Lakes, Castles, Roman Ruins, Bridges

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Geo: 45.7933, 11.9128

We'd been told that we couldn't arrive at our apartment in Asolo until after 6pm, as the Giro d'Italia (equivalent of Tour de France) goes past the front door, and all the roads were closed. So we meandered our way from Sotto Il Monte to Asolo, stopping at Sirmione on the Lago Garda and at Bassano de Grappa.

Sirmione was just lovely – though very much a tourist town. The Lago di Garda is the largest Italian lake (Lago Maggiore and the others don't count, as they are partially in Switzerland), and Sirmione is an ancient town at the end of a tiny narrow peninsular, jutting up from the bottom end of the lake. The peninsular is so narrow that you can see water on both sides of the road as you drive up, and the town is protected by a medieval castle – it would have been a great defensive position! We wandered our way through the town, filled with tourists, and remembered when we had come here with baby Georgia. After getting the makings for lunch (there was a wonderful grocery store, with 200 types of pasta, and all different fruits, but photographs were not permitted), we went to walk to the Roman ruins at the end of town. It was so hot – over 30 degrees, and a change of nearly 20 degrees from the previous weekend, so we took advantage of the little electric train running to the villa! A picnic with the crystal blue green waters and the white columns of the ruined villa was perfect – even the little birds that threatened to take the bread from my mouth didn't detract from the setting!

We walked around the ruined villa – it was so large, and must have been amazing, and around the archaeological museum – the kids were very impressed by the art, jewellery and frescos from thousands of years ago. Then, back on our little train (this time, the man asked Tom to co-captain the train back to town with him!), for a gelati break! Matthew had been desperate to see the castle, so we now went in, and admired the view from the ramparts.

Then, a rest in the car (except for our poor designated driver), as we drove the hour to Bassano de Grappa. It is the town near where Rita's family comes from, famous for being the home of Grappa (liquor made from grape skins) and for the beautiful Ponte degli Alpini – a sixteenth century wooden bridge over the river Brenta, built by Palladio. It is built of wood so that it can flex, when the spring melts flood the river, and is just lovely. We had a wonderful afternoon wandering around the historic centre (lots of brides and weddings, as you would expect on a perfect late spring Saturday afternoon!), before finding a pizza restaurant for dinner (some people are so helpful – when we asked the waiter how big the pizzas were, so we knew how many the 5 of us needed to order, he told us that they were "normal" size. Thanks, mate!)

Then, with the storm clouds gathering, we headed to Asolo. As we drove, the road was lined with pink ribbons and bows – apparently this is the colour of the Giro d'Italia. We headed up the hill to Asolo just as the storm broke, and arrived at our apartment just outside the city walls as the rain poured down and as dozens of people arrived at the restaurant under our apartment for dinner – our poor host was run off this feet, but kindly took us to the apartment which he had kitted out with water, home made wine, bread, jams, coffee, homemade olive oil.

The apartment is small but perfect – a large main bedroom, a twin room, and a sofa that folds into the most comfortable sofa bed ever. We were a little thrown – I had told the owner that there would be seven of us staying, and there are only 6 beds (the cot that has been offered for Matthew would NOT fit our strapping lad!) but with heaps of spare bedding, there is now a comfortable nest on the floor that the children fight to sleep in, and some nights, Rita and Elio are going to be off staying with relatives. And it is just wonderful to have a farm where the kids can wander off and feed the chickens or play soccer, and generally have some room to just be kids! The restaurant is only open on weekends, so very quiet during the week, and the old Italian couple (Nonno and Nonna) have made friends with Rita and Elio and tell us that our kids are wonderful, and not too noisy at all – they love the sound of children having fun! We've fallen on our feet at Al Morer!

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