Tiarra left for the U.S. this morning, Kelli left for Rome yesterday by train so it is just Gene, Denis and I. I should mention that Tiarra brought us some much desired wash cloths. None were provided here and I couldn't find any in Bellano or any where else so she came to my rescue. She also brought some measuring cups and spoons.
We had a busy week. When Tiarra and Kelly went to Venice on Monday, Gene, Denis and I drove to St. Moritz in Switzerland. We left Bellano in the pouring rain which continued the whole ride. Gene had said the trip would take a little over an hour. More than 2 hours later we were there. It was a beautiful ride through the Alps and we saw many waterfalls. It was raining so hard in St. Moritz that we just ate lunch there, then turned around and went back to Bellano. On Wednesday we (all 5 of us) took the ferry to Menaggio where we walked around then took a ferry to Bellagio. We had lunch there (Pizza as usual. I didn't think I could get tired of pizza but I am.) and spent several hours wandering around. On Thursday we walked down to Bellano for the market, purchased a few things and walked back up the hills for lunch. That evening we drove to Lierna (about 15K) for dinner at Sottovento, a restaurant recommended by our landlords. The setting was beautiful overlooking the lake and the food was pretty good. This was our first dinner in the leisurely Italian style. We were there for almost 3 hours. At the various restaurants in Bellano service has been much swifter. We have a favorite called Orrido(waterfall in Italian) which serves rustic Italian food. We have also been regulars at a local pizzeria. They know us now and last time gave us a complimentary limoncello at the end of the meal. On Friday, 4 of us minus Kelli took the Rapido to Como. We had lunch there(pizza, what else?) and spent some time shopping. Como is know for its silk so we all purchased several silk scarves. The weather was beautiful as it has been for most of our stay at Lake Como. We took the Rapido back to Bellano but discovered when we boarded that we had only purchased one way tickets. The ticket collector reluctantly sold us the return portion and we were on our way.
Today I slept in. Gene got up early to take Tiarra to Milan to the airport and Denis was up very early following the Dodger game on his computer. Gene and Denis decided to walk into Dervio and I chose to stay home and putter around. An hour or so later I got a call to come and pick them up in Dervio. They didn't want to walk back. I picked them up after driving for the first time since we have been here. I was dreading meeting a truck on the road because I didn't want to back up. Luckily I didn't have to although I had a girl on a motorscooter on my tail the entire way down. They just don't follow closely. They seem to be inches from your bumper. We had lunch and now Denis and Gene are taking long siestas.
We plan to leave tomorrow for Zermatt, Switzerland and spend the night there. Denis leaves on Wednesday so Gene and I will be alone for a few days. We have enjoyed all our guests and I hope we will not be too bored with some quiet.
