Lago di Como has endless amounts of flats for rent. Searching on www.homelidays.com (#9040), I found one in Varenna. I contacted the owner, Marilena, and she replied with confirmation and her mobile number to ring her once we were close to Varenna. From here she would give me directions.
I rang her from the road coming from Lecco. She queried our location, and when I told her, she mumbled something about the name changing, told me to ring again later, and hung up. What are we getting ourselves into? When we arrived in Varenna, I rang her back and she met us in the village centre car park. Margaret, my sister-in-law, and I followed her to the flat just around the corner from the car park and Tabacchi.
Marilena talked incessantly, telling us about being rundown in Milan and that is how she paid for her other rental flat near Lecco. She was a very hyper lady who talked nonstop in English (speaks English, French, German, and Italian). She showed us how the flat was really half of a flat, and that the other half belonged to her cousin. As you come in the building, there’s an electric wheelchair lift. I’m not really sure why it was there… unless someone else in the building uses it? The apartment didn’t seem to be wheelchair-friendly.
This one-bedroom flat had a double bed and a pull-out couch. The kitchen was adequately supplied with dishes and cooking utensils. The tiny bathroom had a step up to the shower, which was really strange looking. No professional cleaning is done, so I wondered about the cleanliness of the linens, which seemed clean. The large dining table seemed out of place - it was large and somewhat in the way when the couch needed to be pulled out.
At 7am, expect a surprise. In the centre of the village is a church that rings its bells every morning. They ring and ring and ring… Since then, I have read other comments about this "alarm clock" within the village. Shocking is the only word to describe my reaction the first morning. On the second, I knew what to expect.
The flat was conveniently located in town centre, which gave you access to everything Varenna had to offer, from restaurants and shops to a short walk down to the ferry terminal. Parking may be a problem if you come by car. There are parking restrictions in town centre requiring hourly permits (purchase at the Tabacchi right off of the car park). We bought one half-hour ticket, didn’t scratch off any of the times, and left it on the car for 2 days with no problems. When there are no parking places there, you have to start looking elsewhere.
Need some groceries? The Macelleria/Salumeria Lillia at 2 Via IV Novembre carries a variety of self-catering food, such as milk, yogurt, cereal, water, butter, and bread. You must ask for milk so that it can be retrieved from the back. Open 7:30am to 12:30pm and 3:30pm to 7:30pm and closed Sunday afternoon.