Lake Garda

Such a workout for the little Fiat today, a 5 hour trip all around the periphery of beautiful Lake Garda. We visited here last year when we stayed at Sirmione but this vista and approach was entirely different, and so beautiful. The east side is peppered with small villages, some with lovely old castles and bridges. We stopped and had a short walk around Malcesine and pulled over for lunch at Maderno. This was after surviving about 25 tunnels of terror. The entire west side of Garda is filled with tunnels and although they are beautifully constructed, they are also home to a staggering amount of vintage-aged biking enthusiasts who pedal through with sheer guts and determination, despite the approximately 6 inches of space that is left for them. The number of close calls we counted was gaspworthy, and I don't know how there aren't more fatalities reported. The good news is that we fixed the volume on Google maps and we were flawlessly guided through some pretty gnarly roads and traffic circles, of which there is one approximately every 600 meters in Italy. Round and round, keeping track of which exit to take and hoping you haven't lost count in your effort to spare the life of the frenzied pack of bikers, all dressed in glaring neon orange and green. There ought to be a saint protecting them, maybe St. Pelaton of The Autostrata. Anyway, a few shots, including a decadent late lunch of pizza with artichokes!