going on.

Shop lined street in Bellaggio.

Finally! We found a gelato shop! If it looks to you like they are in heaven, they are. This gelato was voted number one in Italy so far. Go Bellaggio!

Sun setting in Bellaggio.

Bellaggio make out artists.

A beautiful shot of Bellaggio as we pull away on the ferry.

Amazing sunset as we head back to Varenna.

The enchanting Varenna lit up by the last bit of sun.

Amazingly, the kids wanted to go back to our local to have dinner with Enzo and Francesco.

Buona sera.

Two Moe's, The Cage and Shebrahimovic

Buon giorno! It looks like I have a bit of catching up to do! We are all settled in at our apartment in Varenna, Lake Como (and now that we are, we don't want to leave!!). This little town is WICKED! It's a hilly little group of homes with narrow cobblestone streets, 500 residents and 15 restaurants! I want to buy an apartment now!

Piazza S. Giorgio in the centre of Varenna.

Leaving the apartment to catch the train to Milano.

On Saturday we forced ourselves to get up so we could catch the first trai to Milano. The train ride from Varenna takes about 50 mins. Once we arrived in Milano we took a few minutes to get sorted and figure out the Metro system. Like all great cities, the Metro system in Milan was fantastic and super easy to use.

First stop in Milano was the stunning Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This is a super posh shopping arcade that has an amazing metal and glass roof that was built in 1877. Sadly, as it seems with all great works of european architectural art, the designer Giuseppe Mengoni never saw the finished product as he fell to his death from the scaffolding shortly before it opened up.

The central part of the cross shaped Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II.

We were starving, so we took a taxi to the bohemian Brera district for a cappuccino and pastry while we waited for a pizzeria to open.

Two handsome fellas having a caffe as we wait for the pizzeria to open up.

Oh, and these two ladies were at our table too.

After a mediocre lunch we walked to the Castello Sforzesco. What I like about this place is that it wasn't the first castle on the site. The new guy in charge Francesco Sforza decided he would tear down the old one and put this one in its place to mark the start of a new reign. Seems reasonable. I wonder why TransCanada Pipelines new CEO Russ Girling didn't tear down the TCPL tower and build a new one when he took over?

Bronwyn has a go at a 15th century soccer ball.

Fin dances to a tune in his head in the Castle courtyard.

Today you can buy anything from fake Prada bags to fake aviators outside the castle. I guess they have to pay for the rebuild somehow...

The crown jewel of Milano is the Gothic masterpiece "the Duomo". As I am just learning Italtian, I thought that Duomo meant "two Moe's". It doesn't. What it really means: it's is a remarkable cathedral that began construction in the 14th century and wasn't completed until 500 years later! That's right, the same amount of time it will take the Calgary Flames to make the playoffs again.

The brilliant Duomo.

The Duomo rebuilt our appetite, so we went on a massive search for a spot that sold gelato. For those of you that haven't been to Italy, that takes about 30 seconds. The gelato lasts about the same amount of time.

The end of the gelato meant that it was time to walk to the Metro so we could make our way to the San Siro to see AC Milan vs Roma! The San Siro is home to both AC Milan and Inter Milan. The stadium opened up in September 1926 and has had two major renovations over the years to get to its current capacity of 80,000.

The Finnybomber gets his game face on during the Metro ride to the San Siro.

I have been to a fair amount of stadiums, and I can tell you that I have never sat in a section quite like the one we sat in at the San Siro. We were literally in a cage. There was a metal gate on each end of the section, and in front of us was a large plexiglass wall that had a mesh net that ran all the way to the ceiling of the stadium. All that was missing was for them to open up the gate at half time and let a couple of lions in... AC ended up winning the game 2-1 on a brace by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Bronwyn scored so many goals this past season that I am now calling her Shebrahimovic.

The cage.

I am standing next to the bathroom in our section for this pic. After making a trip to the bathroom Brownyn said, "That is the grossest place that I have ever seen in my life." No paper, no toilet bowl, no soap.... sweet.

Someone doesn't like being caged in...

We got back to Varenna around 9:30 so the kids and I decided to go to our local for a bite to eat. Enzo and Francesco were happy to see us and hear of our trip to see their team AC.

Albergo - Ristorante Pizzeria in Varenna.