Third day in Italy

Thursday was our first real taste of italy day as we were heading off for a cooking class to learn how to make our own pasta and sauce from an Italian chef. We were left Bellagio again via ferry and this time we went to another picturesque town, Varenna which is about a 15-20 minute ferry ride. The town is the most beautiful lakeside town because the town is bursting with flowers and the layout of the homes and stores has perfect colors and textures of stone. There are less hotel signs and tour souvenir shops. From the moment the ferry lands, you walk through a fairytale land. There is less hotel signs and stores than Bellagio. We arrived at the town square to find that our chef for our cooking class was involved in an accident so we were not able to have our cooking class. But we made the best of it. The local café barista was our informative guide. He shared the ins and outs of Varenna.
After the best cup of cappuccino, we attended Mass at the local cathedral which is something that Isaac wanted to do. Isaac-There is special meaning for me to be able to worship with such ceremony and tradition. Even though I don’t speak Italian or Latin, it was a spiritual experience for me. Grace even participated in the Eucharist, she was more appropriately dressed than Isaac who was in his usual (shorts and chacos). Grace-I tried to use my hands and the priest moved his hand in my mouth. This was an interesting experience. The bread tasted like watered down glue stick. The cathedral had a beautiful bell tower and clock. Adjacent to the cathedral had a really cool sundial.
After Mass we took a short walk over to Villa Montesario and gardens. This garden looked amazing against the turquoise waters of the lake. Grace really enjoyed the view of Villa Cipressi from Villa Montesario and also there was so much green ivy that made everything looked luxurious. There was a civic engineering conference at the villa when we were visiting. What a place to have a conference! We ate lunch at a delightful waterfront crepe café, Nilus Bar, (recommended in Rick Steve’s Italy 2008) that had wonderful view of the lake. The nutella banana crepe was absolutely delicious.
After resting about half an hour in Bellagio, we left on ferry to the reason why Grace wanted to visit Lake Como. Villa Balbinello in Lenno is where star wars and james bond were shot. From Lenno, we paid more money 12 eu for a 5 min. water taxi to the villa. The villa’s entrance had a beautiful black iron gate with lots of ivy. We had a tour of the villa inside where the last resident was the 1st Italian to explore the north pole and mt. everest. Though it rained this afternoon, it was so romantic to set eyes on this villa. The outiside of this building really is something, my dream house!
For dinner, we had Trattoria San Giacomo, for local fresh fish, pasta, caprese, and the best tiramisu.