This past May, Mike and I joined my family for a trip to Italy, however, for the first leg of this trip, we chose to visit Lake Como on our own instead of joining the rest of the group in Venice. For the first leg of our journey, we spent a few days in a peninsular town called Bellagio on the shore of Lake Como and used our time there to venture to some of the nearby villages on the shores of the lake. Bellagio is known as “The Pearl of Lake Como” and it owns up to its nickname, in my opinion. The weather forecast for our trip was incorrectly dismal with the exception of our first day there and when Mike asked me what I definitely wanted to do in Lake Como in case we only had one nice day to do it, I didn’t need to think twice when it came to my response.

“I want to see the ghosts,” I said.

He knew exactly what I was talking about because we had looked up many activities in the region and during our time researching for our trip, he had stumbled upon the ruins of Castello di Vezio that tower above the village of Varenna. We flew from JFK to Milan and took an hour and a half car ride with our friendly driver, Mauro, in what we were pleasantly surprised to find out was a Tesla. The drive was hot, but picturesque. Italian natives do not rely as heavily on air conditioning as we do in America and Mauro seemed comfortable sitting in his dress clothes upon a towel in the driver’s seat while we quietly melted into the back seat upholstery, two American puddles invisibly staining the black pleather.

We arrived in Bellagio after a couple of harrowing experiences on the narrow roads, passing trucks and hoards of people, all of which Mauro navigated expertly and half-jokingly exclaimed, “I love my Italy!” in a heavy Italian accent. We love Mauro’s Italy too and appreciated his skilled approach to the region’s winding roads. Mauro delivered us safely to Piazza Giuseppi Mazzini, where we paid him and he pointed up a steep flight of stairs in the direction of our hotel. We climbed with our suitcases and backpacks and checked into our room at Hotel Bellagio, greeted by the friendly staff at the reception desk. We were happy to learn that our room was well air conditioned. Soon after setting down our bags, we headed off to the ferry, jet lagged, but going strong. We took the ferry to the beautiful, romantic village of Varenna with a half-baked plan to see the ghosts.

When we arrived in Varenna, we got a little lost to start out, but eventually found the trail that led up to the little village of Perledo, toward the top of the mountain, from which we could connect to the trail to the castle. We climbed and climbed and climbed. The trail was steep and rocky with sections that were difficult to pass due to us wearing inappropriate footwear. We did not do enough research to know we should have planned to wear hiking boots for this journey. I was wearing jelly sandals and Mike wore regular sneakers. Despite our inadequate footwear, we made it to the top, drenched in sweat, our lungs working overtime, and our hearts pumping effortfully.

At the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a small cafe at the base of the castle. We stopped to purchase our tickets from the counter and ordered some well-earned 400-ml glasses of Nastro Azzuro. The beer was cold and the cafe seating was inviting despite the presence of cigarette smoke permeating the air. After a while, we got used to the smoke, something you must do when in Italy where a quarter of the population are smokers. We rested our aching legs and discussed the journey up and how ill-prepared we were for it. After finishing our beers, it was time to explore the castle and meet the ghosts.

Upon seeing the view, I nearly forgot about the ghosts. The panoramic scenery was more breathtaking than the climb had been and the sight of the sparkling water below us and the mountains that cradled it was absolute magic. Even Mike, who prefers not to take pictures had whipped out his phone and was snapping away. We asked another couple to take our picture and they graciously accommodated.

After marveling at the view for a while, I spotted the ghosts. The ghosts of Castello di Vezio are life-sized plaster cast sculptures that sit lonely and ominous on the castle ruins’ cliffside bannisters and stone walls, like protective gargoyles overlooking the lake and the village below. The sun was shining and the sky, blue, the day we went, but I imagine the ghosts would be much eerier on a cloudy day.

After meeting a few of the ghosts, we wandered to the top of the castle turret for what promised to be a 360 degree view. We were not disappointed, though enjoyed the unobstructed view from the first observation area toward the base of the castle more.

When we were finished exploring, we headed back down the mountain trail slowly, gripping the moss covered stone walls of Perledo, careful not to stumble on loose rocks underfoot. Once at the bottom of the trail, our stomachs grumbled and we wandered the picturesque streets of Varenna in search of something to eat. We ended up at a tourist trap on the water, but didn’t mind as the view was worth the less than stellar food. We should have eaten in Piazza San Giorgio where we read the food was much better, though we’d have had to settle for the view of the Chiesa di San Giorgio and the beautiful Hotel Royal Victoria in favor of the sparkling lake views. I think we could have dealt with that just fine.

Once the jetlag hit, it was time to head back to Bellagio on the ferry for some much needed rest, followed by an aperitivo of red wine in a lakefront cafe and dinner of pasta and fish at B-Lake Bellagio. We went to sleep for the night with full bellies and the pleasant tipsiness that a day of adventure and Italian wine can bring and woke to a surprisingly beautiful morning. Though the rest of the trip promised no ghosts, I found that thoughts of the plaster casts haunting Castello di Vezio stuck with me for the rest of the journey, apparitions in search of aperitivi, just like we were. To these happy haunts, I say, “Salute, buon appetito, e arrivederci!”