Just One of Those Days!

I've travelled enough to know that things don't always go smoothly and yesterday (Wednesday) was just one of those days!  The weather was simply miserable for our last morning in Malcesine.  It was bucketing down rain.  When we went down to the ground floor for breakfast - something that had been a real pleasure for our stay here - there was a guy playing a violin over a sound system.  I don't know a lot about violins but I know enough about music to know when notes are off-key - and many of his were so not only was it way too loud but it was hard on the ear as well.  Even when we moved to the cooler terrace, we had no relief from the racket!  We checked out of the hotel - and were very sorry to say good bye to it - and got on the road in the teeming rain.  

The drive south along the Lago di Garda wasn't too bad.  It was when our route took us a bit away from the lake toward Breschia and, later Bergamo, when things really slowed down.  At times, the traffic was completely backed up (no idea why) and, for over 1/2 hour, it barely moved.  Needless to say, that added to our driving time.  Finally, we reached the town of Lecco on Lago Como and started the drive north along one arm of the lake to Bellagio.  Now, I have driven some very challenging roads, including the Amalfi Coast, the road Monterosso al Mare on the Cinque Terre, one track lanes in Devon and Cornwall, the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, and narrow, foggy mountain passes in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, for example. I can honestly say they were nothing compared to the harrowing drive into Bellagio.  The road is very narrow and winding creating very reduced visibility, actually zero, for oncoming vehicles.  At times, I am sure there was less than a foot between our car and the oncoming one.  There was also the challenge of moving over enough to let a camper or large truck go by without scraping the barrier between the road and the long drop down to the lake.  By the time we reached Bellagio, I was exhausted.  However, the challenges of the day were nowhere near done!

We already knew our hotel was a bit outside the centre and up a hill.  We also knew that, rather than staying in the main building, we would be staying in an annex.  However, it turned out it was 1/2 a kilometer from the hotel - up a hill with no sidewalk!  Further, the hotel restaurant was closed so our only option was to go down into the town to eat.  I wasn't too happy about the idea of walking down a big hill into town on a narrow road with no sidewalk and speeding Italian drivers.  We did return to the hotel to have the "welcome drink" they'd offerd us and we managed to get a bus directly across the street from the hotel - and, because the driver didn't have any tickets, he let us ride for free.  That was one positive about the day.  Once we arrived at the lake shore even though it was cool and cloudy, the location of the town is still stunning as are the surrounding mountains.

We checked out a few restaurants for dinner and were struck by the prices - almost double what they were on Lago di Garda.  Guess I'd forgotten how this area was more exclusive or had "jet set" ambiance - and that was even long before Mr. Clooney moved to his villa south of here closer to the town of Como.  We settled on Ristorante Suisse for our dinner and, while quite expensive, the dinner was easily the best I've had while I've been away.  I had a Martini Rosso to start, chicken in a tarragon sauce and a three glasses of Pinto Grigio with dinner (I deserved them after being so shattered by that drive!), and a lavender creme brulee for dessert.  It was all exceptional and well worth the 80 euros (about $120).  I see a few pizzas in my future to make up for that expense!

The guy at the hotel reception had warned us that getting taxis during the day would be difficult but, in the evening, taxis were available.  There was no way we were going to be able to walk up that hill in the dark with no sidewalk, poor lighting, and busy traffic so we knew we'd need one, particularly as the buses quit running at 8 pm.  So, our next challenge after dinner was to find a taxi.  We knew where the taxi stand was, so we went there.  Shortly after we arrived a taxi pulled up - great!  Well, not so much.  The driver told us he was going for something to eat and wouldn't be back for a while.  Really!!  Eating was more important than earning about 20 euros for a less than 10 minutes drive to take us where we needed to go!!!!  We were not impressed.  When we'd started waiting there, a couple had pulled up in a beat-up VW and we'd asked them if there were other taxis.  They said probably not and we offered them money (10 euros just to drive us up the hill).  They said they were going for a snack, cigarettes and a drink.  However, about 3/4 hour later when they returned and saw us still waiting there, they told us to get in the car and they'd drive us.  They still refused the money we offered them.  So, in one of the presumably most posh places Italy, we had to rely on the kindness of a couple of young strangers to help us out.  As we drove out of the square, we saw the taxi driver finally coming out of the restaurant.  His loss!!  Oh, and we hear it is going to be raining tomorrow.  Such is travel sometimes; not all goes quite to plan.  What do they say about lemons and making lemonade??  The really good news is that we can take a car ferry to Varenna when we leave so we won't have to do that drive again!