The day we arrived was rainy, foggy, and cloudy, so much so that I never saw the other side of the lake, let alone the mountains. There were some indications that we had made a couple of strategic errors in our planning. We knew it was off-season, but we had not realized that meant the inter-village ferry ran on a much reduced schedule. Como is a long, skinny glacial lake, with a series of very to only somewhat small towns every five kilometers or so around the shore. There are buses that run up both sides of the lake, but to get to the other side of the lake by bus would have required several transfers. Our rather odd Liverpudlian bed and breakfast host gave us a ferry schedule and helped us read it, only to then announce that the first ferry out of town the next day didn't leave until after noon. Since we only had one day to explore, and the ferry was our best form of transportation, we were concerned.
We went into town and had a perfectly tasty lunch, and then, armed with our ferry schedule, we tried to go to another town via ferry. We figured if we were going to go anywhere, we should do it then. We went to the boat launch and waited. And waited. No sign of the ferry. By this point the fog had lifted and we could see most of the lake: no sign of the ferry. Eventually, we gave up and just relaxed in the B&B.
(not my photo)
Fortunately for us, we found our way to La Piazetta in Argegno (that's the town we were staying in) for dinner. From the menu, it looked like a typical, casual Italian place -- pastas, pizzas, some more expensive secondi. But, from the second we were seated in the upstairs dining room, we knew we were in for at least something different. The waiter was very formal, as were the table settings. The (turns out only apparently complimentary) prosecco was excellent. When we asked his recommendation for an appetizer, he suggested we go off menu and try a sturgeon pate and cold smoked salmon combination plate. I'm so glad we did. That sturgeon pate was exceptional -- so creamy and rich, with all the sweetness of the fish but no fishiness. Even Jeremy liked it. The cold smoked salmon was also unusual, in that it had the texture of lox, but a good deal of real smoke taste. That they served this with fresh wasabi was also unexpected, especially in Italy!Our pasta dishes were refined comfort food. I had a leek and pancetta chitarra; Jeremy had a ravioli filled with fresh farm cheese and served with browned butter and balsamic. Both were well balanced, well seasoned, and both featured perfectly chewy handmade pasta. But the real surprise was the brick chicken that we split for our secondi. It was, as we were expecting by that point, perfectly executed, with tender meat and crispy skin. What we didn't expect was that it was seasoned with some pretty serious and sophisticated Indian spices. We definitely tasted fenugreek and coriander, and I'm pretty sure there were black mustard seeds in the mix. After months of Italian food -- delicious, but basically spice free -- it tasted like heaven. If you find yourself in Lake Como (and you have some cash burning a hole in your pocket), I would definitely recommend a dinner here.
The next morning dawned warm and cloud free, and for the first time I realized that our room had the view with which I started this post. Rather than wait for the ferry, we decided to take the funivia ride up the sides of the lake, and were rewarded with some spectacular views and some very tempting hikes. We went down, discovered the bus wouldn't come for a while, so we decided to head up to the next town on foot. We were lucky that, when we were nearly there, we discovered the beginning of the "greenway," a combination hiking trail and pedestrian-friendly route connecting the next several towns. We hiked the greenway to Lenno, and then decided to try our luck with the ferry again. Turns out that not only did our landlord have no idea how to read the ferry schedule, the one he gave us was entirely wrong. Hence the waiting the day before. Fortunately, a boat was just about pulling up, so we jumped on and headed to Bellagio, armed with a new schedule.
Bellagio is, the internets tell me, the most visited of the Como towns, and I believe it. We were surrounded by Americans and Brits. The Floridian weatherman we met seemed typical -- he and his girlfriend were hitting about a European city a day. They seemed disappointed by all of it (especially Milan). At least Como was pretty, they said, and the restaurants catered to English speakers (if only they had catered to them with better food). I felt bad for them -- especially her (he was a little too slick to engender much sympathy). Like so many Americans, she had been so excited to see as much of Europe as she could, but then the whole trip was spent on trains, getting too trains, hitting the top five sites per city, and then getting back onto a train. If I could give one piece of advice to someone planning a trip to Europe, it would be to spend at least three nights in any given city. You always spend the first day hitting those "must sees." It's the second and third days, where you seek out the things specifically interesting to you, or you have no idea what you are going to find, that you get a feel for what a place is like. Plus, you need to give yourself a chance to make some restaurant mistakes in your search for a good meal or two. Okay, two pieces of advice: I would also say that investing money in good walking shoes and time figuring out public transportation are essential. The only way to enjoy most of these places is to walk around. A lot. In the morning, during the day, at night. It is much easier to head out walking if you have some confidence you can hop a bus to get back.
(also not my photo. Obviously)
Back in Argegno, we decided to try the other restaurant in town, rather than returning to outstanding but pricey La Piazetta. Mistake number one. Mistake number two: we went at Florentine dinner time, not Lake Como dinner time, so we got nearly the last dishes out of the kitchen. Mistake number three: I ordered the spaghetti Lario, made with missoltini. I was told it was a local specialty. I was told it was made with dried lake fish. I was told I could get it nowhere but near Lake Como. I had very much enjoyed my other Lake Como specialty, pasta with white fish roe, the day before for lunch. I knew I had made a mistake when my plate was set down before me and my head was enveloped in a cloud of the nastiest old fish smell I have ever smelled. I'm talking pungent, funky, perhaps even slightly fermented fish fume. But, I'm game. I like fish. I like Thai fish sauce. Heck, I even like Thai dried shrimp in small doses, which is the closest thing edible I can come up with to describe this scent. Imagine Thai dried shrimp mixed with kim chee, but without the peppers. Anyway, I tried. I really did. I take a certain amount of pride in my willingness to eat anything and try everything. But this stuff tasted just like it smelled. Worse, it was chopped up dried tails, fins, and skeleton, so it was basically noodles with rotten fish bones. As I picked a long spine out of my teeth, I cried uncle. Alas, the kitchen had already closed, so I was reduced to eating some pasta with leftover (and highly salty) mushrooms. I guess you win some and you lose some.And for those of you wondering about my title, the list has almost doubled since coming to Italy. I now don't like the original trinity -- Doritos, licorice, and gummy candy -- and also tripe (not gross, but I do not like that internal organ flavor that builds with every bite) and missoltini. I realize I might be being unfair, and that perhaps the missoltini I had was of poor quality, or had in fact turned bad. Perhaps under different circumstances, I would discover missoltini is my new favorite food. But those circumstances will, sadly, never occur, because I plan to avoid that stuff for the rest of my days.
Were I to go to Lake Como again, I might do some things different. I would definitely bring hiking boots. My Fluevogs are as comfortable (and stylish) as two inch heels can be, but by the end of our ten km hike, my dogs were screaming. I would not go to Bellagio, but instead spend time in the towns with less name recognition. I would almost certainly rent a car or a scooter or a boat. I would not order missoltini. While not perhaps the most effortless leg of our trip, I am still incredibly happy we went, and that I got to see what may be the most spectacular lake outside of Glacier. And believe me, there is no where within a state of Lake MacDonald to get food even half as good as that at La Piazetta.
Next stop: London!
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