Varenna

I ended up in Varenna by chance. Just hours before my flight from Shanghai to Milan, my hotel reservation in Bellagio was inexplicably canceled. And not to belabor the story, I was left scrambling for a replacement. I found a suitable option in Varenna. Hey, if Varenna was good enough for Rick Steves, it’d be good enough for me, no doubt.

This is what Bob Ross might call a “happy accident.” Varenna is a beautiful village, surpassing, in my estimation, even Bellagio in northern Italian charm. Varenna is similarly nestled on a cliff side and features dramatic narrow stairways and corridors like Bellagio. But its waterfront, with its many cafes right upon the lake, is vastly superior in my opinion. I could spend endless hours here just nursing an espresso and watching the boats drift by. And I plan to.