Three days of Heaven

We have been in Bellagio for three days and have done nothing except eat great food from its restaurants and markets, shop in its unique stores, walk up and down its steep lanes and roads, promenade along the waterfront, sleep late, and otherwise just relax in this heavenly spot.

Yesterday Ben took a longer hike of a couple of hours though the extended town while the rest of us tried swimming in the lake at a park down the road. The water was very cold and the boys were dying to swim so we started the hunt for an indoor pool. We found one at the Grand Hotel, a five star hotel down the street from our apartment, and arranged to get a day pass to swim indoors today, when the weather was forecast for rain. It would cost 60 Euros (about $80) but that wasn't too bad for a rainy day activity.

But today turned out to be a glorious; sunny and hot, perfect for swimming outdoors. The Grand Hotel had a lovely landscaped outdoor pool right next to its perfect swimming dock and diving board in the lake. The cost, however, was crazy expensive; 60 Euros per person, meaning that for four of us to swim would cost about $300. We stood and looked longingly at the wonderful scene and I just couldn't bring myself to buy the indoor swimming pass. In a moment of inspiration I remembered the $400 end-of-the-school-year bonus I had received and decided that buying us day passes was the perfect use of that money.

It was!