9.24 - Saturday - Arrivederci Venezia

ARRIVEDERCI VENEZIA!!

9:30AM and Packing Ballet II is underway, not as hectic as before, but we’re running late and need to get breakfast before it closes and get off the Island. Chucky heads down to snag croissants, fruit juice and some coffee while DL tries to organize her stuff.  There is a soft knock at the door of room 23:

“Rooomm Sorbis, Missus!”

“Alright Smart ass… you're not in Miami, whatcha got?”

We wolf down the pastry, zip up the bags, one last email and direction check and we check out of Hotel Cristallo.  In all Nice spot, nice folks, good stay. 

Making the long haul to the Vaporetto  we spot VAP#62 at the dock so the race is on.  And of course its after 10AM and Chucky’s 48 hr transit card has expired so DL double swipes hers and we race to catch the boat just before it pulls out, dodging cruise ships coming and going from the Port of Venice, then zip across the Canale Grande and up the Giudecca canal to the back door of Ple. Roma and another long haul to the Avis desk.
Quick service and the surprise car… [Not the Alpha Romeo upgrade we hoped for] Nawww...its a bloody Ford Focus?!?  The nice delivery dude leaves it parked in the middle of the street with cars whizzing past all sides, so we quickly load the bags, and haul ass out of Ple Roma… or almost:

“Don’t turn here!”

“Yes I do!” –

“No… no… no go this way!”  

“Ya see… it’s the wrong way, this is a parking lot”

“Yes, but this is how you get back into the street.”

Not really but we finally hit the round about and over the bridge with a short stop at a rest area to rearrange luggage, maps, water, grab the lap top to start this note and we’re on the road.

A4 Autostrada Milano-Padova was smooth sailing, until we hit various pockets of road work 80K into our trip to Desenzano de la Garda.  At one point we had to use the emergency lane while Illy was trying to take pictures out of the window of vineyards.

Leaving the autostrada at the Desenzano exit we promptly get lost – Navigator Illy claims directions go this way, not that way…. And some how we cant find Vialle G. Marconi, or as DL calls it Macaroni, one girare-u follows another.

“I’m going back the way we came.” Chucky decides and after several girare-u’s including one in the middle of the street  - “ahhh there’s a sign marked  Desenzano…and we promptly get lost again!  Following his nose with one eye for the lake and another looking for familiar road signs [he has driven this route several times using goggle maps] we find Vialle Marconi & promptly head AWAY from La Garda towards Verona.  Time for another girare-u, and Chucky spots Vialle Grimsci which takes him to Lungolago Cesare Battisti and in his best Italian announces “e proprio li” – There it is - Hotel Aurora!

The delightful desk agent Marco, directs us into the tiny parking lot and 3 tries later we nestle the car into a very tight little spot & check in to room 102 [one of only 2 rooms that has a real balcony overlooking the lake- through the trees.  The room is adequate, nothing special but clean – and minimally “decorated”.

After settling in, we decide its time to go exploring before dinner and ask Marco for directions to Sirmione, a medieval walled city at the end of the Sirmio peninsula at the Southern end of Lake Garda, a World Heritage  Site with a grand castle.   Directions went something like this:

Prendere questa strada attraverso la rotonda, andare 12 km e girare a sinistra a Sirmione, parco vicino al castello e ci siete.   With directions like these… how could navigator Illy possibly go wrong????  3 girare-u’s later, we find our goal.

Entrance is free today and we wander around marveling at how they engineered this and that back then.  Then time to climb the verrrryyyy high stairs to the battlements that led to the ‘verrrrryyyyyy tall tower, and those that know Dragon Chic well will understand when her acrophobia kicks in and she freezes 2 landings from the top.  She insists that Chucky push on and take pics from the top, which he did, trying to spot her on the landing, but by now she was clinging to a corner as curious tourists pass her by.  Chucky walks her down slowly and after a stroll through the quaint and very “Que Cute” Centro Storico [historic Center] we spot swans and dogs frolicking in the lake and stop for more cute animal pics which include the “Pink [and blue] Snails”  a traveling art project, originally created by Galleria Ca’ D’Oro of Rome for Art Basel in Miami.  the Snails have invaded major cities around the world including Rome, Miami, Milan and now the beach and castle of Sirmione.

The way back to the hotel is much easier, with a stop at a local market for a case of water, Sharp cheese, newspaper thin Prosciutto, a loaf of crusty bread and some Local Wine. Chucky finds a local thrift shop and haggles a good price for a couple of wine glasses for  “Una Piccolo Spuntino” on our balcony at sunset that turned into dinner.

An early stroll around the area took us through central  Desenzano where we found a plethora of Bicycle related booths and exhibits all over.  Curious Hunh… Oh well must be a convention of some sort.  A quick gelato and a  late night finishes Friday’s NOWAT, and we crash for an early start tomorrow for Verona.

More Tomorrow… with a surprise wake up call…

Ciao 4 Now

Uncle Chuck & The totally frustrated with Google map directions, Dragon Lady

Slurping Fine Tuscan Wine, munching Sharp Cheese & Great Crusty Bread