Varenna & Lake Como

day 5 – giorno cinque

Today was so great!

We had a continental breakfast and finally had a real cappuccino at the hotel and then caught the 1030 boat over to Villa Carlotta, as recommended by Sarah. We were going to go to Villa Balbainello but when we said we were really looking forward to the gardens she said Carlotta was much more expansive. And we were so happy with that choice. The house was beautiful as well and had a relatively small art exhibit.

We arrived at the villa around 11 and were enjoying ourselves so much, we had to rush to catch the 1450 boat over to Bellagio. The gardens had a surprising number of plants that we have at home; rhodies, azaleas, incense cedars, acuba japonica, bamboo, etc. Of course the environment here with the warmer temperatures probably makes them grow a bit faster. Mom and I had a proud moment however when we spotted their Dawn redwood… It looked pathetic compared to our amazing one at home. The grounds also had a feature similar to our drainage ditch so we got many ideas. The rock work everywhere is so inspiring, if only we had more at our disposal at home! There was also an olive orchard that was being revived on the grounds and provided a beautiful panoramic view of the lake.

From the villa we hopped back on the boat and headed over to Bellagio, a town that made it’s wealth from producing high quality silk. It was similar to Varenna but ten times as busy. We wandered around and poked our heads in a few shops but didn’t find anything we had to have. It reminded us a little of Friday Harbor on the weekend. We were over dealing with crowds so we found a gelateria and took the next boat back across to Varenna.

We had about an hour before meeting the group for happy hour so we hung out in the room, did a little blogging and before we knew it it was time to go. We all met up in a bar a few doors down from the hotel and had a glass of wine and little munchies courtesy of Rick (aka included in the tour price).

For dinner tonight we went to Ferruccio Castelli’s house, a world renowned, award winning chef and friend of Sarah’s. Talk about a special treat you can’t quite buy! Everyone in the group went so they had to move their living room furniture against the wall and pull out extra tables and chairs. To be expected, but he was obviously passionate about food. Appetizers came first: cooked garden veggies with a bit of cured meat, a bit of what they call Russian salad (potato salad), and a caprese skewer. So delicious right off the bat. Then came the pasta dish: freshly made buckwheat pasta with lots of parmesan. Definitely a comfort food for the cooler months of the year. Next came Ferruccio’s take on sushi and a bit of polenta. And finally, a beautiful fruit dessert. Plus all the wine we could want.

After we’d eaten the buckwheat pasta, Ferruccio did a demonstration of how to make the pasta and of course he made it look so easy! It’s a very simple recipe, maybe we’ll attempt to recreate it at home sometime. Before the meal was over, Ferruccio brought out the digestivi, basically special hard alcohols that are intended to help you digest a large meal. They are not meant to be drunk in large quantities and I don’t think anyone would (or should) want to. Ferruccio had homemade limoncello, homemade herbal/spiced, and grappa. I could guess how the limoncello would taste and Tara likened the grappa to gasoline, so I went with the spiced one and thought it was quite tasty. Mom had the limoncello. Norm, who doesn’t usually drink, got the grappa! He couldn’t stand any more than a tiny sip so I tried a tiny bit too… It was quite unpleasant. And the taste lingered in my sinuses all the way back to the hotel! Apparently grappa is made from all the leftover bits after wine is made.

Such a lovely lovely delicious dinner. Ferruccio, his wife, and family were so welcoming and friendly. We thanked them profusely and had a very nice stroll along the lake on our way back to the hotel.

Moving day tomorrow so got to get all packed up tonight!