10 things to do around Menaggio. Part 3. Sightsee in the rain.

3.  Go sightseeing on the Lake in the rain.

On our first day in Menaggio we ventured out on the ferry on not the best day to see the Lake. The first exercise was to miss several ferry rides in a row.. We had read the timetable, and cleverly managed to arrive at the ferry terminal just after the ferry had left. This wasn't disappointing enough for us, so we visited the closed supermarket in between our empty ferry terminal visits. After an hour or so of this, we were bored so we made for Varenna. We thought it might be good to spend an hour or two in the open in pouring rain, with scarcely adequate rain protection. 

Even this duck looked cold

By wet way...

Sundial won't work today

 Actually, we did manage to visit the exotic garden of Hotel Cipressi which had a distinct Japanese influence; an eclectic mix of plants from various regions, including some wonderful bay leaf trees which we harvested clean. We had become quite hungry by the time we got to the herb garden, so anyone looking out from within the hotel would have seen five tourists foraging and grazing on basil, lemon verbena and rosemary. This didn't quite fill the void, so we revisited a small market and bought fruit, vegetables and cheese and tomatoes.

We caught a relatively
dry patch to tour Hotel Cipressi's garden.

Spirits undaunted

Sheltering from what had now become Cyclone Clooney we resolved to board a ferry as soon as possible.

Spirits becoming daunted

Beautiful Bellagio!

Spirits Daunted

Cyclone Clooney hits with full force

We waited in the pouring rain, entertained by forked lightning on the lake in front of us and booming thunderclaps. What had started the day as mild intrigue with the ferry timetable, had now become a fully fledged obsession and we were soon reciting the stops and scheduled departure times in a ritualistic chant. The weather worsened as we failed to find coffee, and we eventually resigned ourselves to a viewless tour of some lakeside towns.

At Villa Carlotta we spurned the high prices of entry and found ourselves a streetside bar with good coffee, alcohol and pastries. It was now like winter and the locals were desperately touting for custom. We ate, drank and made merry, awaiting our ferry, becoming cold (very). By the time we made it back to Menaggio, Cyclone Clooney had hit with vengeance and even the ducks had taken shelter.

I was cold and wet by the time we got back to our apartment, which was such a nice feeling. Lis and Marika cooked up a storm to rival the one lashing our windows. There was a brief respite (I think it was the eye of the storm) when 3 patches of sunlight lit up the opposite side of the lake and God chose the church of Verrana to illuminate.

What a view!