From my daily journal: Locarno, Switzerland to Bergamo, Italy 4/24/02 Wednesday In the morning I woke up to a helicopter pulling trees up from where they'd been cut and dropping them on a stack up the hill. Have had congested lungs for the last three days or so-ever since the train from Paris. I'm calling it my "French Cold". We did a pretty nice buffet & checked out. Next we popped into a Coop to rid ourselves of CHF money. Then we headed to Menaggio on Lake Como. It's a pretty drive through the mountains and along the lake. We sat for a spell with a coke in a large square just across the road from the lake. Very peaceful. We didn't know when the ferry was for Verenna was going to come and we didn't care. We walked over to where the ferry docked and it was leaving in 20 minutes and pretty cheap. ¤ 4.80 for us and the car. We rode across the lake to where Rick Steves said was the most romantic spot in Europe. It was nice down by the water but nothing to shout about. Elaine wouldn't let me drive through a very narrow tunnel. Some of these roads are something else. We couldn't find a place we wanted to eat or stay -it was 2:00 pm and nothing was open anyway- so we drove on to Bergamo. Got lost once again and ended up on a narrow cobble stone road overlooking the city. So narrow I hit the mirror on the passenger side of the car. Had to turn around and find the center of town. Checked into a Best Western again. "Cappello d'Oro" We saw our first bidet. We had to ask at the desk to make sure. We took the bell hop's advice and went to a restaurant, Taverna Valtellinese, around the corner. I'm having rigatoni then thin beef, thick potato slices and some corn bread(?) stuffing with brown gravy. Plus some mushrooms that I'm leaving. Found out about fizzy water vs. Natural water in bottles. Elaine thinks the woman two tables down is 74 years old with multiple facelifts and new teeth. Check out the picture. I say 60ish. Had creme caramel for dessert- Elaine's third time for that. Next "Sight": Bergamo, Italy to Venice