Last week we took Cotta on her first family vacation and train ride to
Lake Como to visit friends from Minnesota. Cotta made about 1,000 new
friends including every train conductor along the way. ( Click for slide show)

We rode the ferry from Varenna to Bellagio to check out the town
and grab dinner, arriving in Bellagio, by ferry in 20 min. (by car 2 hours)

Bellagio is a great town for sightseeing. Hidden down every
side street and ally are neat little shops like this very cool
wine bar, the owner Norberto is both charming and very
knowledgeable about his wines.

Visiting a new area also means checking out the local wine region
Valtellina known for it’s very steep terracing of the vines.

Along with a few winery tours, Here Fabiana from Nino Negri explaining the
giant cask (Botte) behind us which holds 13,000 bottles of wine she gave
a great tour followed by a tasting of their wines. The wines showed very well
a must try if you can find a bottle.

Nino Negri winery has a beautiful barrel room with a ton of wine in it.

Back to our wonderful accommodations to enjoy the sunset with a glass of
vino.

Thanks Chris and Ray for sharing your town and wines with us. We learned
a lot and had a ton of fun.