I never knew Lake Garda is quite so large …

Tom had set the alarm the day before as we wanted to have a full day to explore, but we were both still tired, so off we went to dreamland for another 30 minutes. When we got up and looked outside it was looking grey and it seemed to drizzle a bit, but we still had time until we wanted to start this day’s adventure. So we showered and got ready to head downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.

There was a well-stocked buffet with all your breakfast essentials and the server told us that we could sit wherever we wanted and  that it was possible to sit outside on the covered patio. That sounded pretty good, as by now it had stopped to rain. Tom got himself some coffee and I got myself a cup of hot water and bathed one of my own tea bags in it, then we got some orange juice and finally we went for something to eat. We both loaded up our plates with Italian salami, ham, cheese, butter and panini rolls and returned to our table. Once we had finished plate one Tom went to pick up a plate of savoury food, sautéed mushrooms, courgettes, scrambled eggs and bacon, while I got  myself a chocolate croissant.

And after finishing our breakfast we went back to our room to pick up our stuff for the day. Our original plan for the day had been to get the car from the garage and drive around the lake stopping wherever we felt like it. But during our brief walk around the day before we had seen that you could buy a day ticket for the ships on the lake, so we decided to just leave the car where it was and go by ship.

We had already missed the first ship of the day, but there was time before the next one, so after checking the weather again we headed over to the booth to get our tickets, then ask where the next ship would leave from. We were pleased to hear that it was the paddle steamer and walked over. The skies were still grey, but once we were allowed on board we found great seats on the top deck and soon we found ourselves going to Torbole, a little village close to Riva. While going there we were both wondering if we would be able to stay outside, as with the wind on that deck it was a bit chilly, but once we had arrived at Torbole we could see the sun coming through and it warmed up quickly. And there a few more tourists joined us on our trip to the next destination, Malcesine.

The trip was really nice, now with the temperature rising we enjoyed the beautiful sights left and right of the boat. About half an hour later we arrived at Malcesine and got off as did quite a few other tourists. It is a typical small Italian village with narrow streets and houses close together and this one had a small castle right on top of a hill. And after some exploring of the village we headed up to the castle and went right past a wedding party. Soon we had made it to the castle, but didn’t go inside because we did not have enough time. What we did have enough time to do was enjoying some ice-cream. And while we sat and enjoyed the frozen treat the wedding party went by getting ready for the big event.

We didn’t have time to wait for the bride as we needed to head back to catch the next ship to go to our next destination. I had thought to just go and criss cross the lake when we noticed that it would take 2 hours to go to our next stop. I had been to Lake Garda as a child, but I had not thought that it was quite that big. So we were at the pier waiting and a boat came and went but finally ours arrived, a hydrofoil. We, and a gazillion other people got on, but we found seats and settled in and off we went. The boat really criss crossed the lake several times in the two hours we were on board and finally we arrived at the southern end of the lake at the peninsular of Sirmione.

The sight we wanted to see there was the water castle and we were happy to see that the pier where we got off the ship was right opposite the castle. So we walked the few steps over and explored from the outside, looking out for a shop to get something to drink. While we were still walking around looking for a snack bar that I had found on Tripadvisor we walked by another restaurant which I had seen on Tripadvisor. And even though their homepage had said that today was their day off, their door was open. Tom peeked in and asked if they were open and low and behold they were, so in we went, into Leo’s Hamburgeria.

Not the Italian food that you would think we would look for, but it had had great reviews and we had wanted to try it. We were seated at a small table for two and handed their menu, which left both of us a bit clueless. But soon the server was at hand to explain. You order what kind of beef you want and how much and the burger is prepared to order. Every burger comes with a bun, bacon, cheese, tomato, lettuce, onions and thick cut fries and you put it together the way you want. They also put four small pots of sauces on the table and you can experiment which and how much of any you want on your burger. So we both ordered our burger and our drinks, beer for Tom and a Diet Coke for me and waited for our main courses. It did not take long at all and they were brought out and after putting all the toppings on they were delicious. We were pretty happy with our lunch opion. Bellies filled we headed back out into the now blazing heat and walked around Sirmione, exploring the castle a little more and its surrounding areas a little more.

In the end we had walked back and forth so much that we lost a bit of orientation, but since the peninsular is so narrow it was easy to get back on track again. All too soon it was time to head back to the pier again to wait for the hydrofoil. There was already a line and we were wondering if we would be able to get back on board, but we even still scored seats on the upper deck. Unfortunately ALL the seats were filled quickly and sitting so close together and the AC not working all that well, it got pretty hot pretty soon. But after two or three stops quite some people got off and we headed towards the back where we got a seat for three just for the two of us.

There we sat for the rest of the two hour journey battling the heat. We took a few photos but because there was a window in the way they did not come out as well as I would have wanted. And finally we made it to our next stop, the town of Limone. The village “climbs” up into the mountain and some of the buildings’ walls actually ARE the mountain. It is another sweet little town and since we had an hour and a half to explore we walked around a bit, explored some of the shops, which live of selling the product that gave the city its name, lemons and lemon products. On the way back we went past a nice looking café and decided to sit down and have a treat.

Tom ordered an espresso, while I just wanted a Diet Coke, but I also wanted some more gelato. I ordered two scoops and left the choice to the server and he did very well. Once scoop was lemon sorbet and the other something I would never ever have ordered myself, watermelon. I do not eat watermelon, there is something about the way it feels in my mouth that I just don’t like, but the taste of the sorbet was unbelievable. I really enjoyed it. On the way back to the ship we bought a few small souvenirs and then headed towards the pier again. A ship had just left (they go in all different directions and are not really on time) and we asked where the next one would go and it was ours, so we got in line.

Well, we actually started the line and stood there in the sun for some time. Suddenly you could see another ship coming towards us and when it was close to the pier quite a few people started moving in and when the ropes were pulled back and we were to enter the ship quite a few people had gotten ahead of us. Luckily we still scored some seats on the outside at the front of the ship and off we went again. After about half an hour we stopped at Torbole and finally got off in Riva, where we only had to walk a few steps to our hotel. We were both feeling hot and sweaty, so we took showers and then quickly got ready for dinner in the dining room.

When we arrived we already knew where our table was and walked over and were greeted by the head server. We had been handed a menu while having breakfast to pick out what we wanted for dinner, so there was no surprise.

Again, we ordered a bottle of still water and a bottle of the wine we had had the day before, which was from a local winery before heading to the buffet for the antipasti. They were different from the day before and picked a puff pastry shell filled with stewed mushrooms (oh, such a reminder of the 70s), a piece of puff pastry vegetable strudel, parmesan potatoes and grilled veggies. Tom picked the same, plus a baked scallop and we both enjoyed our starters very much. And soon after our hot starters were served. We had decided to share the Pennette Pasta with pumpkin cream and bacon and the Baked Cannelloni with ricotta and spinach. We gobbled everything up and in the end were happy we did. Our main courses, the Grilled Chicken Breast, which was as dry as the desert, served with roasted potatoes and broccoli and the Pork Escalope with lemon and the same sides did not really live up to what they promised. Dessert didn’t look any more promising than the day before, so after having a few bites of the main course and finishing off our bottle of wine we left the dining room. After a short visit to the room we headed out and walked around the town for a bit and when we returned I picked up the third ice-cream of the day at our hotel’s gelateria. We sat out on the balcony while I enjoyed my “dessert” and Tom had a liquid dessert, an Italian beer. Since we had only had two nights at the hotel we still had to pack up our stuff, but it did not take too long and by 11pm we were in bed drifting off to dreamland.