After walking along the lakefront and visiting Tempio Voltiano, I walked around Como, admiring the old fortification, the buildings, churches, and shops. I also stepped into the basilica for a quick look.
After some wandering around, I crossed the train tracks and found myself on the wrong side of the tracks - literally not figuratively. This side of the tracks was pretty much for locals, and, to make matters worse, I committed an amateur mistake and walked the wrong direction for almost a kilometer, which was pretty boneheaded considering I had a honking huge mountain and a honking huge basilica tower to orientate me. I cursed my stupidity and retraced my steps, and en route I chanced upon a little trattoria - Ristorante Da Rosa - and I decided to dine there because there were lots of locals inside and no menu displayed outside. What a find this was. The owner presented me with a handwritten menu of the lunch specials, which included a pasta course and a second course for - get this - €12! Everybody around me was speaking Italian. It was simple rustic fare, but the experience was priceless , and it reminded me of my 1990s trips to Rome where my Singapore Airlines counterpart took me to restaurants where he had cultivated a relationship with the owners.
After lunch, I made my way to the train station and bought my ticket back to Milan. I tried to ask for a refund on my Varenna to Milan ticket which I had prepurchased online, but the staff there could not authorize it. Ah well, it wasn’t a pricey ticket at €7.20, and the weather was certainly not under their control. Despite the weather not cooperating, I still had an enjoyable and educational day out, and the local lunch experience in particular made for a great experience.Read more
March 27 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C