7. Sun-kissed shores, sparkling water, and a sprinkle of Italian charm

18-20 July 2026

We arrive at our hotel near Desinzano on the banks of Lake Garda. Villa Garuti, a faux castle complete with battlements, will be our home for the next three nights. Since our rooms are ready when we arrive, we have the afternoon to explore. We take the free shuttle into Desinzano and explore the lakeside resort town. The town itself dates from the Bronze Age. When the Venetians controlled this area of Italy, they rebuilt the old port in 1454 to make this a commercial hub. It certainly is a commercial hub to this day as the streets are filled with hoards of people eating ice-cream and drinking coffee and alcoholic drinks under umbrellas in the squares.

We pass a group of youths, who were gathered and singing rather badly. I make the comment that they were either up to no good or they were just having fun. Of course, I hoped that they were the latter. But maybe not. They may have followed us at a distance, possibly even selecting us as their target. When a couple of them crowded us from behind, one tapping Tom on the shoulder. We turned. I clutched my bag and firmly said 'NO.' They dispersed and disappeared. I'm not sure whether they had intended to rob us, but I don't think they were up to any good either. All's well that ends well. We came out of it unscathed, but it was a warning to us that no matter how pretty and seemingly safe a place appears, we must always be alert to those who may want to remove our belongings from our hands and pockets.

We take the shuttle back and make it our business to warn the others on our tour. After all, we are all of a similar age and easy targets. Fortunately, nobody else had any problems during our days on Lake Garda.

We have a leisurely start on Sunday 19 July 2026. We decide to take the local bus to Salo, another lakeside resort town. Since we could use our travel card to pay our fares, it makes it easy for tourists to get around. Eventually, a bus came along and we thankfully sat in air conditioned comfort for the forty-five minute ride to Salo. From the bus stop, it is a short walk down one of the narrow passageways, which are iconic to this part of the world, to the pretty promenade. We wander along the waterfront, watching boats and ferries come and go, before finding a cafe and sitting under an umbrella in a spot where a cooling breeze rolls in from the water. We spend a lovely couple of hours wandering around this pretty town before returning to the bus stop and our hotel after a kindly bus driver reminded us when to get off.

Although our hotel has a restaurant onsite, we decide to walk down along the lakeside promenade, where we find a lovely restaurant called Lido, which not only has better food, but way better service!

We had been advised to visit Sirmione on Monday, as the weekends tend to attract huge numbers of tourists. A ferry collects us from the pier at the back of our hotel and delivers us to the peninsula town of Sirmione. A castle complete with a moat is at the entrance of the town. Unfortunately, it is closed on Mondays, so we cannot enter and climb to the top of the tower. We walk past a rocky beach and into a garden area, where we can look out over the ocean before walking down the hill through the busy labyrinth of narrow streets, and eventually finding somewhere in the shade to have coffee and a bite to eat. Today is very hot and I do not believe there are fewer people here today because there is a steady stream of people coming in from the regular ferries and very few are leaving. Reluctantly removing ourselves from the shady table, we decide to walk over the drawbridge, because this castle has a moat, to outside of the walls and wander along the promenade. It's quite pleasant but the sheer number of people in this tiny area makes it a little uncomfortable. I am quite happy when the time comes to return to the hotel by ferry.

We have to pack our things tonight because out cruise starts tomorrow in Venice and I am looking forward to unpacking just once for the next two weeks. There are thirty-three Australians who have taken this same package of visiting the Italian lakes and the Silversea cruise along the Croatian Coast and to

Italy, so we have already familiarised ourselves with some of our travelling companions, which is nice.