The cousins left the ferry at Villa Carlotta and we continued on to Lenno. They were off to see the lavish gardens and explore Tramezzo and we were heading to the Villa to do some location scouting. Once in Lenno, we found the water taxi stand that had boats to take us to Villa Balbienello. Who should our boat taxi driver be but Igor himself!!!! 8 months ago we "hired" Igor to take all our guests round trip from Varenna out to the Villa. There was no contract, no deposit, just a single sentenced email confirmation that he would be at one of the 3 harbors in Varenna at 2:15 on May 9, 2014. He wanted to be paid in cash and we had to just take his word that he would be there with a boat big enough for 23 people. We were so relieved to see that he actually existed and introduced ourselves to him. He said, "Ah yes, you get married tomorrow...I be there for you at small dock by gelato store. Nothing to worry. Good day for you tomorrow!...Yes...Yes!!!" Now, there are about 10 gelato shops in Varenna and 5 of them are are distributed between 3 different harbors, but we figured out which one he meant and finally felt like "Igor the Wild Card" was locked in. Nothing like a last minute vendor confirmation.
As the boat made it's way to the Villa, I heard Katie exclaim, "Holy Shit-balls!" She had seen photos of the Villa, but seeing it in real life was overwhelming. As we entered the villa, we were asked what kind of entry ticket we wanted to buy. I said, "Just the gardens, we are here to scout out the Villa since we are getting married here tomorrow." The agent replied, "Oh you get married here tomorrow...You no pay today because you already pay us plenty of money."
Our recon at the Villa was extremely helpful for the 3 of us. Katie got her bearings and we were able to agree on shoot locations. Although there were so many, we knew would would never complete them all. A wedding was happening while we were there, so we were able to see how the venue staff kept visitors from disturbing the ceremony.
Igor returned as promised to pick us up so we could catch the 12:10 ferry. As we were walking from the water taxi dock to the ferry dock, we saw a ferry boat pulling in 10 minutes early. This had happened to us before...a ferry arriving earlier than what the timetable states. Ferries only come 1 time per hour, so if you miss it, you are stuck in that village until the next one arrives. Katie yelled, "It's a sprint to the matt!" It's a reference to the Amazing Race when players need to sprint the final distance to stay in the race. The 3 of us took off running and as we reached the dock sucking wind from running with packs of camera gear, the ferry just kept sailing by the dock and never stopped. We got suckered. The 12:10 ferry arrived on time and got us to Varenna so that we could meet our celebrant, Jo, by 1:00.
It was wonderful to see Jo and her partner Davide. We have been working with Jo to plan this wedding for the last 10 months. The 5 of us headed down to a cafe along the water for lunch and to go over any last minute wedding details. Meredith and Jenn were there too finishing their lunch. They sent the cafe's signature dessert to our table....Nutella Waffel Kebob. Food on a stick is always fun, but this was just funny...and...surprisingly delicious.
After lunch, we headed down to the main harbor for our first organized group activity. Most of our guests were at the dock happily waiting for us to join them. The rest were already exploring the lake and planned to meet us in Bellagio. The ferry trip to Bellagio was so much fun. We loved sharing the adventure with everyone.
Once at Bellagio, our group of 24 was all together for the first time! What a great group of friends and family. Jo and Davide were instantly part of the family and Katie was reconnecting with college friends. We had hoped to stick together for awhile and explore Bellagio, but Matt and I had to take care of dinner plans first. A few months ago, we had decided we wanted to do dinner with everyone in Bellagio. I wanted a quiet place, on the water, away from the main harbor that could take a large group and could open early for us so we could catch the 8:40 ferry back to Varenna. This was a very big wish. However, La Punta, a wonderful little restaurant recommended in our Rick Steves guidebook was incredibly nice over email. We were told to "just come by when you get here and we help you put something together."
La Punta was a 10 minute walk from the harbor, situated in a pretty park with an amazing lakeside view. Keko, the manager, greeted us and instantly helped make our dinner wish a reality. He agreed to open the restaurant at 6:15 for us (normally he opens at 7:00). He created a set menu for us and then we chose the wine to serve via an impromptu wine tasting the Davide helped us with. I really could not believe how kind Keko was.
With dinner all set, our little group of travellers set out to explore Bellagio. With so many little shops, churches and alleys it was easy to get separated. Mark and I ducked into a little church to light a candle for good weather (thunderstorms were predicted for the wedding). While lighting our candles we were entertained by the fresco over the alter showing the graphic beheading of the church's patron saint. Soon after that, between the shops selling jewelry, pasta, grappa, cheese, salami, wooden bowls, etc, we had lost everyone and Matt and I found ourselves all alone. We could not find anyone, so we walked along the lakeside taking in the views.
At 6:00, everyone met as planned and we made our way to La Punta. Keko had a table set on the deck overlooking the lake. There were 22 of us (Bill and Dina had gone back early to Varenna). Upon our arrival, sparkling wine was served to welcome everyone, followed by the first course of meat and cheese plates. There were so many different meats and cheeses that my brother, Mark, exclaimed, "I'm just so happy!!! It's the land of meat and cheese!" There was so much and it was all so delicious and the wine we had selected was paired perfectly. Matt and I made introductions to everyone in the group and why they were important to us. It was fun to share stories and watch everyone become friends.
The main course was a special plate of 3 different types of pasta: Pesto Linguini, Red cream rigitoni and 4 cheese tortolini. The pastas were red, white and green to represent the Italian flag. After dinner, Mark and Erika had a little surprise for Matt. First Mark welcomed Matt to the family. Next he explained that since Matt did not have a bachelor party, he and Erika were going to give him a small hint of what it would have like. Erika then put an apron on Matt of David's Michealangelo on Matt with the "private parts strategically placed. It was hysterical.
Dessert was a medley of Tirimisu, apple tarte, italian flan, walnut cake and chocolate cake. The restaurant staff was so helpful and attentive. I really could not believe that we had pulled this off at the last minute. They even made sure we were done by 8:20 so we could catch the 8:40 ferry.
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