Lago di Como

For anyone wanting free movie premier passes just let me know because after a weekend at Lake Como George Clooney and I are practically inseparable. I actually had to turn down the dinner invitation on his boat because I needed some time to myself:-) But breakfast at his villa was just as fun:-) Seriously though, the guy knows how to choose beautiful areas...Lake Como is one of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. A gorgeous lake, tucked into the mountains, and little fishing villages all around. I hopped on a train friday morning because I had to get out of the city for awhile (Bologna's pretty wonderful but there isn't a lot of green to be seen), so I grabbed my Rick Steve's travel guide to Italy:-), switched trains in Milan, and got off at a little one-track station in a town called Varenna. It's one of the smaller villages right on the water. I wandered down to the harbor, found myself a place to sleep (I always have my priorities in order) and then set out to explore the town. Many of the places were already closed for the season and there were only a handful of visitors, so I really felt like I'd stumbled upon a remote little village. And since I arrived at dusk I had a chance to take some beautiful pictures. Side note: I got a little carried away with picture taking in Varenna...I suppose that happens when you have to entertain yourself:-) I came back to the hotel for dinner and ended up meeting this couple from Illinois...an interesting couple...he flys celebrities around N. and S. America and she spent the entire meal practically planning the wedding between myself and their eldest son. I can't deny I was tempted...I mean it's tough to pass up your chance to meet J-Lo and Brad Pitt. :-) I woke up early sat. morning, had breakfast with an English group (one of whom was happy to inform me that he'd been to madison during his brief stint working illegally in Chicago cleaning houses...he's now a happily married father of two...these people were hilarious!) Then I bought a ticket, jumped on the ferry and rode over to Menaggio where I spent the day walking, catching up in my journal and reading...this may sound like the most boring of boring weekend excursions, but I needed some time to recharge and think and Lake Como on my own was the most enticing answer...so I guess just skip to the bottom if this gets to long;-) It's pretty crazy the people you can randomly run into...when I was getting off the ferry in Menaggion this man and his wife flagged me down (I was wearing my Wisc sweatshirt) and were really excited to tell me that they were from miilwaukee and had had four kids graduate from madison...they were proud badgers:-) Sunday I wanted to get back to Bologna kinda early but the trains only left every two hours from Varenna and I definitely missed the 10 o'clock. So since I had two hours, I bought a round-trip ticket and rode the ferry from Varenna to Bellagio and all around the lake..."molto tranquillo" as they say here. By this time though I was thoroughly full of alone time and was anxious to get back to the action...no one told me that when you travel by yourself you are REALLY by yourself...that sounds obvious but it took a little adjustment. :-) But I made it back to Bologna alive and well and was happy to hang out with two of the program girls and our sicilian neighbors the rest of the night! And my night was made fantastic by a call from Dad&Mom who were with all the girls in Drew's apartment!!!! That was awesome:-)
My project today is to figure out how to get all these pics online...really don't get too excited for them cause it's just building after building, countryside after countryside...but I don't know which site to use, so bear with me and hopefully they'll be up soon!!