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Onwards to our main destination. No surprise that we loved Lago di Garda so much that we decided on a second visit back to the same part of the lake and the same campsite. It was just the three of us for the first week but the Prof joined us for the second week

I don’t think I could ever tire of this view.

On our first morning it was a joy to see it again.

On our previous trip we had several long days away from the campsite so this year we vowed to spend more time in our local spot.

Sun-drenched selfie.

It was significantly hotter than last year so lazing on the beaches nearby and taking many swims was the order of the day(s).

Just lazing about and swimming with these views was always a pleasure especially at 36C!

TBF soaks up the afternoon sun.

Looking back towards where our campsite is. This small beach is about a 5 minute walk away and made for a nice change of scene. Other than the windsurf school it was always quieter than the campsite beach.

Long view down the the lake was another favourite.

Sunrise colours. We took a swim every morning before breakfast when the water was calm and the beach deserted other than the collection of various types of duck and a few geese and swans. They were always a delight to share the beach with and were very friendly and used to the people around.

Early morning wind-surfer.

Our pitch on the campsite.

And a view of our home from the toilet block balcony

This year we also made a habit of heading down to the beach in the evening. Mainly for an evening swim to cool off before bed.

It was always very quiet and peaceful and I came to enjoy it as much as the morning swims.

These two trees always made for a fine photo subject.

Night-time on the beach.

We spent plenty of time on the water as well as in it. Both in the kayak and the Paddle Board

TJF enjoyed just floating around on the inflatable ring.

Always quieter out on the water.

And gives a different perspective of the lake and surrounding mountains.

Further afield on foot we developed some regular outings. This on the way to Torbole, looking out over the lake from the bridge over the Sarca River.

And inland towards the mountains.

It was a regular afternoon post lunch outing for an ice cream.

This cute little family of white-breasted ducks were always around. The water-fowl become like regulr friends on our little walks around.

Our happy family enjoying the view.

One of our favourite spots was this set of steps built for the scuba diving school. In the morning before the wind turns and comes up the lake its wonderfully calm and clear and very quiet.

We had a favourite rock to sit on and just paddle, swim, chat and generally relax. We came here several times.

Happy family.

The Prof enjoys a swim.

View towards Riva.

Across to the mountains that tower over the lake.

We came back for an evening swim here a couple of times.

TJF enjoys the evening cooler air.

The night-time views gave a different perspective on those classic views.

The other worldly light of night divers exploring the lake.

We took a few wanders into Riva del Garda both for lunch and evening meal.

The main square and church tower.

The other towns around the lake are very busy with tourists but Riva for some reason is always quiet in the daytime. It comes alive more in the evening.

The ferry harbour.

Superb views across the lake to Monte Baldo

One of the gateways into the old town.

Evening views across to the mountains behind.

And along the lake.

And a night-time shot of the yacht harbour. Happy memories of a relaxing time at this most fabulous Lake playground.

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Our last day in Lake Garda and the weather had indeed broken. This was the view across the lake first thing in the morning as I took my swim!

We didn’t do much that last day, just a lazy lunch and packing in between the heavy showers.

So to close out from the Lake Garda part of our trip, a few different images to the first post about the lake taken during the evening and in some of the less settled weather.

These two trees became a favourite spot and photo subject of mine.

The view down the lake on one of the less settled days with stormy clouds over the southern end of the lake.

I often went for an evening wander down to the beach when all the crowds has dispersed.

Its was always so wonderfully peaceful and pleasantly warm.

Setting sun behind the Cima Valdes.

An orange glow on the mountains.

A golden Cima Valdes.

Calm lake waters to calm the spirits.

I never tired of this view at whatever time of day or whatever the weather.

Sunset over the small harbour.

My favourite foreground again.

The classic view along the lake.

Monte Baldo.

Panorama to take in the full breadth of what became my daily view.

This was, I think, the day we picked up the travellers who flew in for the second week.

Some dramatic and stormy clouds. Whilst it absolutely chucked it down in Verona where we picked them up. I don’t think it actually rained at our end of the lake.

More shots from the stormy skies that dominated our last day.

The low sunlight, dark skies and rainbow created some amazing scenes.

Despite what looked like a cloud-burst about to happen with thunder booming and lightning crackling all around it didn’t actually rain all that much.

It was actually the worst weather day of the entire 3 weeks so considering that we were very lucky.

A final evening shot along the lake to signify the end of our stay at Lake Garda. What an absolutely wonderful place it is and so glad I kind of stumbled into it as a holiday idea.

Not to worry, we still had some places to see on our long journey home…..

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The day after our trip to Venice our numbers were swelled to double figures with the arrival of various partners and sisters. After a day of airport pick ups and lazing around we were ready for more adventure.

We decided on an early morning walk up Monte Brione, the small mountain behind the campsite. We were off just after 7:30 hoping to beat the worst of the heat.

First, a morning stroll along the lake shore and regular swim.

Refreshed and with supplies in the pack we set off.

Firstly along the north shore.

To the point where the path to the top rises steeply along the edge of the cliffs of Monte Brione.

The views of both mountains and lake opening up as we climbed. Looking across the urban sprawl of Riva towards the mountains.

Cima Valdes.

The classic view along the lake towards the southern shores which are just about visible on the horizon.

Looking down on our campsite at Camping Maroadi.

And over Riva del Garda. There are several wartime forts built on the mountain (by the Austrians I think). Forte Garda is the lower one. Be good to explore when you have more time on a cooler day.

We were more interested to find a spot near the top near Forti Monte Brione for an al fresco breakfast. A fresh brew of tea and marmalade croissants with a view like this is hard to beat.

A panorama shot from the top.

My lovely lady companions.

And a selfie for good measure.

We took a walk to the actual summit but access was a little restricted by the mass of telecoms kit and masts on the top.

Despite the growing heat we pushed on to the far end of the ridge and the Forte Sant Alessandro. It gave great views of Arco and its castle.

And the surrounding hills.

Looking back along the lake.

The main summit and Monte Baldo in the background.

A great view down over our campsite (and Lidl!). Our pitch is pretty much right in the centre of the photo.

Glimpses of the mountains through the trees.

Classic view along the lake and down to our local beach.

Lots of olive groves which are a fine gnarly tree and one of my favourites.

It was getting pretty hot by this point as we’d taken much longer to complete the walk than planned. We were eager to get down but not so eager that we couldn’t admire the views one last time.

Final view over the beach and campsite.

And along the lake.

We finished the day off with a walk into Riva for lunch with the rest of the gang at our favourite sandwich shop and another swim in the lake on the way back. A great walk but definitely one for morning or evening in the middle of a hot summer.

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Onwards to our main destination for the holiday. Lake Garda in northern Italy. I’ve never been to Italian Lakes (other than driving through) so this, together with TJF’s love of all things Italian gave us the idea.

I foolishly thought at one stage that I could drive all the way from Paris in one day. Realising it was 10 hours in perfect traffic without stops soon averted me from that idea and we planned a stopover in the Alps near the Italian border.

We used one of our favourite hotel chains and managed to park up the trailer with no issues after a long and hot drive through France. Advantage of hotel was an air conditioned room for a night after the heat of camping.

St Avre was a pleasant if unremarkable little town with some great views of the lower Alps. What it did have was a lovely little Pizza place. Quiet and understated with a small outdoor terrace, a friendly lady who seemed to do everything (owner, wait tables, cook pizzas) and the pizzas themselves were terrific. A little gem of a place and just what we needed.

The walk back took us over the glacial Arc river which gave us a wonderful cool passage of air.

Next day was a long tedious drive into Italy via the Frejus tunnel. Tedious on account of the fact they insist you can only drive 50mph when towing a trailer in Italy. Makes for slow and laborious progress. The weather had also broken down and it chucked it down most of the way to Turin. After that, the sun came back out and all was hot and sunny.

We arrived at the campsite around 5pm and joined up with our friends, The Macclesfield Massive, who had driven down from Germany. They were already set up and sorted the practicalities including reading my mind and booking us a table in the restaurant at the campsite. Most the rest of the day was taken with setting up camp and a fine meal, great to be sharing our main holiday with good friends. Didn’t actually get much chance to survey my new surroundings until the next morning.

Awake early and keen to see the Lake and its surrounding mountains I went straight to the beach. This was the view that greeted me.

You’ll see from this post and the many that follow that I was completely entranced by the view of the mountains and along the lake. I never tired of looking at it (or photographing it!). Probably up there with my favourite views anywhere and all just a minute’s walk from the tent.

The sun rising over the mountains behind the campsite just behind the beach.

Early morning was the best time of day for the view with a clear view of lake and mountains illuminated by the rising sun.

One of the joys was taking an early morning swim before anyone else was up and about. The lake is crystal clear and has the perfect temperature, warm enough to be able swim and play in comfort, cool enough to be refreshing on a hot day. Here is TBF taking her morning swim.

A shot from my own swim, taken in the water (that’s my green beach shoes in the water). Really refreshes you and sets the day up perfectly.

The lake was also home to a group of ducks (including a family of ducklings) and geese who became our new friends and companions whenever we were swimming or playing in the water.

They were pretty tame and would often be found wandering about amongst the people sunbathing on the beach.

Or here, joining you for a swim.

The Funsters enjoying some quality sunbathing time on the beach.

Having all this fabulous water and beach and all just steps away from the campsite was an absolute joy. Probably my only regret is we spent so much time off exploring the rest of the area that we didn’t spend even more time on and near the water as we perhaps should have done.

A few photos and thoughts about the campsite. Here is our Trailer Tent, all set up on our pitch.

Views to the mountains behind.

The beach and lake is just the other side of the hedge in the background.

The campsite managed to find us a spot near the lake and together next to our MM friends. This meant we could spread out onto effectively one huge pitch and it worked perfectly.

The campsite was by an order of magnitude the best provisioned and most slickly organised one I’ve ever stayed on. I’ve stayed on sites that were maybe a little more relaxed if that’s the right word but this one had all the little details covered. As an example this is the view from the first floor on the main toilet block. Yes, it was a two storey affair with a massive number of loos and showers. I don’t think anyone ever had to queue. There were other toilet blocks as well.

The views from the first floor were always worth a pause.

The campsite was big but no huge so it never felt crowded. Most of the guests were German and most people seemed to stay on or near the campsite most of the time. We were one of the few people who seemed to venture out in the car.

Most people seemed to be here for the watersports, kite surfing, wind-surfing and hydrofoil surfing. The Lake is one of the best renowned spots in Europe due to its reliable winds. More on that in a later post.

In line with most Italian campsites (well, in this part of Italy, based on my research), the standard pitches are smaller (we managed to snag a bigger pitch) and are significantly more expensive, than in France. However the facilities and organisation were a class above. I wouldn’t hesitate to return if we come back, which I sincerely hope we do.

Lastly for this first post about the Lake and our local spot, some photos from on the water rather than in it.

We took both our SUP and inflatable kayak and being out on the water was great fun.

These are all taken from a kayak trip around bay. Looking south to Monte Baldo.

Back inland towards Monte Brione and the campsite beach.

The rock where the braver souls were jumping into water. Getting back out again was the bigger challenge!

Monte Brione.

And the prominent mountain overlooking the lake, the view so close to my heart, is I think Cima Valdes although I don’t have the maps to confirm.

More posts to come about the nearby towns and some different perspectives on the lake. Still not quite sure why it took me so long to visit this stunning corner of Europe. A deep blue lake surrounded by mountains is pretty much a perfect combination for me.