SB Discovery #6: Sometimes Rick Steves likes Ghost Towns

Varenna/Lake Como:

When we arrived in Milan we decided that we would check into our hotel and then make a trip out to Varenna, Rick Steve’s favorite spot along Lake Como. It was a nice day and we were worried that the next day might not be so we made our way to the hotel with the plan of returning shortly to the train station. The hotel was a completely different discovery which I have left to another blog entry. After standing for about an hour on the train ride from hell, we finally arrived. We had been crammed in a train car not even by the seat but in between the seating section at the doors of the train. We were all very happy just to get off no matter where we were.

When we exited we took a rest and after regaining our senses realized that Rick Steve’s suggestion did not look so promising. The town was basically vacant. I think we were the only four people on the train to get off at the stop. We began to walk around the town and saw a few people but the streets were basically vacant and everything was closed. I suppose it was off season because the town was small but filled with hotels and restaurants and hotel/restaurants. We had trouble finding an open restaurant though. Apparently it is a big tourist destination, but certainly not while we were there. We actually enjoyed the tranquility though, especially after being in a string of tourist-packed big cities.

We skipped some rocks on the lake for a while and just took in the views of the Alps lining the lake. Always keeping an eye out for George Cloony we attempted to find some lunch. Settling for a one-star hotel’s small attached restaurant we ordered from the waitress. She shortly returned to inform us that we could not have what we ordered because they did not have it that day. Rather, we were to pick from two types of pizza or lasagna. Ellen tried the lasagna, fearing that pizza would make her sick as it had in Florence, and everyone else tried the cheese pizza. Biting into the pizza we all realized that it had been cooked a while ago and microwaved. Ellen’s lasagna shared the same fate and was a dead ringer for a microwavable TV dinner: boiling hot on the edges and ice cold in the center! Delicious. We ate anyway and then made our way back to the train station where the ticket machine was broken and no attendant was working. We would have to buy tickets on the train (we actually were never asked to so we got a free ride!).

As we waited for the train we saw two other groups of people. Not surprisingly one person in each of the two groups was carrying a Rick Steve’s Italy. I guess the only people that would go to Varenna during off season are Rick’s readers, probably because he failed to mention that no one goes until the summer! Ha, oh well. This blog seems negative but we actually had a lot of fun in Varenna and it was gorgeous. The pictures explain. It was one of my favorite places so far. You don’t need restaurants and tourists to enjoy beautiful views!