Wednesday, 7 May

Bellano, Lake Como

Weather: Overcast, rainy patches. Max 17

We all slept well and woke up refreshed and not surprisingy hungry. I was the first up at about five o’clock and enjoyed the silence watching the first light over a very still Lake Como. It was to be the most peaceful couple of hours of the day on the lake as the weather deteriorated to patchy showers and the water became choppy.

We set out at eight o’clock in the cool morning to cross the road to the busy local cafe for breakfast at the railway station. It was filled with locals, mostly men, clustered around the bar, enjoying their coffee and each other’s company. We opted to take a seat for breakfast and had cappuccinos and wonderful pastries. The atmosphere combined with the standard bar breakfast and the buzz of the cafe made us really feel like we were in Italy. 

Prior to breakfast I received an email from the publishing editor for my novel, “Anna’s War”, and I gladly accepted her offer to do a final proofread of the book prior to it going to the printer. I knew this would be an all-day job so before settling into it, we set out from the cafe to tour the small town of Bellano. There were on and off showers as we walked along the narrow cobbled pavements to the town’s esplanade beside the lake. The showers didn’t dampen our enthusiasm and Bellano’s colourful buildings were looking picturesque nestled in the vallery, even in the rain.

Before returning to the apartment we found a local grocery store to buy basic provisions for the five days at Bellano. We loved walking around the store seeing all the different stock and trying to decipher the Italian. Brian’s Italian which he is learning on Duolingo is coming in handy and I’m finding many similiar words to Spanish. I loved  little egg cartons containing only two eggs and the shop windows look terrific with their different arrangements. 

We headed back to the apartment with our groceries and at ten o’clock I started proofreading. It was exciting to see the typeset version of the book as it is now looking like a “real” book. As always, I read out loud when I proofread and I was soon joined by Brian who stayed with me all day listening to the story and taking notes for me. Henk joined us when the tension in the story started to rise. We had a quick lunch of local bread, cheese and salami for lunch and another break in the afternoon. I had a nap and Brian and Henk went for a walk to the far end of town climbing up a path to overlook Bellano. They left the longer gorge walk for another day so I could join them.

At seven o’clock I finished proofreading the 224 pages and sent a final email to the publisher. We set off to find a low-key restaurant to relax. The backstreet restaurant we chose was only serving pizza on a Wednesday and that suited us. We each ordered a different pizza after translating the names of the different ingredients. Brian and I ordered a half litre of the house red wine and honest to God it was the worst wine I have ever tasted. I felt like was drinking from a garage diesel pump! Brian persevered and bravely drank one glass. The pizzas were delicious. We came home and had a glass of red from the bottle of red from the Montepulciano region that we had bought at the supermarket. So much better!

In the corner of the restaurant was a large screen with the coverage of the Papal Conclave. We know this will dominate Italian television until a new Pope is elected. We were home by 8.30pm passing the beautiful railway station built in the late 1800’s. 

It looks like better weather for tomorrow morning so we’ll make hay while the sun shines.