Day 4- Lake Garda

We spent our 4th day in Italy at Lake Garda. If you know my husband at all, you know that he is a lake man. So, we decided to spend the whole day touring the southern end of the lake.

We started off our day in a town called Sirmione. Sirmione is located on a small peninsula at the southern end of the lake. When we crossed the drawbridge to enter the old town, we were greeted by Scagliera Castle. This castle was built in 1259 and was occupied by the della Scala family. It is easy to identify the castles which were owned by the della Scala family, because they all have the trademark fishtail battlements.We spent some time wondering around the castle and enjoying the view.After we left the castle, we walked a few minutes until we came to a beach front. Our day had begun with some drizzle and raincoats, but now the sun was shining brightly! We gave the kids a few minutes to wade in the water and throw rocks (Collin loved throwing rocks).We then walked along the path by the water for a few minutes until we came to a resort near the end of the peninsula. We enjoyed a nice lunch (pizza, of course!) with a beautiful view of the lake. One the way back, we walked alongside an olive grove, and we noticed (by smell at first) one of the natural sulfur springs that can be found under this part of the lake.We left Sirmione and headed to a town on the eastern-southern side of the lake called Lazise. We found a primo parking spot right on the water's-edge and took a stroll into the main tourist area. The town was packed with people, and the sun was warm! Boy, did it feel nice. And to make it even nicer, we all got a tasty gelato!! Yummmm!!!After walking around the village, the kids were anxious to get in the water. We had brought their swimsuits. The water was cold, but of course, the kids didn't care.After drying off and getting dressed again, we headed to our last destination for the day: Bardolino. Bardolino is another tourist town on the eastern side of Lake Garda. The village was just lovely. The cobblestone walkways were lined with cute, little shops. We walked down to the water and strolled along the boardwalk.After our stroll, we found a nice restaurant to eat at. Since it was my birthday, I splurged on a seafood risotto. Unfortunately, Collin didn't get the message that it was my birthday dinner, and so it was another tag-team eating experience. Thankfully, the sunset was lovely as we were taking turns walking around with him.It really was a beautiful day at the lake. The weather was perfect, the kids got to swim, and we all drove back to the agriturismo exhausted but content.

Le Bianchette

When we were making lodging reservations for Italy, I was hoping to find something a little more authentic than hotels for our whole stay. Somewhere, I read about agriturismos, which are working farms that have been converted into inns. I found a place called Le Bianchette Agriturismo which wasn't too far from Lake Garda, so I made a reservation for two nights.

Le Bianchette was a real, authentic, working farm. Set on top of a hill, you could see the grape vines which seemed to stretch for miles in all directions. I had another one of my "pinch me" moments as I watched my kids running between the rows of grapes on an Italian hillside. Just amazing!

On our first night there, we made a reservation to eat at the inn's restaurant. We were going to have a full Italian meal. Up to this point, we had only eaten a slice of pizza here, plate of pasta there. But for Italians, a full meal consists of an antipasto (appetizer), primo piatto (first course; usually pasta or soup), and secondo piatto (second course; meat or fish dish, usually served with vegetables on the side). And of course, there is usually plenty of wine and conversation between courses.

Our antipasto consisted of small toasts of bread, coated with a kind of ricotta cheese spread, and topped either with tomato sauce or a nice slice of salami. The primo piatto was two, yes two, different types of pasta: the first was almost like a beef strogonoff but not as creamy, and the second was an incredible, creamy pasta with ham. Oh, it was so good! The secondo piatto was very thin slices of beef and chicken, and the chicken was coated with a lemon sauce. The second course was served with bowls of vegetables and a platter of melon with slices of prosciutto. As usual, Ethan and I ate tag-team style, with one of us outside watching the kids play on the small playground while the other ate. But when dessert came, everyone was back to the table. We were served slices of ice-milk cake, similar to ice-cream, but not as creamy. And my piece even came with a birthday candle in it! :)

Our room at the agriturismo was just fine for our needs. Tim and Maddie enjoyed sleeping in the bunk bed, but Collin could easily crawl out of his crib onto our bed. Needless to say, it took him a long time to fall asleep. That wouldn't have been that big of a deal, except that we were woken at the crack of dawn by the farm's roosters. Yes, it was a real, working farm.

The farm had chickens, cute baby chicks, turkeys, hares, and ponies (the smaller one was only 2 weeks old when we were there!). The kids really did enjoy seeing all of the different animals.

And as we were leaving, the hostess gave us a bottle of the white wine that is made from their grapes. We were able to bring it home, and I suppose we will save it for a special occasion.

I think it was definitely worth the experience of staying at the agriturismo. The only thing I would change was those stinkin', noisy roosters!

Day 3- Verona and Lake Garda

Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
-Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

Our third day in Italy started with a 2 hour drive, heading inland from Venice. Our first destination was Verona. As you may remember, Verona became well-known as the setting from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's Capulets and Montagues were actually based on two feuding families from Verona: the Capellos and Montecchi. Besides the Romeo and Juliet hype, the city of Verona has some Roman ruins that we were excited to see.

When we arrived in Verona, the clouds were just starting to roll in... not the best sign. And before we even made it into the city center, the rain started to fall. HUGE raindrops and thunder. We found shelter in an entrance to the Roman Arena. This arena is the 3rd largest Roman arena in the world! It was built in the first century, and was used to entertain crowds of up to 25,000 spectators who would come to watch gladiator battles, executions, and plays. The day we were there, the arena was being used for a music awards show, which meant that it was closed to the public (grrrrrr....).Well, as the rain continued to pour down in buckets, we made a run for it, and found a nice pizzeria with outside tables under a canopy that we could eat lunch at. And thankfully, the rain calmed down while we ate. After lunch, we walked down the main tourist street, Via Mazzini, to Piazza Erbe. Piazza Erbe was a lovely, scenic spot with an open market, fountains, and statues.From there, we walked to the House of Juliet. As you enter the courtyard to the House, you walk through a short tunnel that is lined with love notes. Inside the courtyard, you can gaze upon the balcony, and a bronze statue of Juliet. The problem is that although this house was built in the 1300s, the balcony wasn't added until the 1950s. It was still fun to glance at and imagine, though. You may notice that the right breast of Juliet is a little smaller and shinier than the left. That's because the local legend says that people who rub Juliet's breast and wish for love will find it. It took me about 5 minutes to take this picture without someone posing and rubbing!

We finished up our time in Verona with a gelato of course, and continued on our way. This picture was taken just as we were leaving Verona, and it is classic Italy to me. Everywhere we went there were tall, skinny cyprus trees in the horizon. That, and red poppy flowers. And of course, vineyards. There are as many vineyards in Italy as there are fields of sheep in North Yorkshire-- grapes everywhere!!

Anyway, our next destination was Lake Garda. We had a very scenic drive up to the northern end of the lake. We found ourselves in the foothills of the alps, and we enjoyed driving among the mountains.Our first glance of the lake came when we arrived at a town called Torbole. We were a little disappointed at how hazy the sky was, but we still were amazed at the view! The contrast of the lake with the mountains and cliffs was gorgeous!

We continued our drive south, along the eastern side of the lake. After a brief stop to feel the water (can you see how clear it is??!!), we eventually arrived at a town called Malcesine (pronounced Mal-che-see-ney). We had hoped to take a cable-car ride up to Mount Baldo, but didn't think it would be worth it since the sky was still so hazy. So instead, we spent some time walking around the village. Before long, we came to a charming, cobble-stone path that led to a castle overlooking the lake. The view was beautiful.At this point, we were late for our agriturismo reservation, so we had to get going. The second place that we stayed at was an agriturismo, which is basically a working farm that is an inn. My next blog will be about Le Bianchette, and the authentic Italian meal we had there that night.