Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Two buses and two trains later, all with seamless connections, we are once again in Desenzano, a town of 30,000 people plus tourists, on the shores of Lake Garda. Dating back to the Bronze Age, it has been occupied by almost every force in Europe since. Now it is a beautiful place for Jean and I to once again sit back and relax.
Setting off for a passiagiata around the town, the first shop that caught our eye, was in the main Piazza, and it had a nice pair of shorts that I had been looking for. At €130 we kept looking. A bit further away from the action, another shop, another nice pair, this time at €119. 15 mins later in a narrow street and not a fridge magnet or balloon seller in sight, another shop behind an even smaller doorway, the perfect pair of shorts, a bargain at €39.
I wouldn’t describe Desenzano as the couture capital of Italy, but as Jean checked out the shoe shops, she decided against going into one that had a pair of shoes in the window at €695 with a matching bag at only €4,500 😳
Obviously there to keep the riff raff like us out, which on this, and all future occasions worked well. 😂
With a gelato in hand, we broke the golden rule of never eating where there is a spruiker out the front or a fabulous view ( invariably the better the view, the worse the food).
But on this occasion, having been there when we were last here, we found our dinner venue and settled in for the evening. Apart from the fantastic food, Vongole piled high in a bowl, fritta mista and a plate of sea bream, swordfish, prawns and langoustines, the entertainment came from the couple from Bergamo on the next table. Arriving just as we were into the bowl of mussels, they asked if they were nice, answer, “Si, molto buoni” so they ordered some as well.
Same deal with the fritta mista and mixed sea food plates when ours hit the table they ordered the same.
When it came to desert, there was a small mix up. Jean got her Mille Feuille but my tiramisu was mistakenly given to the guy on the next table, who of course ate it.
So at the end of the night, the conversation (in Italian) went like this:
Me: Com’era il tuo (your) vongole? (How was your vongole?)
Him: va bene
Me: Com’ere il tuo fritta mista?
Him: va bene
Me: Com’era il mio (my) tiramisu?
They collapsed in laughter, even more so when I suggested he should pay for it. 😂😂😂
A few more exchanges and the replacement tiramisu turned up, so a shake of hands, a kiss on both cheeks and lots of ciaos, and we parted company.
Our first full day and a possible boat trip to Sirmione across the lake. So after breakfast I suggested a quick stroll while the room was being cleaned and off we would go. Imagine the reaction when we stepped out of the hotel and were confronted with a market set up on the edge of the lake that stretched for about 2kms.
Up one side and back the other and 2 hours, 2 hats, 1 tee shirt and a gelato later, we made it back to the hotel just in time for a siesta.
Our last day here and with the market well and truly gone, we took the ferry to Sirminone and spent a good part of the day wandering through the streets and gardens. The old town was, as expected, reasonably crowded but still moving forward at an acceptable speed. The day was hot so we spent some time in the parks and gardens which was good.
Just as we were having dinner in a small piazza, the Miglia 1000 turned up. At least 20 very expensive looking Ferraris arrived as part of a major rally across Italy. I hate to think how much money was parked in that Piazza.
So that was the end of yet another very enjoyable stay in Desenzano. Although somewhat more crowded than when we were here last 10 years ago, it was still worth coming back.
Tomorrow it’s off to Varenna via Milan. Thankfully the landslide that we heard had closed the road and rail between Milan and Varenna has now been cleared so that’s a relief.
On the not so good news front, we have heard that on the day we are due to fly from Milan to London, there is a 24 hour strike by baggage handlers across Italy.
I thought it was all too good to be true. 😩😩😩
- comments