We walk and enjoy the scenery but the temperature is dropping. We walked to ease the tension in our legs from the hike find gelatto and shop along the village to the train station back to the ostello.
The weather was beginning to turn dark and cloud the sky. Our train takes us back to genoa where we run into a deli to grab some bread and meat for an easy cheap dinner at the hostel. The girl there speaks only a little english but she also loves us since we are from california. She loves california men and loves americans. We talk fast and are funny. We tell her we love the men in italy and she says the following" oh the italian men they are just ok- here in genoa the men are kind of like the gay you know all pretty and fancy- they like their clothes. I like the albanians!! You want a good man try albanian!! I have! Much better than the italian men here. But..... In the south ....then italian!!" Well I guess that's one way to put it. So there we have it. Albanians in the north, italians in the south! italians and gay men like nice clothes as do I. I also have liked many of the italians we have meet along the way. I don't know if I have ever meet an albanian though. If they wore lables that state their place of birth I suppose I could confirm this with more athourity.
The rain was pouring and people were coming into the shop. We said good byes and grab our things and ran to the bus stop. Our bus came fast and we made it just in time to get off at our bus change stop for the rain to begin to pour. We stood under a covered ledge with the cover being minimal. Ok I guess cover is overstating- I should say the extended lip of the 3 story building we were hugging to stay dry provided the only bus stop shelter. Our bus did not come for about 30 minutes. By this point we were wet exhausted cold and desperate for a shower and bed. We dripped all over the bus and fled once we arrived at our stop.
Inside it was loud and noisy but warm. we arrived in our room to discover we had a new roomate. Another student traveling from paris and taking some day trips while she had the time. We chatted only briefly then not long after we're asleep before we knew it. The rain thundered through the night and created quite a light show.
I woke up at 5 as usual. So easy to be a morning person here I just don't know if its because I go to sleep by 11 but it is nice to wake up with the sun.
We pack again since we will have to eat and then hop the bus to make The first train out to get the lake como by afternoon. At breakfast I sit and eat while jess checks her email. On the hostel computer. Wifi here in italy is hit and miss.
I sit with my hard roll and butter and less than stellar machine made cappucino alone. as often happens in the hoistels people join you at your table. This time it was a cute italian who asked if he could join me. Sure! He appologized for his bad english and I for my no italiano but we muddled through. He was about 33 and studying in france but was roaming italy while his visa gets worked out. We taked jobs and life and where he traveled. Jess came and joined in and told me we must hurry to be ready for the bus. The italian tild me he's just trying to find his destiny. In italian its destino.
Ok I know but shannon can hit me over the head for my next faux pas....this is what I have grieved over for the last 2 days-- Why oh why did I not get his name or email. I regret not thinking about it so beat me up all you want. I know this was an error. But he could have also asked me for mine. I There was some kind of connection between us for sure. Jess glanced at her watch and said we had to run. We grabbed our bags and a quick goodbye as we ran for the bus. He shouted something in spanish I did not understand. I shouted ciao! And we were out the door. On the bus jess said she realised he shouted I lo ve you to me in spanish as we left.......
Oh my gosh have I just left my soul mate who already loves me in genoa??? Someone stop the bus!!!!
He loves me??? What??? Why oh why did I not remember to ask his email!!! Ooooooo regret was sweeping over me! Has zprincess lost a prince? Never again!! Sigh I rode the bus and train to como in silence. I was so stupid to forget to ask. - can only live with the thought that should we be destin to meet again than it will happen. I've email the hostel to ask their assistance in identifying him but there has been no reply. so use alll your powers of the secret to help me on this one!!! Will I find him again?? Who knows or was that just a perfect brief encounter where my charms (insert laughter here).... Where my charms win over one soul! Maybe my skills are just improving. Maybe the real soul mate is just around the bend.
Sigh. Hopefully como will hold new adventures and maybe george clooney is in town. That would make me smile.
Our train arrives in varenna a village along como.
Side note- from now on the use of the word village makes me think of my lost italian prince but more on that next entry-
The guide says varenna is the diamond of lake como Its here people flock to in the summer for vacay. We get off the train and head down the hill to the first easy to find hotel on our trip. This was the only stop which would be a real hotel not a hostal and we were looking forward to it.
Maybe our hopes for a nice hotel were too high. Hotel barretta (like the gun) is a meager establishment run by a grandma much like doris roberts from everybody love raymond. She hustled us up the stairs to pick between 2 rooms. One with a toilet and balcony and one with a toilet and shower--- we chose thew shower for 10 dollars more.. The balcony though cheaper was not if much use in the rain.
We dump our things in our noveau 70s style cramped room, at least the ceilings here are taller than I am.. We grab our coats and head out to explore. Once again the siesta time thwarts our shopping and dining plans. We find a place after a brisk 2 hr walk and sit for a bit. The food is good and we enjoy the cold water front view. As a new crowd comes in we are back on our way to the hotel. We get to the room and go over the things to see the next day and spend some hours watching italian tv.
Italian MTV to be exact. They have a mix of old and new and a mix of foreign and american. Oh and horribke shows like nexts have corrupted italy as well. We decide to grab some dinner after tv overload. After so much time without tv its a nice confort to have it back even if I can only understand small sections of it.
Its freezing cold outside and raining so our evening options are limited. As dinner rols around, we decided to stick to the hotel bar-restaurant. Italian grandma a la doris roberts seats us and asks would we like pizza or spagetti? We say a menu. Menus in hand jess orders pasta with peppers and sausage, I order the insalata the only thing listed on the menu containing veggies. OK proclaims italian grandma. About 10 minutes later jess gets a plate of spagetti noodles and I get a dish of shredded cabbage and lettuice. Nothing else on it. As I look up to say something, italian grandma nods to her daughter, the chef and says something. Curtly the daughter says oh you want tomatoes and tuna on it? Like regular? Uuummm Yes! I did not order it plain and that does not look like pasta with peppers. The feeling we get is; what italian grandma wants you to eat and what ever she has made for dinner that night is what yur eating. We eat and pay and head out for a hopefull gelatto to make it better. Sadly the gelatto shops are all closed. We head back to the hotel and hole up in our room and eat the digestivo cookies for dessert.
More tv, millionaire in italian is hard, and a shower and we sleep til dawn. After the less than stellar dinner we decide 6 euroe for breakfast with italian grandma is too much and grab our things and head to the ferry to belliagio cross the lake- also known as the pearl of lake como.
We get there by 9 and the town is just waking up. We find an open cafe and sit for coffee.. As the shops begin to open jess finds a pastery place and samples a croissant. She has decided this will be a carb tour of italy with all the pasta, gelatto bread and pasteries she's consumed along the way. I say its good we hike to exhaustion every chance we get so things will even out.
We walk the whole town and shop shop shop. Its the first place I felt I had time to look around. No 480 euro jacket or boots here but, fun things to look at. Following our guide book to a local deli we are advised they will make a sandwich and you can picnic in the park...and that's just what we do. The sandwich is wonderful and I even found a bagged salad to go with mine. I had to eat it with my fingers but it was a salad and I was desperate. The food we've eaten like this has all been so good maybe packing a lunch during the week will be a good thing. Be ready girls!! Sack lunch time is just a few days away!!!
So we eat and shop and jess has a second gelatto of the day. We are enjoying como and have exhausted our shopping options and decide to go back to varenna. There's a castle we can hike to and that sounds like a good way to spend the afternoon. We drop our non esentials at the hotel and look for the unmarked path to the castle high above. Its a steep hike on rock and pebble steps almost 1 1/2 miles upwards.
Ok here we go again on a "nice stroll" that becomes a grueling sweat fest!
I'll start the next blog with my new found castle......... Maybe i'll check if its for sale!! I could be neighbors with george clooney!!
Ciao!!
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