We were up and rolling around 8:00 today, and we got to have breakfast in the hotel, which was a time-saver. It was quite good – hot chocolate, rolls, and two croissants. That got our day off to a solid start, so we could head out to the local castle, way up the main hill of town. The signs all claimed you could walk up the steep path in fifteen minutes, but that turned out to be optimistic. I think we were much closer to twenty-five minutes to get up there, but there were great views along the way; as a bonus, we could see some snow-covered Alps today, since it was a clearer day today than yesterday.

At the top of the hill is another little town that looked very cute. We passed the really, really small cemetery and very cute church, and made our way to the paid entrance to the castle. We paid the admission and proceeded past an owl (there is a falconry show at the castle once a day) and  some very cool wooden sculptures, to the overlook at the base of the main castle. It was an amazing view. The lake was below, surrounded by mountains, and we could see lake and mountains in three directions.

Mer and I have made a concerted effort to get pictures of the both of us on this trip, so Mer asked a nice Australian couple if they would take our picture. They agreed, and then we took a picture of them. We chatted a bit while looking at the views, and then headed up to the main castle. Out in front of the castle were four more birds for the falconry show, so we watched them briefly; they could not do too much, since they were tethered.

We headed into the castle, and found that there was a keep inside (a defensive tower in the middle of the castle). We went up a flight of stairs, crossed a small, but real, drawbridge, and climbed three flights of really old-looking stairs before coming out on the top of the keep. The views from up there were really amazing, and allowed us to see in all directions. We met up with the Australian couple again, and swapped photo opportunities. We lingered for awhile before heading down. We very briefly explored the grounds before I needed a bathroom, and so we headed back to the restaurant at the gate of the castle. The Australian couple was there, having a beer and a glass of wine. While I was in the bathroom, Mer sat at the next table and started talking with them. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw they were in the middle of chatting, so I sat down and ordered a Sprite. We spent the next hour or so chatting, and they invited us to sit with them.

Their names were Rod and Kate, and they were on a five-week tour of Europe. Rod is a retied military man who is about to celebrate his seventieth birthday, although Mer and I had guessed he was about sixty. Kate is younger than Rod, and still working (although we never found out what she is currently doing). Rod and Kate have lived and worked all over the world, and Rod even has been to Camden, Maine, which is the next town over from where Mer’s grandfather lives. They were very lively and funny people, and it was a real blessing to get to talk to such interesting and entertaining people. As a gesture of thanks, I told Mer to pay for their drinks while I used the restroom before heading out. Rod came upon Mer as she was finishing paying, and extended the offer to meet him and Kate at their hotel for drinks at 6:00, if we were available. When I found out, I shifted my plans to make sure that would happen.

We headed back to the small town and looked in on the small church. It was very lovely inside, with paintings of saints above each window, and a simple and pleasing design for the layout. We then headed off down a slope to go find a waterfall advertised on a sign on the trail. At the bottom of a small valley, we found a small falls, but could see a much larger falls up the valley. We went up the other side to see if we could get up there to see the falls, but never found a way. After a few minutes, we turned around and went back to the castle trail, which we took all the way back into Varenna, and then on to our hotel.

We grabbed two slices of pizza in the hotel, which we ate in the room while we rested for twenty minutes or so. Rod and Kate (the Australians) had been out on a three-hour rental boat trip the day before and strongly recommended it, so I decided to try it. We found the rental place and rented a brand-new boat for two hours, from 2:30 to 4:30. I got a quick and basic lesson on the boat, and we were off, following an itinerary recommended by the boat company.

Varenna is on Lake Como, which joins with Lake Lecco to form an upside-down “Y.” We went south and down the left-hand fork for a bit, admiring the coastal towns and the very rugged mountains on this part of the lake. We turned toward the split itself and went around the popular tourist town of Bellagio and into the right-hand side. We headed south toward some especially scenic mountains until we reached a small island. We went around the island and headed north along the far shore, going by a villa used in films in the James Bond and Star Wars series. We went north until we were across the lake from Varenna, and went back across to the town, where I promptly badly botched the docking. Happily, the boat owner was there, and he jumped on board and docked the boat for us. It was a relaxing and scenic two hours.

We returned to the hotel to rest for a bit and get washed up to meet Rod and Kate at their hotel at 6:00. We did stop to get gelato on the way to the hotel. Rod and Kate’s hotel is right on the lake, and the veranda is beautiful. We had a seat overlooking the lake, but under an iron trellis covered by vines. Rod and Kate were very happy to see us, and we sat down to drinks, with me and Mer both grabbing hot chocolates (and I later had a Sprite). The hotel also brought out a few finger foods with the drinks. We then proceeded to talk and laugh and have a great time for about three hours; Rod and Kate had even seen us go by earlier in the boat, which was funny. Rod and Kate seem great for each other, with keen senses of humor and lots of great stories. We said goodbye at 9:00, and Kate gave us her e-mail address, and we got a standing invitation to look them up in Brisbane if we get there, which would be a wonderful time.

Mer and I were not really hungry, but I felt as if I should eat something so that I did not wake up hungry in the middle of the night. We found an adorable restaurant right on the lake, with little candles making for a magical atmosphere. It was almost completely dark, and the lights from the small town across the lake were really pretty. We ordered a light supper, and we were waiting for it to arrive when Rod and Kate walked up. They had decided they were hungry, and they’d enjoyed this restaurant earlier in their stay. After we all had a good laugh, they pulled up seats at the next table, and we chatted for another hour or so while we ate and enjoyed the cool evening.

We said goodbye, again, and Mer and I took it easy walking back to the hotel. I think Lake Como near Varenna has now slightly edged the Cinque Terre as my personal prettiest place on Earth.