Lenno and Varenna

We woke up this morning to a beautiful day. The market was in Lenno today so we decided to walk down to it. We found our way down on back roads and narrow streets. It was about a mile and quite a pleasant walk. We stopped at the farmacia to get some relief for Denis's back ache and then proceeded to the outdoor market. We had planned to walk out to the point where the Villa Balbianello is located but after seeing how far up we were going to have to go before we came down to the villa, we changed our plans. We decided to get the ferry in Lenno and go to Varenna for lunch, sightseeing and visiting Villa Monastero. Gene and I have been to Varenna many times, but Denis hadn't seen it. It is a beautiful place and we like going there. We had a nice lunch, walked around a bit, went to the Villa and caught the ferry back to Lenno, about a 35 minute ride with several stops. On the boat the people sitting in front of us who were from New Jersey initiated conversation about John McCain after asking Gene where he was from. It was soon established that they were raving Republicans who agreed with everything Gene holds dear. Poor Denis had to listen to them insult BO, San Francisco and anything else they could think of. Typical east coasters. Gene just had a big smile on his face as if to say, oh well. We arrived in Lenno and Gene offered to walk back to the house and get the car and Denis and I would walk to the supermarket in Mezzegra. Denis's back was bothering him quite a bit. Gene said he would probably beat us to the supermarket. He had about a mile to walk up to the house. We had about a half mile to the market on the flat. Denis and I made it to the market, did some shopping and proceeded to wait for Gene. Almost a half hour goes by, no Gene. Denis and I are trying to figure out how we can get into the house if Gene never shows up as he has the keys. Finally Gene arrives. He got lost walking back to the house and went about a mile out of the way uphill before he realized he was really lost. After asking several people for directions he finally made it to house, got the car and came and picked us up. No time for naps today. We had dinner on the terrace this evening and we'll probably be in bed early tonight.

Ciao,

Joan


The market in Lenno




Walking to Lenno




Dinner on the terrace




Villa Monastero




A sign on the ferry




Looking back at Lenno




Looking back at Lenno