8Oct12 lake Como (comb over?)
Slow start today. I did not want to be rushed so we were heading off on the 11am train.
Added plenty of coins to the swear jar today. It was going so well until we got to Milan and transferred to Milan San Garibaldi. We had 2 minutes to locate the train to Como only to find ourselves blocked at the entrance to the escalator by an old Italian lady with a large suitcase who managed to maneuver it through the barriers then pull up on the other side preventing anyone from passing. We arrived at the platform a minute too late only to hear it rumbling off into the distance. So we had 1hr to wait for the next train and sat down for lunch. The next train's platform was not showing up. It is the Italian way to ensure passengers have no idea which platform to head onto until the very last minute regardless of how early they turn up.Maybe they are up in their control centres watching the chaos on video cameras. We kept seeing that our train type was typically on platform 1 or 2 SOT but we had no idea what this meant so went to the ticket counter for some information. We got shooed away by the person at the desk saying that our train number was not on the board yet. This was the start of my biggest deposit into the swear jar something which didn't impress Vanessa! Our train turned up on the board and was on a normal platform. No problem. It was a straightforward uneventful relatively short dull trip . I think S means suburban train. We arrived at the lake Como station and I managed to navigate us in the wrong direction. More swearing. Found the hotel after heading in the correct direction without much effort.
Went for a walk along the waterfront. Nice looking area with mansions around the lake, ferry boats running back and forth and sea planes practicing touch and goes on the water. Very pleasant. Vanessa made her apologies for my swearing in the cathedral.
