D27 – GOODBYE BRIANÇON, HELLO LAKE COMO

We awoke the next morning ready to start the long climb out of Briançon toward Lake Como in Italy.   We had been staying at the Hotel de la Chaussee, nestled in the heart of this city. Two small rivers created a crevasse and the town clings to the sides of it. Everything is on a cant with little to no level ground.  The mountains loom impressively overhead and must be spectacular when covered with snow.

Our hotel room was comfortable with a decor that strongly hints of the mountains and hunting, perhaps a reason for the name, “Chaussee.” It means “The Hunt” in French, or so I thought. I couldn’t have been more off base as explained by the matronly lady at the desk.  “You’re confused with Chasse, to hunt and Chasseur, a shoemaker,” she explained.  “The name of our hotel comes from the name of the street we’re on, Rue de Chaussee, and nothing more.” A quick look in Google states that Chaussee means  “roadway, pavement, carriageway or causeway.” So much for my basic French.

The hotel is family owned.  “Same family for five generations,” she said. “We love this business.”  The lobby serves, alternately, as a place to check in and as a lounging spot for a bunch of old guys who get together to drink coffee and chew the fat.  The room was full until I pulled out my camera. It cleared so fast you might have thought I’d drawn a knife and started shouting Isis slogans.

Breakfast was the fare we’ve become accustomed to in a pleasant, almost empty dining room.  “This is off-season,” declared the desk lady.  “During ski season we are full to the top every day”.

I was able to boil my own egg but found that a five-minute egg cooks much more slowly at 5,000 feet than at sea level.  Seven minutes gets you perfection.

We left Briançon, once again heading for the Col de Montgenèvre

via a network of switchback and hairpin curves that tested both car and driver. We both survived and really enjoyed it…at least Ray did as it gave him a chance to wring the car out on tight turns.

We reached the junction, made a smart right turn and within minutes were in Italy…once again without muss, fuss or even a sign. How times have changed. We had reset Schatzie to accept toll roads and a good thing. The autostradas are the only way to cover ground in Italy. Otherwise you’re stuck on small roads through numerous small towns. What tickles me is, when you’ve paid your toll, the machine says “Arrivaderchi” as the gate is raised.

 Varenna is easy to get to but a little more complicated when on surface streets. The GPS was as confused as we were.

It is a charming town sited on Lake Como. I don’t think it is known for anything except for being on a picturesque lake.  These boats are in constant use.

A ferry arrives several times an hour carrying cars from Bellagio, on the point of a peninsula, and from other lakeside towns.

We were booked at Hotel Olivedo, another Rick Steve recommendation. The ferries arrive and depart from just across the street. They provide a mild form of entertainment when you tire of looking at the view.

The lady running the front desk was friendly but businesslike. She said, “Your room has no view.” When I asked about an upgrade she replied, “All the view rooms are booked up. You’ll have to stay with the special rate room you booked.” We rationalized that we weren’t at Lake Como to spend time in our room anyway, so we took it.

Once again we found ourselves in a “garret” type room that must have been for the staff. It was one floor above the elevator and required hefting our bags up a steep staircase. The arrow pointing to that little oval window shows exactly where we were

There was a view after all, but you had to work for it.   I got the upper window and Louise the oval one. Needless to say, we didn’t spend much time capitalizing on our creativity by staying in the room.

 First things first. We stopped for a carafe of wine at the restaurant across from the ferry and planned our day.

To help with area orientation, the city has placed a weather proof map on the floating dock. Naturally, Varenna is in bold, red type.

Also highly visible is the location of George Clooney’s estate across the lake in Laglio. We didn’t bother to see if he was in residence.

The center of Varenna was a short five-minute walk around the base of the cliffs and presented plenty of chances to click away with a camera.

Steep stairways are everywhere throughout the town. Don’t know where they go but always a good photo op.

So are things like this trellis that hangs off the face of a cliff.

As with most of these towns, the scenery is the draw and after that there’s nothing much but shopping and eating. No shortage of that in Varenna.

It was just a short hike back to the hotel and the secure parking lot where the Audi spent the night (with a better view than we had, incidentally.)

We spent some time driving around the adjoining villages, stopping only to see if the weather was getting any sunnier.

Unfortunately, we were there on a day when it wasn’t just cloudy…it was downright gloomy. We’re sure you can see the potential here, but it gives us an excuse to plan a return trip.  Perhaps the sun will be here too.

For now it is, arrivaderchi Como. We’re on the way to Venice.

Louise and Ray