Varenna, Italy

... of Lake Como.  We are staying in an orphanage turned monastery turned hotel (Eremo Gaudio) perched several hundred feet above Varenna and accessible only by two very strange funiculars.  The furnishings are Spartan, but in my mind this is only to ...

... Prior to coming to Italy we signed up for a short cooking class with a local chef in Perledo (the mountain town overlooking Varenna).  Chef Moreno picks up his students in Varenna square and takes them on a harrowing 15 minute drive up the mountain to ...

... had enough nutella packets and croissants to last the weekend...Dad, you would've been proud!!) We set off to look around Varenna and were wandering down all these different roads...It's really cool, because all of a sudden you'll just see narrow steps ...

... with the shadows of the mountains framing the still lake waters.  A waterfront path provides a scenic walk along the Varenna waterfront and ended at a playground much to the giddiness of Neyoli.  It's funny how kids like the ordinary things ...