We had read in the Camperstop Europe book that Lazise had a very large market on a Wednesday morning and, although we intended to have a quiet day, we wanted to see Lazise and its market. The campsite owner only spoke Italian but we managed to establish that the town was about 3 km from the campsite but we were unable to establish the route. We guessed the route correctly, although it was inland and not along the lake side. It appears that the lakeside is dominated by campsites and it is not possible to walk along the shore. On the walk into Lazise we passed a succession of campsites, some huge, all with swimming pools, water slides and large numbers of permanent cabins rented out in the season. They were all closed and undergoing improvements – new buildings, swimming pools etc. Lorries passed us taking away soil from the excavations and concrete mixer lorries went the other way to fill in the excavations. It was good to know that the sites would be able to extract even more money from the tourists next season. We had read before we set off on the Odyssey that the Italian campsites had the smallest pitches and highest prices in continental Europe. Our experiences agreed with that – some Slovenian sites were more expensive but these were thermal baths and included all of those facilities in the price. We didn't have a problem with the pitch size because there wasn't anyone else there but in season it would be very cramped. On the Amici Lazise site we would not been able to fully extend our awning at the side and Henrietta's front would have been right up the back of the motorhome in front.
We arrived at Lazise, after a pleasant walk of more like 4 km, to find an impressive walled town with towers. The inside of the town did not have the array of impressive buildings that we had seen in other towns but it was pleasant enough and the market covered most of the centre in every square and street. We purchased some rabbit, veal escalope and two types of cheese including Asiago Vecchio. Asiago, north west of Bassano, was another of Alex's suggestions but, given that it was in the mountains and the weather was very hazy, we decided to give it a miss. At least we were able to try the cheese, also recommended by Alex.
At this point, Lake Garda is over 10 miles across, but even if it was only 100m across we would not have been able to see the other side. The haze hung over the lake like a net curtain, obscuring all but the very large number of waterfowl near the shores. I have never seen so many coots (over 100) in one place and there were also little grebes and black-necked grebes. Although the air wasn't clear, the water was and it was great to watch the grebes diving to the bottom of the lake (approx. 5m), picking some grasses and bringing them to the surface where they picked out the small part that they wanted and left the green parts floating on the surface.
After a coffee overlooking the mist and waterfowl, we did a final tour of the walls and set off for the walk back to Henrietta. Just as we left a very slight breeze sprung up (it had been totally still up to then) and the view over the lake cleared slightly but this was to be short-lived and it began to spot with rain. As we eat a late lunch in Henrietta, the drizzle became more persistent and we were glad that we had done the walk in the morning.
Photos: Lazise walls.
We arrived at Lazise, after a pleasant walk of more like 4 km, to find an impressive walled town with towers. The inside of the town did not have the array of impressive buildings that we had seen in other towns but it was pleasant enough and the market covered most of the centre in every square and street. We purchased some rabbit, veal escalope and two types of cheese including Asiago Vecchio. Asiago, north west of Bassano, was another of Alex's suggestions but, given that it was in the mountains and the weather was very hazy, we decided to give it a miss. At least we were able to try the cheese, also recommended by Alex.
At this point, Lake Garda is over 10 miles across, but even if it was only 100m across we would not have been able to see the other side. The haze hung over the lake like a net curtain, obscuring all but the very large number of waterfowl near the shores. I have never seen so many coots (over 100) in one place and there were also little grebes and black-necked grebes. Although the air wasn't clear, the water was and it was great to watch the grebes diving to the bottom of the lake (approx. 5m), picking some grasses and bringing them to the surface where they picked out the small part that they wanted and left the green parts floating on the surface.
After a coffee overlooking the mist and waterfowl, we did a final tour of the walls and set off for the walk back to Henrietta. Just as we left a very slight breeze sprung up (it had been totally still up to then) and the view over the lake cleared slightly but this was to be short-lived and it began to spot with rain. As we eat a late lunch in Henrietta, the drizzle became more persistent and we were glad that we had done the walk in the morning.
Photos: Lazise walls.
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