First a note from Tech Support: Some of the links to the pages with additional photos didn’t work. Everything should be fixed now.  Another note about our last night in Vernazza.  We were outside the internet cafe doing our blog when Rick Steves, the author of the guidebook “Italy 2008” and other books on Europe, walked by.  He talked to us for a few minutes and was glad to hear we were using his book all through our travels in Italy.  The kids had seen him at dinner and reported the “celebrity” sighting to us.  We arrived in Varenna on Lake Como in the afternoon of the 23rd and took the ferry to Bellagio.  It was quite warm and we were told it was the first nice day they’ve had here for a while.  Anne, Chris and Henry got off the ferry in Menaggio, as they decided to stay at a hotel there.  Jeff, Sarah, Jay and Barbara are staying at an apartment in Bellagio.  The trip by ferry between the towns takes about 10 minutes, although the car ferry is slower than the “people only” ferry.  We had dinner in a very nice restaurant to celebrate Jay’s 60th birthday.  Anne, Chris and Henry were there, too, and we stopped for gelato after dinner in a shop just a few steps away from our apartment.  It was the best gelato we’ve had so far.  The location of the apartment, La Limonera, is perfect, as there is a grocery store right next door and many shops along the narrow road.  Thank goodness they only drive small cars here, as the road is barely wide enough for one car and pedestrians have to be careful.  We saw a Prius, which is about the largest car we’ve seen here.  The shops are very expensive (ex.  Prada) so we won’t be tempted to buy much.  Bellagio is built on a hill and the steps from the lake to our apartment are numerous (about 95) but not too difficult.  The rain returned on Saturday, May 24th.  We had an early walk before the rain began to the little town of Pescallo.  On the way we saw a cemetery with beautiful flowers on almost every grave.  The four of us then took the ferry to Menaggio, where we had lunch with Anne, Chris and Henry.  Jeff and Sarah returned to Bellagio to do laundry, while the rest of us took the ferry to Varenna for some sightseeing.  In a light drizzle, we walked along the “passerella,” a lakeside promenade that connects the old town to the ferry dock.  After our walk we stopped at a cafe and had some great hot chocolate.  We ended the day with a dinner including calamari (squid) for three of us and steak with bleu cheese for Jay.  Sunday, May 25th started again with rain.  By lunch time the sun was peeking through and we took advantage of the nice weather by having lunch together at a restaurant called Baba Yaga.  We also went for a walk to see some of the sights of Bellagio and did a little shopping.  The rain began again, so we spent a few hours in our apartment playing euchre and reading.  We’ll have our last dinner in Bellagio tonight and turn in early, as tomorrow we leave for Lucerne, Switzerland.