[Travel]: Italy Trip October 2020 - Lago di Garda and Verona

Dec 05, 2020 21:30

Hello again!~

So, it's time to continue with the photos of my Italy trip.



After leaving South Tyrol, I finally arrived at Lake Garda.



My first stop was at the northern tip where I visited Arco Castle (the one you see on top of the huge rock).



After hiking all the way up there I noticed that it was already closed. It closed at 4 p.m. already ......
So, I couldn't enter the ruins, unfortunately.



So, I went back down and into the city center.
You still can see the castle on the rock in the back.



The next day I was driving along Lake Garda towards the southern tip, stopping at some scenic spots and castle locations.
That tiny shop above was so cute, unfortunately it was still closed when I went there. Would have loved getting one of those signs. :D



The first castle of the day "Castello Scaligero di Malcesine" offered stunning views of the lake.
Lago di Garda is actually so huge that you forget it's a lake. You think you're at the ocean. ;)



Lake Garda has always been a popular tourist destination in summer for people from Austria or Bavaria as it's so close! You don't have to drive further into Italy to get to the ocean, instead you can go swimming in the huge lake instead.
It's so popular that everybody I know has been there already. For me, this was the first time ever!!



I really liked all the castles along the lake. It's a great combination and the views from the castles are simply amazing.
Unfortunately the castle tower was closed due to Covid-19 .......

There were barely any tourists. I think 2 other people apart from me .... I don't quite get why they'd have to close the tower then ... *shrugs*



As I left the castle, the sun finally decided to come out.

The nearby mountains are great for hiking. You must have an amazing view onto the lake from there.
I probably will have to come back another time and try. :)



I decided to walk along the "beach" for a while. It really felt like I was at the ocean.



Aren't these colorful houses the cutest thing ever?



This is one of my favorite photos. I love how you can see the lake, the nearby mountains and the castle on that rock. :D



And then I was on the road again. There are many spots you could stop along the way right next to the lake.
I just made a quick stop at Lazise to check out the castle remnants there.



Then I arrived at my favorite spot of the entire trip: Sirmione!
At first, I checked out the castle right at the lake. Look at this stunning view onto the lake and the amazing colors!



The view could have been much better, but again the castle tower (pictured above) was closed due to Covid-19 .... :(



I just loved Sirmione so much. The landscape there was stunning.
Also, the weather was great that day. I think we had almost 17°C, compared to a few days earlier with minus degrees that was a huge improvement.
It finally started to feel like VACATION! :)



And it just got better and better! I kept walking along the lake and the stunning views just wouldn't end.
And yes, again you forget that it's NOT the ocean.... ^^;



I finally arrived at "Grotti di Catullo" which are ruins of a Roman villa built during the 1st century.
That was quite impressive as well. Not only the ruins, but there were also a lot of olive trees and lovely views onto the ocean!



And here's the BEST thing!!! There was a natural hot spring right at the lake!!!!!!! It was so burning hot that you had to make a pool using the stones there, so you could mix in some of the cold lake water.
I didn't have a bathing suit on me, so I just put my feet in there. It's like the beloved "ashiyu" (hot foot spa) in Japan. This was PARADISE!!!!!
I wish we had something like that here .... :/



After this relaxing foot bath I moved on to the final castle of the day in Desenzano.
It was about to get dark, but look at the amazing view!



And that concludes my short visit of Lago di Garda.
There's still quite a bit to explore so I might have to come back at some point. :)



The next day started in Verona.
Now, this wasn't included in my original plan .... ignoring the fact that I didn't really have a plan anyway.
Reason being is that I had already been in Verona once as a teenager. :)



Back as a teenager I went with a friend on a night bus from Germany to watch the opera Carmen in the arena above. ;)



I also went to the famous balcony of Juliet (from Romeo & Juliet). It wasn't even my first time there, but there were NO people there, so yay! :D
Usually it's so crowded there!
They charge you 6€ if you want to go inside. Don't do it ... there's really NOTHING there.



It was extremely foggy that day, so I decided not to stay too long in Verona and quickly moved on.



My next stop was Soave Castle which is not too far outside of Verona.



I think this is not very well-known, but it surely is beautiful and look at the amazing views onto the vineyards!

And that concludes another 2 days of my road trip to Italy.
Stay tuned for more, there's still Venice coming up!

Bye~chu

*italy, *travel

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