September 29, 2024–
Today is Sunday. We went to Mass at the local community Church in Lezzeno, Lombardia, Italy, called Santi. Quirico e Giuditta. There is only one priest in this area, who has to rotate Masses among the several Churches nearby. This Church is the one that evidently the Locals attend. People seemed to know each other, the altar servers were three girls and two boys, one of whom was very young (about five, I would say). The readers and choir were likely local parishioners, everyone knew their roles to make the Mass run seamlessly. The readings and responses were spoken by everyone in Church, and the participation was superb.. Parking at this Church was extremely limited, with two small parking lots for about four to six small cars each. Others parked at a first come, first served basis wherever they could find a space on the street. Many locals, however, appeared to have walked to Mass—we saw them walking home (or wherever they were headed after Sunday Mass).
This B&B does not provide breakfasts. It is a stark difference from the one we just left in Piemonte at Montabone. What makes food/eating more challenging here is that restaurants are open until about 2:00 P.M., close for a couple of hours, and then re-open at around 7 or 7:30 P.M. We could walk to the restaurant at the foot of this mountain we’re on, but the walk is steep and circuitous, requiring careful dodging of vehicles and bikes driving on the same street we’re walking on. Locals don’t seem to be phased by that. We, on the other hand, are not yet used to that mode of transportation.
A bit frustrated by the contrast between the stupendous natural beauty of our environment, the extraordinary gorgeous views of Lago di Como that our B&B provides, and the steep inclines and declines of the roads in Lezzeno, we found a way to somewhere else. First, we drove to Bellagio, our next door neighbor on this side of the Lake. It was a different, more built-up/better manicured city than Lezzeno, perhaps. There were lots of people there, and a main center that appeared to have some food establishments available and open at this time; however, couldn’t find any parking. We drove on to the next bigger town called Lecco. THERE we found some parking, and there we found a town center, with a main piazza, open restaurants and cafes, lots of people, but also lots of space available. It was on Lake Como, too, so we also had the views. We ate at Hemingway’s in the Lecco town center. Dad had risotto periscope (with fried perch); I had…wait for it…GNOCCHI alla Gorgonzola. We shared a Caesar salad because for some reason, we have not been automatically served vegetables nor fruits these past two weeks (yes, we had some sometimes at our recent B&B, but not the quantities that we tend to have back home in the States). Dinner took almost two hours today, but the food was well done and delicious.
We needed some groceries in our B&B space. There is a small market down the mountain, but parking is limited if non-existent, depending, and walking up carrying grocery items makes it challenging to use. Therefore, we stopped at a carrefour (supermarket) in Lecco, purchased a few necessities for two more days, and we drove back home.
There is no laundry facility in this B&B, either. The first laundromat out here is in Bellagio. So, not wishing to risk another curly drive to Bellagio and not knowing if we would find parking once we got there, we decided to hand wash a few clothing items in the bathroom sink and hang them to dry on our radiators that provide us heat.
Knowing that we can get out of this difficult mountain and town to access food and whatever we might need makes us feel much better. There are plenty of small towns along Lake Como that we can perhaps explore and enjoy more easily than we thought before today. We will utilize that newfound knowledge as we attempt to visit Milano in the morning.
Our Travels 