I arrived in Milan

Avis had my Ford Focus TDI diesel ready for me and I was off to the races.  It took me about an hour and a half to drive to Varenna, a small city on lake Como.  To say it is spectacular is an understatement.  Very steep and rugged mountains coming down to a picturesque lake.  Massive and I am sure expensive mansions line the lake, but not too many, it still looks fairly undeveloped.   Anne did her usual incredible job of finding me a great hotel.  Much nicer than I would have selected, but not all that pricey either.  It has a great location right on the water, it is the tall yellow hotel on the left.

 

 

I truly enjoyed Istanbul, but I LOVE Italy.  It was a pleasure driving here, walking around and having a great meal.  There are a few things in the hotel that let you know you are in Italy.  This is what's outside the door to my room (the farthest piece of furniture), I'll let the Catholics (and former Catholics) see if they can figure out what it is.

 

 

 

And after being very good on eating in Istanbul, mainly because I didn't trust the food, I was looking forward to the food in Italy.  It was Ravioli and Salad for dinner, and Gelato for dessert.  There's not much better than Gelato in Italy.