But How Nice It Is to Wander Around... The Mincio Park

Enough lockdown. Enough Coronavirus. We don't want to hear about it anymore. Now we take the motorbikes and set off for a weekend in a pleasant place.

13 JUNE 2020 - VOLTA MANTOVANA It's Saturday morning, the Covid emergency is almost over and the regional borders have been reopened. Last autumn my husband Max had a special sidecar made by a specialised firm (Sidecaritalia - Pv), called "Fattysidecar", attached to his Harley Heritage, to meet our needs and allow us to travel more comfortably. So, the two of us with the sidecar and my daughter with her boyfriend on her Harley Superlow set off for Volta Mantovana. We have booked a dream relais immersed in the Mincio Park and completely surrounded by watercourses: Villa dei Mulini. At 8.30 we set off from the province of Varese; after a technical stop for breakfast at the Autogrill, we quickly reach the Desenzano del Garda motorway exit.

From there we pass through Solferino, reach Volta Mantovana, skirt the Canale Virgilio and soon reach Villa dei Mulini, where we have booked for the night. The establishment is described as an "Agrirelais", that is, a luxurious farm stay. It is a 16th-century country villa on the Mincio river, in a particularly evocative position as it is completely surrounded by water: the water of a canal on two sides of the building, the water of the villa's little lake with fountain which, with a small waterfall, flows into the river that runs along the edge of the villa's park. Here it is all a gushing of water that refreshes the soul and gives a feeling of peace and calm.

The property consists of 2 buildings: the villa, with its 12 rooms furnished in period style, and the restaurant "Vecchio Mulino", in an old style, housed in the villa's rustic outbuilding where the wheel of the old water mill is visible. There is even a sandy beach with parasols and chairs. The villa, for these scenic features of its, is a popular wedding venue but, in this post-Covid period, there are none. When we arrive our rooms are already ready. Ours, on the ground floor, is called "Il nido" and is really lovely: four-poster bed, walls with exposed stone and ceilings with wooden beams. My daughter's room too, the Afrodite room, upstairs, is nice and spacious, with three river-view windows. Lunchtime has already passed, so we sit at the outdoor tables and order some aperitifs, hoping for generous snacks; a hope disappointed because these are ridiculous, not to say non-existent.

Disappointed by the "aperitif", Max, Clarissa and Davide decide to explore the surroundings, discovering a little kiosk along the canal to have something to drink. Later we get back on the motorbikes and go to Borghetto sul Mincio, a hamlet of Valeggio (Vr) a few km away. On arrival we are welcomed by the Visconti bridge, built in 1393 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti and connected to the Scaligero Castle. Borghetto is a small village on the Mincio river, characterised by ancient medieval fortifications and the wheels of the water mills that are visible as you stroll through the narrow streets of the hamlet, among various little shops, bars and restaurants. It's an idyllic place, "Like in fairy tales" (Vasco teaches). We would like to return and stay here overnight. We also noticed a B&B in a panoramic position that suits us: B&B Al Mincio.

We get an ice cream and return to the villa, crossing the countryside in the Mincio park, on the border between the provinces of Verona and Mantova, and following the Canale Virgilio again, an irrigation work created from a diversion of the river. We arrive and it is almost dinner time. As a precaution, once the engines have cooled, we cover the motorbikes with waterproof covers, in case it should rain during the night. Afterwards we take a little stroll in the villa's park, curiously observing the grand set-up on the little island in the lake, for a marriage proposal. The small island is reached by crossing a little wooden bridge placed over the waterfall. The future groom has gone to great lengths and has had the little island prepared with a table for two, lanterns, candles and fairy lights in the trees.

It's a shame the forecast calls for rain and indeed, after a few minutes, the wind picks up and it starts to rain. The romantic plan comes to nothing. The couple's little table is initially moved next to ours, under the restaurant's porch, but the weather worsens further and we have no choice but to all move indoors. The dinner included in the half board (dinner €30) consists of 2 courses of your choice, plus dessert. While the future groom kneels beside our table, doing his ritual little scene, we try to order. The dinner is gourmet and the dishes, though photogenic, are scanty. Still, everything is good and well cooked, even if the service leaves something to be desired. There is a lot of disorganisation: they brought us 4 menus, of which one was blank and 2 were wrong.

Of the things on the only reliable list, many were missing and the waiter kept repeating to us: "ehh, there isn't any", "ehh, there isn't any". But the worst thing was when, choosing the wine, we noticed that for the less expensive wines (minimum 18 euros) it was a constant "ehhh, there isn't any", and they deliberately wanted to palm off 70-euro bottles on us! I particularly recommend my main course, a breaded veal parallelepiped, and a dessert, the Cubo del Capitano, that is, a very good mousse enclosed in a little chocolate cube. After dinner, everyone off to bed.

14 JUNE 2020 - RETURNING HOME It's Sunday, the weather isn't great, but at least it isn't raining. We stroll around the villa's little lake which, despite the gloomy sky, still keeps its emerald-green colour and is equally enchanting. We take some photos on the little bridge and from there we see a family of swans near the waterfall: dad, mum and no fewer than 8 young, some with grey feathers and others already white.

Then we go to the restaurant for breakfast; an average breakfast, everything rationed and everything served at the table since, because of the Coronavirus, it is not yet possible to set up buffets due to health regulations. After loading the motorbikes we set off. We do it all in one stretch because the weather is uncertain and threatens rain, stopping only for petrol. We make it and arrive home dry, fully satisfied with our weekend in such a fascinating place. DANI, MAX, CLA AND DAVIDINO