We spent 1 day in Lecco.

• The downtown: We ambled through the little town’s cobblestone streets, past small shops and cafes. We photographed street art, from the religious to the political and in between. We sat on benches at the lake’s edge, watching the lapping of the water and the mountains in the background, and listening to the church bells toll the hour. We (okay, I) ordered pastries, coffee, and tea in French – because the kind ladies at the cafe all spoke more French than English. We met up with our friends from home and hunted for a place that served food at 4 pm. (This is rarer than unicorns in Italy, where all food establishments close between 2:15 and 7 pm.)
• Ultimate Frisbee World Championships: We watched all three finals matches, in a stadium with a view of beautiful mountains. More on that here.

What We Skipped:

• The Funicular (Cable Car): The view was supposed to be wonderful, but we opted to see our friends over seeing the view. Good reason to return some day.
• The Planetarium: We didn’t have reason to believe that this was open. In our quest to meet up with our friends, we had attempted to rent a car from Hertz, the multinational company. It turned out to be closed for the entire month of August. Even making money off tourists is no match for the Italian need to take August off.
• Museo Manzoniano: This museum celebrates a well-known local author. We figured that it might well be in Italian only, and that the area wasn’t known for museum as much as for the outdoors.