A Tour of Lago di Garda

Yesterday, in spite of the drizzle and cloudy weather (and because we had already bought our tickets), we did a boat tour of Lago di Garda for 42 Euros and, before I talk about that, I have to say, I am getting very tired of having to fix the predictive spelling feature which changes Lago to Lagos every time I type that word!  It turned out to be a bit of a long day although I'm pretty sure we would have felt better about it if the weather had been warm and sunny.  We started off at 8:45 by crossing the lake to pick up more people in Limone (about 40 people, mostly Germans) and then headed south toward Sirmione at the southern tip of this, the largest lake in Italy.  We arrived there about 11:30 passing along the way some pretty spectacular scenery, particularly the highway and the roads that are more or less carved into the mountain on the west side of the lake.  It seems to me to be a pretty impressive engineering feat.

We are planning to take this route when we head for Lago Como tomorrow

It's a little hard to spot the upper road in this photo (bridge and tunnels)
but the lower lakeside one with tunnel holes is easier to spot 

Not planning to take this road but I thought it was amazingly placed

Before reaching Sirmione, we passed Gargnano, the location of Villa Feltrinelli which was the official headquarters of Mussolini’s Republic of Salo (no idea what that means) from 1943 to 1945.

Villa Feltrinelli

When we reached Sirmione, we shopped a bit and then went for lunch at a lakeside restaurant where, for the first time, the service was a bit unfriendly.  After that, we had to have a gelato at one of Sirmione's famous gelaterias.  I'd never had a meringue one before and it was delicious even though the weather was a bit cool for that sort of thing.  We departed Sirmione at 1:30 heading for Bardolino.  Along the way we passed the Catullo Grottos named after Catullus, a Latin poet who died in 54 A.D. The grottoes are actually the remains of a Roman villa, the largest residence ever built in northern Italy.  Apparently, during the Renaissance, the term “grotto” or “cavern” was used to designate collapsed buildings overgrown with vegetation into which one entered as if they were a natural grotto.  

One of the famous gelaterias in Sirmione -
Gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and regular - they have it all!

The Castillo Grottos

Next, we docked in Bardolino where we had another 1 ½ hours.  Most of this time was spent checking out shops although we did stop for a glass of wine on the lake front before setting off again.  We got back to Malcesine just before 5 and both agreed the day was a little long, particularly given the weather.  I am pretty sure these photos would look much better in the sunshine.  We finished the day by eating at a very casual, simple and inexpensive restaurant just up the road from the hotel.  I'd had a lot of fun the last time I was there with Mena and Trevor.  This time, it was more subdued (not many people) but adequate for what we wanted.

Dinner at Laide, casual nearby restaurant

Next up:  Menaggio on Lago Como where, hopefully, the weather will improve.  You just have so much more energy and photos look so much better when it is sunny!  The sun did make sort of an appearance later this afternoon so, hope springs eternal!