THAT Was Impressive!
Well, we saved the best day and the very longest day for last. Some in our group may argue the "best" title, but none would argue that the ELEVEN hour day wasn't the longest day since we left home. But the 45 minutes on the open waters of Lake Como - for us - was what this extension was all about, and it was "all that and a bag of chips!" We we were up in time for a 7:15am breakfast call and out the door onto the bus by 8am. We were about 45 minutes into our two our drive when we were alerted that the highway was closed because of a big accident. So to the side roads we moved and it took us 2 1/2 hours - without a break, in the essence of saving time - to arrive in Lake Como. Side note - beginning this June, Lake Como is making it VERY difficult on tours and tour busses to travel to the highly popular area. And that's one thing we discovered today......it was packed with people today. Probably more so than any where else we've been on this adventure. I truly pity anyone who has the idea "Hey, let's fly to Milan and spend a few days in Lake Como." You will be waiting HOURS just to get on one boat to get to one other part of the lake. And finding a table - you'll be lucky if you find one. Fortunately we had Viking on our side as a planned tour group and most of it was very smooth. But, because of the current rules, the bus had to park a good walking distance from the city center and so we weaved through the crowds to get there. Walked through the medieval part of town and had about an hour to ourselves. Most, like us found a café and ordered something light.
The cathedral was impressive, but not so much more significantly impressive than many other European cathedrals we've seen. But well worth going in - which I did. And let me say at this point, I took 92 shots with my iPhone camera today and nearly all the "best" photos I am posting here are from that 45 minute cruise on the lake. Not that the rest wasn't interesting, but the boat ride - THAT was impressive. So our group was reunited and we walked down to the pier, about another 15 minute jaunt and there, waiting for us was our private boat. Again, if you were on your own, the line was massive to get a boat for the ride. We sped off and each time we came close to a significant villa the captain would move in close and slowly motor on by. Here's a snap shot, a small snap shot of the eye candy that unfolded before us and all around us.......
Once we docked at the Bellagio we had about an hour and a half on our own, primarily to find a spot for lunch. We quickly picked a spot with a line, but if we could get it, we thought it would be an ideal spot for our lunch. We spent a good 45 minutes in line (and there were only about ten people ahead of us, but it was RIGHT on the water. We were with a couple we'd met on our day sailing through Elphati Islands in Croatia, Bill and Linda from San Diego. Linda is a retired school teacher and Bill a retired HS principal, so you can see why we connected so easily. But here's the story that made our relationship blossom so quickly..... So back track to the day we got off the ship. We first had a mix-up about the busses and had to re-line up with luggage to get organized correctly and then when our guide Stephania counted us we were two short. Looked it up and she called out, "the Foxes?" No reply. She checked with the Viking people - apparently a "no show." We begin to pull away and one of the security guards chases us down - oh, we think, the Foxes are late arrivals. Nope. Apparently they did not show. So we proceed with the trip to Lake Maggiore. The next morning, yesterday, I'm looking over the breakfast buffet and Bill is there, says "Good morning Coach!" and when I sit down I said to Kim, "did you see Bill and Linda on the bus yesterday?" And she replied, "What if THEY are the Foxes!" So we went over to their table. Linda looks like she's been in a heavy weight boxing match and her right hand is all bandaged up. The day we were in Slovenia she fell in the hall way, took a nasty hit on the side of her head so that her eye was nearly swollen shut and was all bruised. And somehow her hand was sliced open. The Viking medical staff were not prepared for this kind of stitching in a key joint area and so Viking took her to the hospital. Of course the ship left for Venice and Viking put Bill & Linda up in a bed and breakfast. Got them back to the hospital for more testing and finally released her. Then Viking arranged to take them by personal car from Venice to catch up with us in Lake Maggiore! They arrived at midnight and here they were. This might have been the end of the story but in the lobby we shared this story with Stephania and she had no idea that the Foxes had arrived. And when she met them immediately began to look after Linda - as did Kim and I. And when we returned to the hotel at the end of yesterday's adventure, Stephania walked fifteen minutes the wrong way to a pharmacy to buy bandages and medical ointment for Linda's hand. When she got to the lobby we were with them and she and Kim re-bandaged her up! SOOOO....fast forward to today, we hooked up with them for lunch (and the farewell dinner tonight) and had our photo taken and our waterfront restaurant!
Tomorrow we are in the lobby by 7am for the hour plus trip to the airport to begin our journey home. Another EXCELLENT adventure, but we will look forward to landing in Miami about 8:40pm tomorrow night. Appreciate everyone who came along virtually. I'll have a "best of" photo album on Facebook by Monday!
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