Venice and Lake Garda

Our first night at Camping Serenissima was notable only because it became known as the Night of the Mosquitos!  We sat out until we realised that we were getting pestered by insects and retired.  By morning we both had evidence of a few bites, even though we’d applied Avon’s ‘Skin so Soft’ but didn’t think much of it.  Later we would realise that we had more than 30 bites between us, and boy were we going to suffer!

However, on the Tuesday morning after Karol had opened her birthday cards, we caught the local bus from outside the site into Venice, a journey which took about half an hour.  The bus station is on the edge of town, so armed with a map we set off to explore, stopping along the way for a quick breakfast.  The last time we’d visited Venice was on a corporate trip, where all our time was organised, so whilst we’d had the gondola ride, and visited all the main attractions, we hadn’t had the time to simply wander and take in the atmosphere.  Venice is an oddity in that, you can turn a corner and be completely alone, or be mobbed by crowds of tourists – you’re never quite sure what it’s going to be!

We had a lovely morning wandering, taking photos, and watching the various boats vie for position on the canals.  Some gondolas have musicians aboard, so we were treated to various renditions of well known operatic arias, with by far the most popular being ‘Volare’ and ‘O Sole Mio.’

Lunch was at a classy takeaway (it was a restaurant really, but they didn’t have a toilet!) and then more sight seeing.

As it was Karol’s birthday, I’d promised her a bellini – my initial thoughts were Harry’s Bar, but having read some awful reviews on Trip Advisor, decided instead that one of the posh hotels overlooking the Grand Canal was going to provide us with a much more memorable experience.  We chose The Gritti Palace, and were ushered by an attentive waiter in a smart white jacket onto a balcony with its own private jetty overlooking the canal.  Karol ordered her bellini and I had an Aperol Spritz – a mix of aperol (an orange liquor) prosecco and sparking water.  Both drinks were delicious, and beautifully presented with nibbles.  We sipped and people watched – most of the other guests spoke English, but were American rather than British.  People arrived by water taxi at the jetty, others wandered in as we had, but all were given the five star treatment.  We were enjoying ourselves, so we ordered a glass of wine each to follow the cocktails, and these duly arrived with a fresh set of nibbles.

All told we were there about 2 hours, and whilst some of the most expensive drinks I think I’ve ever bought, it was a wonderful and very memorable experience.

Afterwards we walked some more, and as the afternoon drew to a close made our weary way back to the bus terminus and onto our number 53 bus back to the site.

It’s never easy getting the bus back to where you came from, as you don’t always know exactly when your stop is coming up, and indeed what the terrain looks like.  This was made even more difficult by the fact that we had seats facing the back of the bus so were only able to see where we’d been rather than where we were going!  We’d also forgotten, in our hurry to board and get a seat (no one queues over here!) to check that this was one of the three number 53 buses that would take us back to the site, so our 30 minute journey was a tad anxious until I spotted a couple of landmarks which I recognised.  As it turned out there were a good few others getting off at our stop too, so we had plenty of time to make sure we were in the right place.

We were pretty tired by this time, having walked miles, so an early night beckoned. However, by this time our bites were really inflamed and itching.  Karol had discovered that the area was plagued by mosquitos in the summer as they were drawn to the lagoons, and the locals all wore repellent.  We didn’t want to chance it, even though we did have some very old deet based repellent with us, so we stopped indoors with the doors and windows shut and the aircon on. Nevertheless we both had a pretty miserable night constantly applying Anthisan to our numerous sores.

Wednesday was a bit of a housekeeping day, so we found a big supermarket and stocked up on essentials – including some very powerful insect repellents, which we applied liberally, and appeared to work as we didn’t get bitten any more.  Another couple from Devon came and introduced themselves whilst we were sitting in the shade trying to stay cool, and we had a pleasant couple of hours chatting to them, and exchanging stories of our respective trips.  I even persuaded David to witness a document for me which Ellis Bates needed, and which up until then I wasn’t sure how I was going to get sorted.

Thursday we broke camp, and set off on the short journey to our next destination Lake Garda.  Unfortunately I immediately noticed that the creaking had returned, albeit not as bad as it had been, but clearly something still isn’t right.  Nevertheless we had a pretty straightforward journey, although I must have been overtaken by over 200 lorries during the 3 hours it took us to get to Garda. Northern Italy (and Slovenia) seem to be the main routes for the road haulage vehicles in Europe, and they don’t take much notice of the speed limits.  We arrived at Camping Ideal Molino at around one o’clock, pitched and were sitting in the sun having a late lunch by just after two.  It’s a really nice, friendly, family run site – we’re 10m from the washrooms, 10m from reception, and 30m from the lake!

Friday we walked into the local town, San Felice, which is about a mile up the road.  Since we left Austria we haven’t seen the temperature drop below 30 degrees, so even walking short distances is an effort.  We got to the centre (about the size of Ripley) of what is a typical Italian village.  Despite the number of campsites in the surrounding area, the village itself was really quiet.  We visited the Tourist Information to get an idea of what we could do in the area, and what there was to see.  The guy there was great – we were his only customers and he spent half an hour with us explaining what we must see and do.  He armed us with dozens of leaflets, maps and timetables, and then sent us off for a coffee so that he could print out a walking tour for Verona, and get us a train timetable (his computer was on a go slow so he wrote out the timetable by hand for us!).  He really was an enthusiastic and very helpful guy!

Armed with the ‘to do’ list, we spent the afternoon at Il Vittoriale Delgi Italiani – an estate in the nearby town of Gardone.  It’s last occupant had been the famous Italian poet, journalist, playwright and soldier  (who neither of us had ever heard of) called Gabriele D’Annuzio, or to give him his full title, General Gabriele D’Annuzio, Prince of Montenevoso, Duke of Gallese OMS CMG MVM.

This guy had the biggest ego of anyone I’ve ever come across.  Born into a ‘normal’ family in 1863, he was short (under five feet tall) sleight, and bald, yet he managed to make himself into a celebrity by occupying a prominent place in Italian Literature from 1889 until 1910, and in politics from 1914 until 1924.  He was a war hero in the Great War, even though he was 51 when it all started, and on the back of this in 1920 set up the short lived Italian Regency of Canaro in Flume with himself as Duce.  He is often credited with being the ‘John the Baptist’ to Benito Mussolini’s fascism, and thereby to Hitler too.

He bought Il Vittoriale Delgi Italiani in 1921, and proceeded to turn it into a treasure trove of artworks and memorabilia with fantastic terraced gardens littered with statues and military artefacts, and including an amphitheatre where The Pretenders, amongst others are due to perform later this month.  Much of the house, and the museum which was completed after his death in 1938 is given over to the glorification of D’Annuzio himself, with photographs and artefacts depicting what a great guy he was.

Whilst in residence, he made numerous alterations to the building, including splitting the hallway into two separate entrances – welcome guests were asked to turn left, whilst unwelcome guests were asked to turn right!  One such was Mussolini himself, whom D’Annuzio didn’t get along with, but who bankrolled the poet – despite his lavish expenditure he had no money and as a result lots of creditors – as a means of ensuring that D’Annuzio stayed out of politics.

His final 17 years were spent in the house, with his mistresses (all actresses or musicians) his hypochondria and his collections.  He even installed an ex navy frigate – the Puglia – half way up the hill and buried one of his friends in it!

 

 

 

 

Predictably his mausoleum is the largest structure on the estate, and is at the highest point overlooking Lake Garda. The mausoleum holds his tomb and is also the last resting place of his ‘faithful friends’ – not sure if this relates to his dogs or his hangers on.

Saturday we spent the day on the ‘beach’ topping up our tan, and recharging our batteries as we’d had a pretty hectic week up the that point.

 

Sunday we visited Sirmione, a peninsular town at the foot of the Lake.  We hadn’t expected it to be as busy as it was – it was a bit like Scarborough on a Bank Holiday, so after we’d tried unsuccessfully to park, we decided not to stay with the traffic jam but to retrace our steps, park on the outskirts and walk in.  It was once more a very hot day, well into the 30’s so an hours walk in flip flops into the old town was probably not our finest idea.  However, we had a nice lunch (best pizzas so far!) and then took in the panoramic walk around the peninsula, had an ice cream, and then walked back to the car.

When we got back to the site we got into a conversation with Frank, a new arrival who it transpired has been coming to this site for the last 17 years.  When we introduced ourselves he told us that he wouldn’t forget our names as his wife’s Carol too, and his son is called Grant!

Overnight we had a thunderstorm, which has cleared the air a bit, but the temperature is still over 30 degrees.  I would never have thought I’d be praying for cold weather, but boy I will be relieved when it does cool down!