Around Lago di Garda

Last night we talked about when we should get on the road for our trip around the lake. Frank was leaning towards 9:00 am and Adrie said 10:00 am. In the end we were on the road at 9:30 am, a happy compromise.

We drove through some pretty little towns and stopped by a small village that is surrounded by mountains and water. The entrance to the village was actually through a tunnel in the mountain! There were many tunnels along our drive. These tunnels are very old. Some had holes along one side to let in the daylight, you can see it in the picture above.

We stopped at a waterfall near the far end of the lake. It had a total drop of almost 100 metres. The water had carved a deep gorge in the rock and within this narrow gorge it felt almost like it was raining and the temperature was quite cool.

For lunch we stopped along a beach on the far side of the lake. The lake was at the bottom of mountains on either side and as we got out of the car we heard thunder coming from the clouds on the mountains on the far side of the lake. We ate our sandwiches in sunshine but then started to hear thunder coming from the clouds around the near side! Surprisingly the girls got a swim in and we sat by the lake for about an hour and still no rain.

We drove down to the other end of the lake where there is a peninsula called Sirmione. Here there is a castle, complete with a moat. We saw the outside of the castle, but didn’t go inside. Instead we walked about the little town which is very picturesque with cobblestone streets and many cafes and ice-cream shops. Of course we had to stop for an ice-cream. As all of this was happening, again we heard the thunder rolling, but no rain! We did have a brief sprinkle of rain as we drove the final stretch back to the house, but it was gone by the time we got there. Amazing considering all the thunder and dark clouds!

We went out for Italian pizza tonight. It is quite different from what we get back home. The crust is much thinner, and the topping choices are very different as well. It was delicious! We didn’t really have room, but Frank and Adrie insisted we try maringata, an Italian dessert with dried meringue around a thick frozen cream. It was very good - a great end to a great day.

CM