Spoiler Alert: We actually made it to a lake today.
We got up early today, tidied up the Air B & B, packed the car and headed off to Lake Garda. The roads were pretty good and a lot of the trip was spent on the toll highway. (Total cost today was 35 Euros). It seemed to me (although Brandon was doing the driving) that the driving would be comparable to driving on our freeways.
I was surprised at the number of large trucks on the highway. I suspect that we had passed a major distribution hub (maybe Parma – it seemed quite industrial). In Parma there was the longest traffic jam I have ever seen (but fortunately going in the opposite direction).
i realize (again) that the geography of Italy is much different than what I had expected (probably from post card style pictures of Tuscany or rom-com movies in which lonely widows find, lose and then magically re-find love – and, of course, the meaning of life). There are many more hills and mountains where we are traveling. And, there is lots of green foliage.
As we approached Lake Garda, the mountains (which I think are called the Garda Mountains) were spectacular. I was reminded of Banff or Whistler. We are staying in Riva del Garda. We only explored a bit so far but it is very nice with lots of great scenery. It looks like a fairly wealthy town. I can imagine people having vacation homes here.
Our Air B & B is very nicely appointed. So. we are settled in with restaurants and a grocery store nearby. We went out for dinner and following a short walk around part of the town played some cribbage and hit the hay.
The pictures which I have posted are not great (I apologize). For the umpteenth time I have again told myself that I need to spend some time to learn more about my phone’s functions, especially the camera.