Lake Garda 2022

This holiday took place during the chaos at UK airports and we certainly got caught up in it. After a speedy bag drop, we found ourselves queuing from outside the terminal building for security at Leeds Bradford airport. After 2 1/2 hours we were still queuing when we were called out for our flight. Fortunately the time passed quickly and pleasantly thanks to the lovely honeymoon couple, Stuart and Ruth, in the queue with us.

Kathryn had always wanted to go to Lake Garda so it was an obvious choice as part of her 50th birthday present. We stayed in the Hotel Alpino in Malcessine which was a lovely little 2* hotel in the town square. The weather was very good to us and we had a fantastic time there. We had plenty of walks around the lake, stopping to sunbathe and have a dip at different pebble beaches along the shore. We got to Navene in the North and Brenzone in the South. We managed a proper Italian ice cream every day (of course) which was heavenly in the heat. Later in the week we took the ferry to Sirmione which was great as the ferry went all over the lake stopping at  lots of towns. In Sirmione we managed to get to Jamaica beach at the viewpoint for a quick sunbathe and had just enough time for me to go sliding into the lake on the slippery rocks. We also met up with Stuart and Ruth for a few beers near the port before the long ferry ride back to Malcessine. In the evenings we would settle down on our Juliet balcony with a chilled bottle of Bardolino rose and a bag of nuts from the local Spar, before setting off to dine in one of the town’s many restaurants. The highlight of the trip was the cable car ride up to the top of Mount Baldo. We went on a perfectly clear and sunny day and the views were out of this world. We had a walk around the ridge, enjoying the views of the lake and the valley on the other side. There’s no better feeling than sitting on that mountainside, with those views, eating home made sandwiches and croissants nicked form  the breakfast buffet!