Everyone must go to Lake Como! Leslie, Bob and I took a one hour train ride to Varenna, got our bearings over coffee and treats and walked through many small, stony streets to get to our hotel. Our hostess was a woman with few words, Italian or otherwise, but she had our rooms ready early and for that I am grateful. We set out to explore the delightful little town on the lake and decided to take the ferry to Bellagio, after gelato, across the way. We had lunch there and just enjoyed the scenery. The whole area is absolutely gorgeous! Lots of birds and everyone seemed to have a dog. After a stroll through town we caught the ferry back to Varenna. Bob and I took naps while Leslie climbed an incredibly steep and rocky path to a castle. After a second gelato, we took an hour long boat ride on the lake with Marco. He had a great banter as he drove us around a section of the lake stopping every little bit to talk about some of the villas and sights. Bob would want me to mention we saw where Mussolini died and a villa where some of Casino Royale was filmed. It was a cold ride in the open boat but so worth it! Afterwards we settled on a place for dinner and first thought we had chosen poorly because the waitress was quite impatient and didn't seem to care for the many Americans there. But the food was good, the house wine even better, and the cute waiter/owner bringing us free lemoncello the best! I didn't mean to be greedy but Bob and Leslie really didn't keep up very well on the wine, so some of you will will understand when I say I had a "special " night. Lots of fun. This morning we took our time, finally made it out for a little shopping and the train back to Milan. We have one more night with Leslie before a train to Florence in the morning.