A journey of discovery through the landscapes, art, food, and people of Italy
This day there were no planned group activities, but Donald offered to take us as a group on the ferry to Bellagio to orient us. The tour included a ferry pass so we could lake hop all day! We joined the group on the ferry, but got off early to visit Villa Carlotta, another of the gorgeous villas that are open to the public. The gardens and buildings were stunning, but we were both glad we had visited the smaller Villa Montastero next to our hotel, as we liked that even more! It definitely paid off to do this first thing in the morning, as the gardens were so peaceful and we left as the crowds were arriving.
Day 2: Varenna and Bellagio
We climbed back on the ferry and headed to Bellagio for lunch. We found Bellagio to be charming, but we were glad the tour chose to stay on Varenna as it is just as beautiful, but more quaint and much less crowded. Bellagio is a great place for high-end shopping, if that is your thing. We mostly just window-gauked! We had a nice lunch at an out of the way trattoria where we ordered pizza, and then escaped the hustle and bustle of Bellagio to return to Varenna. We opened the windows of our room and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine while listening to the band that was playing for a wedding in the courtyard.
Donald surprised us with an evening aperitif on the balcony of a nearby hotel. It was a great time to get to know our group better and just relax and soak up our last evening in Varenna. We were still full from lunch, so after our happy hour, David and I decided to skip dinner and wander down to the village for a gelato while we watched the sunset. This place is seriously what dreams are made of! Below are two of my favorite photos from this stop, both taken from our sunset walk.
