This was probably our favourite place!
Trip Start
Feb 28, 2012
1
38
43
Trip End
Jul 10, 2012
Where I stayed
Tremosine, Lombardy, Italy
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The trip up to the mountains was pleasant in itself. As we came out of the valley, (or the hole!) that Florence is in, we came out to flat country where farming of all sorts is evident- wheat, grapes, sunflowers, stone fruits, lucerne, corn etc. There were lots of sprinklers going keeping it all lush. The final hour of the journey was the most dramatic when we made our way through the pass between the mountains that were dotted with villages, each with a church with a pointy spire. When we left the autostrade to follow the road around the Lake Garda we passed thousands of tourism accommodation places and went through tunnels that even have arches in the sides from where you can catch glimpses of the lake. The lake views are amazing and so are the sheer walls of the very high mountains. The whole place has a Swiss alps look about it, which shouldn't be surprising considering its relatively close proximity to the Swiss border.
I think this region was possibly the most beautiful location we went to in the whole 'adventure' and that's high praise 'cause we've seen some beautiful places! The craggy mountain peaks that were at the rear of every scene we faced were so majestic and even interesting... The light changed across the mountains as the sun moved across the sky and new crevasses or gorges were revealed. The rocks at the top of the mountains shone like snow. The most dramatic changes were when a thunderstorm rolled across the sky and obscured the mountains completely. It was quite a surprise NOT to see the mountains as they had become such a feature of the landscape. I would have liked to have had a lake view but the mountains proved to be really enjoyable and quite awe inspiring.
The weather was amazing when we were there. We only had the one rainy, thundery morning and the rest of the time we had beautiful sunshine during the day. Carielle and I joined the 'sun worshipping' Germans to 'bake' in the deck chairs around the pool and took the occasional dip in the pool to cool off. No matter how long we stayed out by the pool we could never 'out stay' the majority of Germans. Many stayed out all day everyday with only very short breaks away from their lounges. I know it is difficult to burn for some reason in this Northern sun but they certainly got their fair share of Vitamin D for the summer season! We presume it's a desire to get as much sunshine & colour as possible to tide them over the long, cold sunless winter months!
We also made the discovery of Limone, a little town on the lake front of Garda. It proved a very pretty place both night and day. At nighttime the lake edge sparkles with lights from the buildings and street lights. We got a beautiful view of it one night when we had dinner out at a restaurant that is literally built onto the cliff edge and over hanging the lake! We also went to Rive a couple of times. Once Allan & I took a short ferry ride up there and another time we drove there along the lakeshore past the cliff hugging hotels. On one of our last days in the region we went for a drive around the lake to Malcesine where the cable car takes you up to the top of Mount Baldo. It was a squishy ride in the cable car but a most spectacular view from the top. With our binoculars we could even see across the lake to our very own holiday village at La Pertica.
We even tried out Nordic hiking! Well maybe not hiking... but Carielle & I took a walk up one of the mountains behind the apartment. It was a steep walk and we didn't make it to the top of the mountain... We stopped once we arrived at a most spectacular viewing spot over our valley of Tremosine and onto Lake Garda beyond. I could understand why hiking and biking are so popular in the area. I think I could get into alpine hiking.... I even think I could get into alpine living... Lake Garda area is so beautiful we've decided that we could live here after all!!!
