LAGO DI GARDA - SUD

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The weekend of the 7th, 8th and 9th of March, we took the weekend to ourselves. This time we went to a 3 Stars Hotel in Colà di Lazise. Very nice hotel called Venetia Park. You will see it in the pictures. The Hotel was far from where we wanted to go but it was part of a gift that I have received. It is really close to Gardaland which is like a cheap Disneyland version. Close by were also ; MovieLand and a water park. 

The temperature was nearing 20 C and sunny. 
(Haters from Canada are gonna hate)

We had to use the service of a cab because were we wanted to go was to far for us to walk. Nice discovery - The taxi driver spoke a very good French that he learned in school and kept alive most likely with the many tourists who visit Lazise and the area.

The little town of Lazise is very old but also very charming as you will notice in the pictures. We walked lazily along the lake and the cute little streets. There was just a bit of tourists. Not too much. And quite a lot of shops and hotels were not open yet. We had supper at a quaint little restaurant called GRANNAR. Second best steak that I had in Italy. The entire personnel of the restaurant talked good French also and as usual when the atmosphere is good between the personnel and the customer (us, in this case) we were offered a Limoncello for Sylvie and a smooth Grappa for little 'ol' moi'. 

But our main goal, for this trip, was to visit the castle of Sirmione and the city. We have to admit that the castle surpassed our expectations. The Castle is beautiful, and inside it's Medieval walls, there is a 3 km walk from the Castle gate to the tip of the peninsula. The way is filled with little 'piazza' and little Via's. Lots of little shops for ; Gelato, pastries, bars, café, lunch, souvenirs, vegetables and fruits, jewellers, etc. Not many people live there but there are a few.  Most of the working stiff probably live outside the protection of the wall. Like in the good old days.......

There is a church that we didn't get to see. But we did see the Thermes of Sirmione like the photo shows. And we did see where Maria Calas lived for a period of her life. And we visited the Roman Ruins that must have been just so beautiful when it was standing. You will see with the pictures I took and hopefully get an idea of how big it was. The Romans knew how to live !

So, without any further ado, lets get to those pix...

* This time, my friend Howard will be happy because all the pictures are really mine. They were not borrowed from Facebook !!!

** The quality of the pictures is so/so for Lazise because they all come from my phone because I had forgotten my camera because I'm absent minded because I am stupid because... because...

One of the Piazza di Lazise

The Campanila from the XII Century

View of the Castle of Lazise but unfortunately it is not open to the public

Beautiful Crests

In the back, the Monument is for Soldiers who died for Italy

Lazise, typical village like so many around the lake

Proof that it's old - The church that is........

All in all  it was a very good day since we also manage to add 2 or 3 Lifers on both our Bird List

This is just to advertise what a Speed Trap looks like in Italy

 And this concludes LAZISE...

 Now lets get a look at Sirmione

Map showing position of Sirmione on Lake Garda.

The first traces of human presence in the area of Sirmione dates from the 6th-5th millennia BCE. Settlements on palafitte existed in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.

Starting from the 1st century BCE, the area of the Garda, including what is now Sirmione, became a favourite resort for rich families coming from Verona, then the main Roman city in north-eastern Italy. The poet Catullus praised the beauties of the city and spoke of a villa he had in the area.

In the late Roman era (4th-5th centuries CE) the city became a fortified strongpoint defending the southern shore of the lake. A settlement existed also after the Lombard conquest of northern Italy: in the late years of the Lombard kingdom, the city was capital of a judiciary district directly subordinated to the king. Ansa, wife of King Desiderius, founded a monastery and a church in the city.

The Hotel where we stayed in Colà di Lazise

This is where we were left off by the taxi in Sirmione.
The castle that you will see below is the Entrance of the village
and inside the Castle the is an area of 3 KMs

First view of the Castle of Sirmione.
It dates from the early 13th century

A better view

Sylvie who got there all by herself even if she scared of hights

A tomb or a well from 1S93 (???)

Come on Sylvie
Do not look between the stairs

One of the many little terrasse
because in Italy I think the Law
says that there has to be Bar
a Gelateria, a Pastry Shop, a Tabachi
and a Souvenir shop
every 100 feet

This served to let the boats in to bring goods in the city

Another interesting Ritual that still exists in Italy
The married couples want to have pictures of them
taken along the biggest lake of Italy hoping that
it will influence something something something

Still in the Castle

The others following this picture are from the very top of the tower of the Castle

Sylvie had to go visit the little girls room
\which is her favorite site to visit ANYWHERE

OK ! So these holes in the walls are easy to understand
they served for the inside troupes to shoot the outside
and not get killed by doing it this way.

This is a bit more complicated...
What are these holes for ?
They are not on every wall

The interior is hollow.
So I think that MAYBE the guards used to put pieces of wood inside
to get on the higher part of the wall or to bring stuff up.

Here is a close up of one hole

Further down the road from the Castle we can still see part of the wall that surrounded the city

This was a nice surprise.
There is also a park named after her
I suppose that the intelligent thing that I should have done
would have been to take a picture of the actual house...
But that is asking too much of me !

The famous urban pipit that is seen all over the world

Sylvie on the Lido

This is the actual water of the lake.
Even though there are many boats on the Lago
the water is crystal clear and I would drink it

The main historical landmark of Sirmione is the Grotto of Catullus (Grotte di Catullo), the most striking example of a Roman private edifice discovered in northern Italy. The edifice had a rectangular plan and measured 167 x 105 m. The town is famous for its thermal springs. The building had a hot water pool and the bedrooms had view on the lake. I would have live here very easily !!!

 The prehistoric settlement at Lugana Vecchia
is part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around
the Alps a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For those who do know this is what an
olive tree looks like up close and the next
picture is the entire tree

The next pictures speaks for themselves

I took a picture of these daffodile because they are yellow and pretty
Color blind my eye !!!

And now for some shameful advertisement........

My daughter Roxanne wrote a book. The story is in french and is a fantasy. This is the book 1 of I do not know how many and I wish her success in her writing.

It's in FRENCH - CLICK ME FOR THE LINK

Alora buon giorno, sera o notte a tutti
 A la prossima