Blogs from Varenna, Lombardy, Italy, Europe

Lake Como is about as famous as the celebrities who have frequented it over the years; Madonna, Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Branson, Gianni Versace and even Leonardo da Vinci are among the illustrious names to have holidayed in this idyllic neck of the woods. Perhaps most er, famously, George Clooney - amongst many other luminaries - has a lakeside property here. Littered with lavish and opulent villas built by aristocrats and wealthy Milanese merchants over the years, Lake Como has been known as a glamorous getaway destination for the well-heeled and privileged since the times of Ancient Rome. A place that has been attracting big names for this long must have something about it and it's this mythical air of the debonair, that has always intrigued me about visiting the place one day. Well, that day has ... read more

Lake Como is lovely and the scenery is magnificent, but there is not a lot to do here. The chief activities are hiking and riding the ferries around the lake. I opted to try the latter today and enjoyed seeing some of the elegant waterfront properties. I understand that filmmakers like to use this area, but I didn't see anything that looked familiar. I took a number of pictures, but rather than try to label them, I'll just show a few of them to you so you get an idea of what the lake is like.... read more

Geo: 46.01, 9.28369Today we took a "day trip" into the foot of the Italian/Swiss alps. Our train ride was just an hour long, but transported us into a different world. The temperature was a moderate 70 degrees. From the train station, we walked down a curvy road and onto a promenade walk along Lake Como that led us to the center of the town of Varenna (population 800). We were greeted with a light rain that became a heavier rain, but that subsided by the time we finished a lunch of pasta, sandwiches, and salad. The rain was actually refreshing as it was the first we've seen on the trip. Today was also, by far, the coolest day of our trip as we have endured many 90 degree plus days.The most amazing part of our day ... read more

Ciao a tutti! I've been WWOOFing in Perledo which is on the East shore of Lake Como (yes, where George Clooney has a house), above Varenna. It's incredibly beautiful, as you can see. This farm is much like my favorite in Rivalta in that they grow fruits, vegetables, and has chickens for eggs which they sell at markets. However, they also make honey and olive oil, only sell at the local market, and the land and family are quite different from what I'm used to. This area is ancient. Really, really old. So old that Gigi can't even tell me how old. And everything here is ancient: the houses, the paths, the land, the trees, and many people. You can't even drive to the house. In a city it might be called dirty and decaying, but ... read more

From the train we got our first view of Varenna ... read more