Advertisement
Before we start - don't forget that not all the photos are alongside the text, most are below it. So don't miss those fab snaps by being hasty and not scrolling down!! S&C
-------------------------
Lake Garda - Bella Italia, at last.
The mother of all storms came in across Lake Guarda on our first day and we were outside at 10pm pulling in the sun shade as the night crashed and flashed around us and torrential rain came down. Next morning you wouldn’t have known there had been a storm at all, the day dawned bright and clear.
Cathy and Tony flew in to Verona and joined us for a week of children and parent spoiling and sight seeing at Lake Garda. We are all staying at Camping Viaggio “Weekend” in Cisano. The campsite is a fabulous place, great swimming pool complex and kids entertainment. The view of Salo from the restaurant terrazzo leaves you in no doubt that you are in Italy as you gaze through your chilled glass of Spritz to the renaissance churches in Salo across the water.
Our first excursion - guided by the AA’s Northern Italy and the Lakes Guide -
was to the top of Monte Baldo by cable car. Our route around the lake took in the main towns on the western shore, and to (all) the boys delight, several long road tunnels.
The lake itself is huge at about 30 miles long and takes some driving around. There are ferries fast and slow that criss cross between all the major towns, but collectively it would have cost about one hundred euros for just one return crossing so Jupiter has been stripped of her usual cargo of travel guides, top box, swimming gear and all 6 of us pile in for the day trips taking it in turns to either hold the sick bowl between the boys in the middle or sit with your knees around your ears in the 3rd row.
At the top of Mount Baldo we picnic’d and at 1700m the views to the Alps and Dolomites beyond were fabulous, (the hour and a half long wait for the cable car less so!). Tony, Thomas and Miles found tadpoles in the pond at the top too but sadly no snow on this one.
A quick trip around the mini golf with the boys
allowed Cathy and Tony a whistle –stop tour of Malcesine and we all stopped for a gelato on the way home the boys tucking into their milk free soia vanilla with gusto and yes, the Italians do ice cream like no other.
After a morning taking in the sights of Salo, we joined Cathy and Tony for a trip to Sirmione, a narrow strip of land that juts out into the lake. There was a 13th century castle and we walked across a drawbridge and admired the “swallow-tailed mellones” – so favoured on crenolations here (see picture) and useful for our trip to Verona later in the week.
The gelato shops were doing a brisk trade, vying for the tourist euro in the narrow streets with displays of kilo’s of perfectly scalloped ice cream in a myriad of flavours for you to sample. Dodging the calories, we jumped on the tourist train up to Grotte di Catullo, the extensive remains of a Roman Villa and took in the views from the headland in a little open air cafe.
The camp’s children’s entertainers agreed to babysit for us for a couple of evenings during the week and we
got to go out in Salo to a lovely lake-side restaurant for one, and to the campsite restaurant for the other (where the evening ended with us downing limoncello liquours with our Dutch caravanning neighbours from an Italy shaped bottle – when in Rome!). And we didn’t do badly on the other nights either. Cathy and Tony being in the deluxe mobile home accommodations on site (it is all relative) had a rather more sturdy porch than our sun shade and evenings were spent eating and drinking on that and we even got to leave the boys there overnight!
A trip to the market in Bardelino was on the cards for Cathy and Claire’s girls day out. A pretty lake-side town, the market a little disappointing, too few stalls and tourist prices. If you are going, arrive early as the traffic queues stretched for miles later in the morning.
Lago Idra
Needing a dose of adrenaline, the boys went for a more action packed activity, canyoning on Lago Idra. Arranged in a hurry, and given dire warnings of keeping safe and letting others try the ropes first, this turned out to be a great trip with well
organised company. Starting in a deep gorge which just got deeper and further into the steep cliffs, and wrapped in several layers of neoprene (steady girls!) to keep out the cold - they slid, swam, abseilled and jumped their way through the canyon, having great fun and ending in a heart-jumping drop down a 50m odd waterfall into a pool and straight to the bar for a celebratory beer.
The pace of life at Lago Idra looks slower and possibly more authentically Italian than at Garda. The towns definitely have an Alpine feel and there isn’t the rampant commercialism of Garda.
Picking the boys up after their trip we all continued over the pass to Lago Ladro with its lovely mountain views and lake side recreation grounds for our picnic. As Simon remarked, you don’t have to go far around here to have a fabulous view spoiled by the sound of motorbikes, it is rammed with them. We came home over the scenic mountain plateau of trentino and by happy coincidence found ourselves back at the counter of our favourite Gelateria.
We all decided to take the train for our trips to Venice (Cathy and Tony) and
Verona. It was a welcome change from the antics of young male Italian drivers who when not indicating (because they are too busy using their arms to smoke and speak on the phone) are generally sliding around roundabouts sideways or undertaking, pulling out on you or sitting on your back seat glaring at you through the rear view mirror.
All too soon their week was over (this is possibly not how Cathy and Tony felt!) and we were back on the Autostrada to Verona airport to say ciao.
We consoled the boys with a morning in the swimming pool and an afternoon at the local Mini Golf – this one was attached to a beach bar so fun for us too. Then the rain came in and we had another mother of all storms…
Lago Iseo
Just an hour away from where we are in Lake Garda is another Lake, Iseo. Arriving at lunchtime we installed ourselves in a lovely park in Sarnio where the Scouts were making ballon animals for the children. It being Sunday, we could people watch and I can safely say that the Italian women always have great shoes and handbags!
Our intention was to drive around the Lake taking in the scenic detours and take the ferry across to Ilsa Monte which is Europe’s largest lake island. The weather had a different agenda and we got caught in a huge storm again. One of the things we were particularly looking forward to seeing were the “pyramids” in Zone. These geological masterpieces are formed where less resistant rock is worn away by wind and water leaving the more resistant rock balanced precariously on top of it (see picture).
We left the car park and set out on the trail. An elderly lady stopped to say something – probably along the lines of – can’t you hear the thunder in the hills, why are you dragging those two reluctant little boys out in this – and the boys took it as their cue to turn up the volume of their complaints. Simon took them back to the car and I continued valiantly through the valley to take this photo.
Lago Iseo is a pleasant detour, nothing like as nice as the other lakes we have been to though our opinion might have been influenced by the terrible weather.
Next
stop – Tuscany.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.145s; Tpl: 0.021s; cc: 29; qc: 92; dbt: 0.0848s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
Stuart
non-member comment
all blogs getting through
Hi there, Richard mentioned that you may sometimes get back messages that we are not receiving. No problems, all getting through. enjoying them immensely Thanks S