The medieval town
From the first morning it was pouring rain on Lake Garda and the bungalow where I was staying, on the lakefront, was an accumulation of cold and dampness that was no small thing. I set off to find a workable solution on that rainy and sad gray day. A short distance from the campsite I found the sign for Sirmione, a famous town on Lake Garda. I found a parking spot in the square near the famous castle and I don't want to comment on the cost of parking (I would have gone to dinner in a restaurant with that sum...), so I decided to visit the castle. A fully fledged medieval castle, half bathed by the waters of the lake and half bordering the mainland. Sirmione is a beautiful picturesque little town with narrow frescoed alleys, ancient palaces, medieval courtyards...in short, a cure-all for anyone passionate about villages and history.
A very long panoramic climb led to the thermal baths and the ancient excavations. The view from the top of the hill was breathtaking and I captured those gray but fairy-tale landscapes. At the summit are the Catullus thermal baths, with grand, very luxurious hotels, lush green gardens, houses and villas of high society....The Grand Hotel Terme and the Hotel Sirmione were splendid hotels located right on the lake, with lake-view rooms and a solarium equipped with loungers and small tables for days of extreme sun...even though that wasn't the right day... When I returned to the center, after a stroll to admire the shop windows, I landed in a beautiful luxurious and welcoming restaurant. The menus were divided into a lake menu, a tasting menu and a land menu. I opted for the last one.
A big plate of panzerotti with walnut sauce and the lamb shank with potatoes could not have better satisfied my craving for food. In the early afternoon, from the boarding point, I took the boat to do the tour of the lake and even though the day was gray, I could still enjoy splendid views. The small villages perched on the hill overlooking the lake were all very picturesque and at times even illuminated by a sporadic ray of sun. The little port of Desenzano sul Garda was bigger and better supplied than Sirmione and people were waiting to be able to board. That boat was used by everyone as a normal means of transport to move from one village to another along the shore of the lake. In the most unrestrained luxury of that ancient village I landed in a jewelry shop that sold Swarovski, to make my purchase...
Wandering around Sirmione among the gardens and panoramic walks I also spotted a small little beach that surely in summer was used by tourists. I was induced to leave the village only when it definitely started raining incessantly and after a stop in a bar in the center, I decided to take the road again to head to......Verona!! Verona, an ancient and fascinating city, with its imposing Arena and the neighboring streets packed with high-ranking shops like Armani, Gucci, Valentino, D&G,.......a delight for the eyes and for shoppers. The famous balcony of Romeo and Juliet was not missing, by now surrounded by dedications, writings, messages from all the tourists who for years have gone to see that very small and very simple historic balcony. It was an intense day and on returning to the campsite, I was exhausted but satisfied.
The dampness that the lake around the campsite brought all the way into my little bungalow was above any imaginable percentage.....I took a couple of steps along the lake.....discovering that from there one could reach the back of the famous number one park in Italy: Gardaland.
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