September 28, 2024–
This morning, we rose for breakfast as we have these past six days in Montabone. Francesco and Maria Angela were as gracious as always, smiling, greeting us to begin our day together for this meal. Once again, we were served more than we could possibly ever consume, and everything was delicious! Because it was our last day at this wonderful B&B, we needed to finish some of the items we had only eaten throughout the week. Thus, we had slightly crisped polenta with Gorgonzola and porcini mushrooms, a Sardinian dish that shepherds would bring with them to sustain them throughout their workday guarding their sheep (a crispy phyllo dough pastry with melted pecorino cheese on top—this was not one of the “leftovers”), crudités, grapes on toothpicks inserted into a pear, with the long, thin part of the pair (the stem end) peeled and decorated with cloves for eyes (the creation was made to look like a prickly porcupine—this, too, was new for today’s meal), the typical red orange juice, lazy Susan with yogurts, water, chocolate milk,…., homemade crostata that Francesco had made for us this week, leftover Sardinian ladyfingers from last night, and so on, and so on. There are not enough words to express the quality, creativity, and concern that each of our multi-plate breakfasts have demonstrated to us this week! These hosts went far above and beyond with the quality of service and hospitality they have provided us at this wonderful B&B! We shared more family photos with one another in an effort to get to know each other even better if we could.
After a final packing and loading session, it was time to say good-bye to Francesco and Maria Angela! Very sad to leave them but hoping that we will somehow stay in touch. Off we went toward our next stop: Lago di Como, Lezzeno, in the region of Lombardia. The sun was shining, and the temp climbed to the high 60s, there was little to no haze, and the visibility on the Montabone surroundings was unobstructed. Before we left that charming little town, we drove to the center of town from which we could see the snow-covered Alps, more specifically Mount Rosa, I believe, in the distance! WOW! What a spectacular view!
The drive to Como allowed for more and closer views of the snow-capped Alps. When we reached Como, the main town on Lago di Como, we embarked on one of the scariest roads to nearby Lezzeno to find our B&B. The road was extremely narrow, with lots of tight turns with the mountainside on one side of our car and the Lake on the other. Much of the road was perhaps roomy enough for one car, and yet…buses, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians expected to share this road, coming the opposite way. Because one could not see what was on the other side of a curve, vehicles coming toward us from the other direction made for some scary moments, indeed! Dad typically is not frazzled in most driving situations. Driving through and across the Dolomites was tricky, yet Dad was never rattled. Driving up the mountain to our B&B during the daytime was also tricky, and yet, Dad never flinched as long as there was still adequate daylight to guide our way. But THIS?!?! THIS was spooky and DANGEROUS!
Parking in Lezzeno is hard to find. There just isn’t enough space for traffic. When we arrived close to our B&B today, we parked in a small parking lot for about five cars total. That lot, though, is not all that close to the B&B itself. One has to walk with whatever luggage and whatnot one has along a winding and uphill narrow path, with uneven cobblestone or concrete flagstone terrain, for several minutes. Upon arrival, one must carry the luggage up a set of concrete steps. To go to the small grocery store nearby or to the nearest restaurant for something to eat, one has to either drive along a crazy narrow road or walk down a steep concrete paved road on the side of the narrow street along with whatever cars or other vehicles/bikes/people/buses/trucks happen to be intending to use that same road as well. Tomorrow is Sunday, and Mass will be in a Church about a mile-and-a-half away, but we will need to drive early enough in order to hopefully find parking somewhere nearby. People who live and work here tell me that “nothing scares them anymore,” that “that’s the way the streets are,” and they just do whatever it takes to navigate to wherever they must go. For us, though, because we are not used to this, driving in Lezzeno appears to be a challenging experience. Then again, that’s today, our first day here. Perhaps tomorrow things will ease up with a degree of familiarity.
Did I say, however, how beautiful this region is? The Lake is gorgeous, clear, and the town is charming in its own way. I look forward to reporting our experiences tomorrow because we’re going to look for a larger market, Mass in Lezzeno, and hopefully something good to eat. Until then, Ciao for now ❤
Our Travels 