Italy 80 - Malcesine, a load of behemoths, a story about the money in your pocket

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We had no idea if we would get on the next boat. It could be exactly the same, full to the gunwhales with Riva boarders and we could still find ourselves stuck in Limone. At the back of my mind I remember some self hire boats. No good for us but beyond those was a boat which plied its trade between Limone and Malcesine and there was the off chance they would take us across. Luckily they were leaving at 12.10 and yes we could buy a one way ticket for 9 euros the two of us. Slightly annoyed that our day ticket was a bit of a waste but grateful to get across we jumped at the chance. In 30 minutes we had landed the other side and walked the longish walk back into town. The sun was shining. The lake shimmered. It looked stunning. Whatever happened next it was good to be here and we had about three hours to get round Malcesine, have some lunch, go up to the castle and take in all the sights it offered.

At this point you ask ……………which part of the lake do you like the best? Well hard to say. The south is too commercialised and like a seaside resort . Not quite to our taste. The middle has more to offer and has less tourists. The top is beautiful with stunning scenery but is hard to get to. Tunnels many of them with poor narrow roads but the scenery within the Dolomites is hard to beat. Now which is the best lake . I cannot say as I have only seem Maggiore and that was stunning. I have not seen Iseo – that is on our radar for another holiday. Glenn would say Como and the north of Garda.

What has surprised us is the darkness which descends so quickly at this time of year. We haven’t had the chance to sit out so much in the evening as dusk does not exist. It goes pitch black at just before 8pm. WiFi has been poor and even our poor old EuropaSim has misbehaved. We have put another £25 on her and this had disappeared into the ether. Have we missed it? No not really. Have we missed going to Croatia? No not really. We just try to make the most out of where we are. It is no good hankering for somewhere else. There is always tomorrow.


Malcesine looks good as we climb off the boat…………….bring it on.

It was a long walk off the boat . Much longer than off the ferry which lands right slap bang in the middle of the town. Unlike Limone this is not a one horse town or street. It is very busy and more commercialised and full of cafes, restaurants and shops. The streets run upwards to the castle Our first stop was going to be lunch and we found a tiny place just on the harbour. All the tables full apart from one on the corner which we purloined. We ordered a penne dish with cream and saffron. And the usual wine and Aperol. The bread and bread sticks arrived and as we sat eating them we fell into conversation with the man and woman next door to us. They were from Selby in Yorkshire and had been to the area before on coach holidays but this time were staying in a hotel in Limone. It turned out they were friends of a relation to James Toseland the Superbike champion and bike racer for two seasons in MotoGP. His claim to fame is he now commentates for BT Sport and is married to the singer/songwriter Katie Melua. Would you believe it? They followed him in his bike races and we discussed MotorGP with them whilst we waited for our penne to arrive. When it did it was out of this world. I can cook it at home but it never tastes as delicious as this dish did covered with pesto and full of chicken.

Once we had finished we searched out two of my favourite things. Scarves. I bought three, a mink coloured one, one of a grey green hue and the other peach. Some women like shoes I am a scarf woman. Hides the chicken leg neck. And a bag. A leather black one. I love my bags and cannot resist them in Italy where a nice one in leather can be bought quite cheaply.

Final stop was the castle which involved a long walk up hill. The streets are winding and narrow and the castle was hardly worth a visit. Not the best but it does have stunning views of the Lake. So worth it just for that. The entry fee was 6 euro for me and 5 for Glenn. The castle was built by the Lombards towards the end of the first millenium and destroyed by the Franks in 590 who rebuilt it in 806. A long time ago and hard to imagine. Following invasions by the Hungarians it became part of the bishopric of Verona. In 1277 it fell under the rule of Alberto Della Scala and remained the property of his family until 1387. After which it was occupied by the Visconti of Milan, the republic of Venice (our heroes got everywhere) and by both the French and the Austrian Emperors.


We were a little sad to leave but it was an hour on the slow boat home.


And so to home. The boat arrived and we arrived home one hour after leaving Malcesine. We spent the evening in Bar Azzurro. This is the one we should have stayed in to avoid the storm. We ate Nonnas cake a lemon tart in sweet thick pastry and drank more Aperol before walking home.Looks like Lucozade but tastes a whole lot better.


We paid up 48 euros for three nights plus 3 euros tourist tax. And pondered whether to move or stay to tomorrow. We chose in the end to stay but with hindsight that wonderful things we should have moved on. At 10 when most people were trying to go to bed the music started . Campers tend to sleep in early and get up early. Can I call it music? Well not really. It sounded like a south American band with a touch of indigestion. I wouldn’t have paid the singers with lira. They were appalling and the music seemed the same all the time. A few different notes and then an identical chorus sung out of tune with gusto. We put our fingers in our ears but it went on until 11 – the silence hour when all music and talking should die down according to campsite rules. It didn’t stop. The first few bars of the song sounded different and then the awful out of tune chorus started up. Worked out after a while it was karaoke but not as we know it. A cross between music of the Andes, Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson , a bit of the 1950’s, Eurotrash and Eurovision song contest entries. Where was Meatloaf and Bat out of Hell, Careless Whisper, George Michael, a bit of I got you Babe, Sonny and Cher and Gloria Gaynor I will survive. None of Abba either. If this was Italian Saturday night out entertainment you can stuff it. I will stick to Strictly Come Dancing. We suffered until 12 when it stopped and they all went home happy in the knowledge they had enjoyed themselves and we had suffered death by a thousand dumb notes.


Our next stop was a bit of a mish mash, in fact we sat awhile and pondered where to go. We didnt want to go too far up north as we would lose the good weather. Instead we stopped thinking and pondered on the state of the economy here as you do. The coins in your pocket tell a story. I put my loose change of which there was much on the table and divided it by nation. Who was travelling and spending the most we wondered. A long line of German coins headed the list. Hardly surprising given the state of the German economy and the huge behemoths of motorhomes that were on our campsite. Bigger than buses they were filled with huge TV's and cut glass. Next the French surprising as athough the economy must be fairly good we had seen not many on the roads of Italy. No Dutch or Belgian change, no Spanish, Portuguese or Greek. And few Italian coins. After this snapshot view of the economics of Europe we found a camper stop a sosta in Bergamo - result - always wanted to go but have never found anywhere close enough to stay. This one on paper seems to fit the bill.

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