"The Argegno-Pigra Funivia cable car (about 300m north of Argengo's Piazza Roma) makes the five-minute climb to the 860m-high village of tiny Pigra every 30 minutes. From the square where the cable car arrives and from the grounds of the tiny Chiesa di Santa Margherita, the views back down over the lake are quite striking."
Lonely Planet
We head back to the apartment and snap a pic of the Jerry, Jim & Palmer on our pretty terrace. Jerry's checked the schedule for the funivia and it starts running again at 2:30 pm ... which means we have time for lunch before we head to the funivia station just a few meters from our apartment. We decide to check out Il Sorriso (The Smile) ... a restaurant we pass by every time we walk into town. It turns out to be delicious and our (Egyptian!) waiter is delightful ... especially when he shares the interesting tidbit of info that George Clooney has eaten several times at Il Sorriso ... he stops by on his Harley-Davidson!
After lunch, we're off to the funivia station where we wait a few minutes with some other tourists from Scotland and the U.S. The "car" holds 12 people standing and we all are mesmerized by the amazing views of the lake as we rise quickly and smoothly up the mountain. My first cable car ride ever and I loved it ... felt like I was in a James Bond movie. Views from the top were indeed quite striking ... in fact, glorious! While Jim, Jerry & Brenda headed to the little Pigra church and cemetery, Palmer and I spotted a signpost pointing to a path leading to another "Bellevedere" (beautiful view). It was a longer hike that we'd both imagined (I was wearing sandals and hadn't brought my trusty hiking pole!) ... up and down rocky paths and steps through pretty heavily forested areas ... Palmer gallantly found a big, sturdy tree branch and fashioned it as a hiking pole for me ... which really helped! After about 30 minutes, the woods cleared and we could see the lake again ... from a point much father north. We could see all the way to Bellagio! Absolutely breathtaking and well-worth the hike.
Jim was cooking his specialty for dinner tonight ... Pesto Shrimp Pasta. We all set to work being his sous-chefs ... Palmer with the salad, Brenda with the green beans, me peeling all the shrimp out on the terrace overlooking the lake ... such a beautiful spot to accomplish that usually tedious task! It was such a perfect evening, we enjoyed the delicious dinner out on the terrace ... under the stars. (Funny thing, though, we never seem to see the MOON on this trip!)
We awake to the church bells ringing next door and to bright sunshine. Today we plan to ride the Argegno-Pigra Funivia (cable car) up to the top of our mountain! But first ... Brenda's made an appointment to get her hair done at the local Argegno beauty parlor and I've volunteered to come along to help "translate" the discussion of what she'd like done with her hair! We arrive at 10 am and are greeted warmly by Paola, the Italian gal who will touch up Brenda's hair color and give her a shampoo and blow-dry. I use Google Translate to look up "hair words" that need to be exchanged in Italian ... like "roots" (radici) and "bangs" (frangia) ... and have great fun doing my best to chat in Italian with the local ladies who come in to get their hair done while Brenda's colore is processing! What a very fun experience this was ... and Brenda's hair turned out beautifully!
We head back to the apartment and snap a pic of the Jerry, Jim & Palmer on our pretty terrace. Jerry's checked the schedule for the funivia and it starts running again at 2:30 pm ... which means we have time for lunch before we head to the funivia station just a few meters from our apartment. We decide to check out Il Sorriso (The Smile) ... a restaurant we pass by every time we walk into town. It turns out to be delicious and our (Egyptian!) waiter is delightful ... especially when he shares the interesting tidbit of info that George Clooney has eaten several times at Il Sorriso ... he stops by on his Harley-Davidson!
After lunch, we're off to the funivia station where we wait a few minutes with some other tourists from Scotland and the U.S. The "car" holds 12 people standing and we all are mesmerized by the amazing views of the lake as we rise quickly and smoothly up the mountain. My first cable car ride ever and I loved it ... felt like I was in a James Bond movie. Views from the top were indeed quite striking ... in fact, glorious! While Jim, Jerry & Brenda headed to the little Pigra church and cemetery, Palmer and I spotted a signpost pointing to a path leading to another "Bellevedere" (beautiful view). It was a longer hike that we'd both imagined (I was wearing sandals and hadn't brought my trusty hiking pole!) ... up and down rocky paths and steps through pretty heavily forested areas ... Palmer gallantly found a big, sturdy tree branch and fashioned it as a hiking pole for me ... which really helped! After about 30 minutes, the woods cleared and we could see the lake again ... from a point much father north. We could see all the way to Bellagio! Absolutely breathtaking and well-worth the hike. 
Jim was cooking his specialty for dinner tonight ... Pesto Shrimp Pasta. We all set to work being his sous-chefs ... Palmer with the salad, Brenda with the green beans, me peeling all the shrimp out on the terrace overlooking the lake ... such a beautiful spot to accomplish that usually tedious task! It was such a perfect evening, we enjoyed the delicious dinner out on the terrace ... under the stars. (Funny thing, though, we never seem to see the MOON on this trip!)
After dinner, our Monopoly Deal tournament continued. Trouble is ... Margie is SO good at that game that Amy and I have an awfully hard time beating her! Current score in games is 7 (M) to 2 (L) to 1 (A) ... but Amy and I are determined to win at least a few more games! This leads to a late night ... and then I post my blog ... and then I fall into a deep, deep sleep beneath my big white, cozy, comfy duvet ... listening to the boats outside my window gently moving on their anchors.
Tomorrow: Our last full day on Lake Como ... and we have a very interesting and enjoyable itinerary planned for it!
1 comment:
I love the pictures! They add so much to your beautiful commentary! And after seeing this entry, I just HAVE to go to Lake Como!
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