Saturday Lake Garda

Once again – this is briefer than my usual descriptions of my days when I am travelling on my own. I spend more time eating , drinking, laughing, waiting with the group etc than when on my own. Homework?? Hmm. Not really an excuse I can use.

We all went together to the train / bus station to catch a local bus to Sirmione, a finger of land extending into the southern end of Lake Garda, about 1 ½ hours away. There were little alleys, lots of flowers in window boxes, swish restaurants, fancy hotels, shops selling niceish touristy things and fancy clothes. Helen and I walked past the shops to a park with lots of old olive trees on the tip of the peninsular. There were ruins of villas, baths and shops built as a resort for wealthy Romans from the 1st century BCE. Catullus, the Roman poet, owned a villa here. There were beautiful views. There was also a castle built by the Scagliere family. Which we did not see.

From there we caught a ferry to a town Lazise on the eastern shore. It used to be a port for the Venetians when they ruled this part of the world. Now it is a little summer holiday town with a peaceful little church and some nice coffee places ( we sat in one) and many shops ( others bought things) .

Bus home was crowded and hot