Day 4 Varenna

Varenna is an hour's journey by train from Milan through picturesque countryside. It is a quaint little town on Lake Como.
We were met by the warmest Nona called Tosca at Tosca b&b then had a romantic lunch alfresco at the Varenna Cafe. The scenery is breathtaking.
We then hiked up to the Castello to work off the lunch.

Musings on Milan

Many have commented, even criticised Milan for being plain, drab or even dull. Although seen to be the glamour capital of Italy, the actual city has often paled to Florence, Venice and Rome.

When we arrived in Milan, our first stop in Italy, we were wary from the warnings of a dirty, boring, plain, drab city where people are arrogant and discourteous. What we experienced was the exact opposite. There was an abundance of graffiti, but the paths were clean. Despite the many dogs, there was a delightful lack of their poops. The buildings around Sant Ambrogio where our accommodation had plain facades, but many hid beautiful gardens, like 7 Via Cappuccio. The churches may seem non descript and boring on the exterior, but hid frescoes and art that would stand proud in any major gallery. The guide from our walking tour told us that Milan is a great example of never judging a book by it's cover. To see Milan, one needs curiosity to peer behind the drab walls, have the imagination to picture the treasurers behind a heavily graffitied building, and smile at the people around.

The people of Milan are gracious and kind and warm. The waiters happily indulge our questions and translate the menu, the doorman happily led us into a private garden and left us to enjoy it for as long as we wanted. People waited by patiently whilst I took a photo before continuing on their journey, and noone growled at me for bumping into them when not keeping right, or just walking and looking at everything else but where I'm going. For all their indulgence of an awestruck and clumsy traveller, for all their hidden beauty and treasures, and for the wondrous Duomo that drips upside down, we say that Milan is marvelous. Thank you Marvelous Milan.Read more