The trip from Switzerland through northern Italy had it’s highlights based around beautiful lakes and old town centres. Unfortunately the bits in between (i.e. the two thousand round-a-bouts and the dull characterless towns that seem to merge into one giant suburban mass) are pretty forgettable. Sounds a bit like some parts of Sydney.
Lugano (still in Switzerland) on a sunny Sunday attracted half of Italy taking a walk along the endless tree-lined pathways along the lake shores. The air was warm, the gelato was everywhere, the dogs came in all sizes and shapes, the prams were rolling, the kids were running and we had a delightful walk absorbing it all. Lugano has become a huge town and it sprawls over the hills and across the lake. Small boats continue to take tourists around the lake much as they probably did over 50 years ago when my parents first met in Lugano. We saw an olive tree that must have been standing there for well over a century and it was full of ripe olives. In fact we saw a local man enjoy helping himself to a small harvest.
Lake Garda has entertained tourists for years and we arrived at the end of the season as camping grounds close and the weather becomes unpredictable. The traffic on a late Sunday afternoon was never-the-less chaotic and slow, as everyone enjoyed the last rays of late summer weather. Our camping spot was right on the lake, with gravel beach and small jetties as far as you could see. The local tourists were all Germans and Anika quickly found a friend with a booming voice. German school holidays were still happening so we encountered families, dogs, socks and sandals. Some even spoke English. “Tag, danke, bitte” are our social limits although Arkady pulls out a few phrases he has learnt at school – unfortunately he practices on us not the Germans.
Verona was busy but once again we enjoyed the old city ambience and walked around the main sights in an afternoon. The main Arena (second place to the Colosseum) was packed. It’s golden glow on the outside highlighted it’s prominent position in town, right in front of the main square. It is still used for various concerts from rock to opera and has seats installed as well as lighting towers, so it loses a bit of it’s original feel. However the crowd crawling all over the place give it a buzz, as if something is about to happen. Nothing happened…. so it’s off to Venice.
I remember Lake Garda - spent an afternoon exploring Sirmione (and also my birthday at Gardaland, a poor person's version of Disneyland, with the school group, not my choice of activities for my day, when I could have been somewhere more romantic) - and there were lots of Germans there then too.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like grey faceless industrial towns, don't go anywhere near Milan and its environs - biggest conurbation in Europe. Everything melds into one huge mess of humanity, and even the autostrada are jam packed. Though how you get out of Italy without driving thru is beyond me. Mike found the best way to deal with the traffic was to lose his temper, cause then he drove aggressively like the Italians!!
Enjoy!!