Saturday, 10 May

Bellano - Colico 

Weather - 9 - 16c - Sunny 

This was our last full day staying in Bellano as we return to Milan tomorrow to stay at an airport hotel before flying to Zagreb on Monday morning.

We left our apartment at 8.30am and returned to our favourite cafe to indulge in Crema Croissants with their custard fillings. 

Our intention was to catch the 9.40am rapid hydrofoil to Colico, the largest town in the northern part of Lake Como and have lunch there. It didn’t work out quite as planned. It was also our first full sunny day and the shores of the lake looked brilliant.

Whilst waiting for the ferry we spotted a market being set up along the esplanade. It was an ideal morning for it.

After being sold three tickets to Colico we learned that the reason the ferry hadn’t arrived was due to a mechanical problem, “It’s broken!”, so we received a refund. We then walked to the train station to take the train to Colico. At the railway station’s Cafe Stazione where we purchased the tickets we also bought the tickets for tomorrow’s return trip to Milan and also to the airport. We’re nothing but prepared!

The trains were not running to schedule today and we caught the 9.30am train at 10.15am to Colico arriving at 10.30am. The train was quite full and we sat down beside a window with graffiti on the outside which went half way up the side of the window. It did block our view somewhat of the lake!

Once we arrived at Colico we headed for the lake’s shoreline, a short distance from the railway station. 

There was quite a chill in the air and we could see the snow-covered, very tall Mt Legone in the distance and the surrounding mountains. Over the mountains is Switzerland. During WWII, Resistance fighters were able to provide access to escape routes over the alps for Allied soldiers and civilians. It looked treacherous.

We had morning tea on the esplanade and indulged in another croissant, pistachio flavour this time and coffee. Is this the look of guilt?

After walking through the town we decided to return to Bellano for lunch as we thought it to be a better looking town with more choice. There was quite a bit of noisy traffic in Colico as well. 

Trying to buy the train tickets was a challenge. The ticket machine outside the station wasn’t working so we went to the railway ticket office and she said her machine wasn’t working either. We then headed for the station bar and his machine, thankfully, was working. We didn’t want to get onto the train without a validated ticket as heavy fines are given. It turned out we did the right thing as there was an inspector on the train checking all the tickets. 

After purchasing the tickets we had to wait 45mins for the train as it was running late. We took up a conversation with an English couple about the same age as us from Lincoln, UK who were staying five nights in a 20 room hotel in Colico. They asked if we had ever seen “Fawlty Towers”. We replied yes and they said it was far worse. They told the funniest stories and had us laughing. 

After the short train journey returning to Bellano we headed to the esplanade to find a cafe/restaurant for lunch. We found a great one called “Truth” in a narrow alley leading onto the esplanade. It was popular and served local produce. I had trout which was delicious. 

We liked the sign on their blackboard outside the restaurant. We also are enjoying the long lunches. 

Unfortunately, the restaurant eftpos system wasn’t working so we had to muster up the cash. Henk wanted to give a tip and Brian suggested the Italian word. Thankfully Brian looked up the word and it meant ‘beating’ so Henk was going to offer the waitress a beating instead of a tip! We did go a bit hysterical on learning that! Henk did use the correct word of “mancia”. 

When we returned to our apartment it was mid afternoon and “the boys” had a rest as I started this blog post. They then went off to the laundromat with a load of washing and I had a wee nap. They also went to the local grocery store to buy our now standard fare for dinner of local cheeses, meats, breads etc. Having the large meal in the middle of the day is enough for us.

After an enjoyable day of “nothing worked or lined up” and we went with the flow, the evening was a perfect one with the sun shining on the water. As we ate dinner we saw the fast moving hydrofoil crossing the lake and Brian guessed it was our 9.40am ferry!