June 22nd: Friday

A day for staying in Malcesine

We visited its Castle in the morning

And looked down on the town from its tower. This is a shot I really should try to sell to a jigsaw company

And the afternoon saw us under sail on the "Soria Veronica" the oldest sailing boat (1926) on Garda

Thursday June 21st

Thwarted by the way the boat timetables do not link well with the boats in the southern half of the lake, we repeated Wednesday by re-visiting Riva.

The ride on the boats over water made a very hot day much more tolerable.

Wednesday June 20th

A day for exploiting a day ticket on the boats.

A mid morning boat to Riva. A good lunch, picking lake fish from the menu.

View from our Restaurant Table in Riva

A mid afternoon boat to Limone for a coffee then back to Malcesine.

The prettified "old harbour" at Limone

It's very hot. Italian TV is  reporting "the great heat" which is due to last two more days at least.

Evening on the terrace.

Tuesday June 19th: Mantua


After breakfast on the terrace

A coach trip today to Mantua. An old Medieval city but not one of Italy's most elegant. Time to wander its historic core of four linked piazzas and a leisurely lunch indulging in the local risotto.

One of the medieval piazzas

Mantuan Street Scene

The afternoon saw a visit to the Park Giardino Sigurta. Very green and very large. Too large to walk round so we took the 40 minute "wally trolley" ride.

Hot an sticky we returned to Malcesine with time for a refreshing shower before dinner. A quiet evening on the terrace however was impossible as the hotel had been persuaded to bring out a big TV for guests to watch the England-Ukraine match. Early night.

Sunset over Garda

Monday June 18th

We ascended Monte Baldo (by cable car of course) strolled northwards along the ridge to the viewpoint looking down on Riva and Torbole at the head of the lake. up here the heat was more tolerable than in the valley. Lunch at a mountain top restaurant and then down for another afternoon siesta or reading on our balcony

Looking south from near the cable car station

The head of the lake

Sunday June 17th

A good breakfast by the lakeside and an early morning stroll round Malcesine, reminding ourselves of the layout. (Not much to forget, although it's a tiny maze of streets).

Pauline at the Porto Vecchio

(The Old Port)

Back to the hotel for the courtesy of listening to the Thomas Cook Rep's welcome, but taking the opportunity to book the coach trip to Mantua on Tuesday.

Jumped on one of the local ferries to Limone across the lake for lunch.

Limone from the lake

 Back about half three for a siesta and, for me, a quick dip in the pool.

After dinner we sat and talked on the terrace.

Saturday  June 16h: Journey Out

Journey Manchester - Verona with Fly-be was fine. 13:15 from Manchester landing at 16:45, Italian time.  There was a slight delay in leaving the airport as four Thomas Cokke clients had got lost, but then a 75 minute drive got us to the Excelsior Bay in Malcesine.


Our room is compact but comfortable although we might have a quibble about shortage of storage space.  We’d booked a side balcony but as we are on the corner of the hotel, it’s as good as a front  one.

                                   View from Balcony

The evening meal convinced us that the food was as good as we remembered it ten years ago.

We  strolled into  Malcesine in the evineng, immediately being reminded how much hotter it was once one had left the lakeside.. After a coffee by the main harbour, we strolled back and had a relatively early night after the travelling.