31 August 2013. The alarm went off at 6:15 and Chuck got up and opened the curtain and saw Venice going by as we headed for the cruise port. It was just light so it was a gorgeous sight.
We had decided to not spend time in Venice as we had been there before, and find a place in northern Italy to spend a few days. Using a book of road trips in northern Italy as a source, we choose a hotel in Varenna on Lake Como. So, we boarded a bus to the airport where we picked up a Hertz car and headed for Varenna. The first 100k or so looked a lot like the midwest—corn and other crops, mostly flat, and agricultural. We stopped for lunch in a small town on a lake that was clearly a vacation destination. We had a nice lunch on a canal with boats on one side and pedestrians on the other. We left the main road (much like I70) and headed north towards Varenna. The road snaked along the lake through lots of small towns. It was a slow, but pretty drive.
We arrived in Varenna in late afternoon, found our hotel, got our car parked, and checked into our room. Chuck had to drive the car down the "street" shown in the picture. There might have been 6 inches of clearance on each side.
We had booked the hotel on line and weren't exactly sure what it would be like. Well, we are very happy with the room, and especially the view from our terrace.
View from our Terrace
Before we dinner we wandered around the town a bit. It is a beautiful town built to maximize its views of the lake. There are small shops and restaurants. It was Saturday when we arrived and there were lots of tourists. It was the last weekend for Italians on vacation because school started on Monday. Here are some pictures from Varenna.
It is a special place. We found a place to have supper and headed for bed.