Wednesday. We have now arrived in Lucerne. We travelled from Varenna to Como by ferry - a very pleasant experience. Como is not nearly as steep as Varenna so the walk to the station wasn't too gruelling. We got here about five and went for a stroll across the famous Chapel Bridge and through the old town. We did the tourist thing and found a fondue restaurant for dinner. Tasty, but pricey. But we know that everything is dear in Switzerland, so what the heck! Yesterday we had our cooking day. It was a lot of fun and the chef was very entertaining, with a wealth of jokes and stories. He mostly demonstrated but we were encouraged to come up and learn to fold tortellini. He made very creamy scalloped potatoes, involtini and ricotta, sage and lemon verbena tortellini, giving us directions, tips and quantities for four. Il Caminetto, his restaurant, was not in Varenna, but they picked us up from outside our hotel and drove us up a very steep, narrow, windy road to their tiny village. More stunning views across the lake. The food we ate was great and quite reproducible I think. Of the 16 people who attended, 12 were Australians and 4 were Yanks. At the moment I am sitting next to a smelly old bottle of wine that was given to Smith by a couple who were at Moneglia. It is a 1969 Montefioralle chianti classico. Do you you think they gave it to her because they knew it would be sensational? No, nor do I. The bottles had been found in an old cellar and the owner gave a number of bottles to his Aussie guests, who kindly (?!) shared it with Smith. She has now taken the crumbly cork out and is letting it breathe. I hope it doesn't poison her! Tomorrow we plan to spend the morning on a ferry ride around part of the lake. The weather is still amazing. We are so lucky.