Sunday 24 April 2011

Thursday 14th April 2011 – Gavirate, Italy



Never having visited Lake Maggiore, we decided to investigate it on route. We travelled down the east side and were very impressed. Pretty Swiss villages gave way to pretty Italian villages and all the time the lake was in view with the backdrop of dramatic mountains, some with snow-topped peaks.

We came across a viewing area and parked up. We sat drinking coffee on the enormous picnic tables taking in the view and listening to the bird song. This was very soporific and by the time that we moved on, we had decided that we didn't want to drive all the way to Lake Iseo. I had spotted Lake Varese on our route and asked Jane to check whether there were any options to stay there. She discovered that there was an aire close to the lake at Gavirate and we set the satnav up to take us there.

When we arrived, we found the site right on the edge of the lake and the facilities were very good. For €1 for every 3 hours we had a generous pitch with a view of the lake and fresh water and dumping facilities provided. Electricity was available at €1 for 12 hours. We sat outside in the sun enjoying a very late lunch and listening to English instructions being barked out to rowers on the lake. In the afternoon we took a pleasant stroll along the lakeside and back though the town.

Photos: View across Maggiore from the viewing point to Carmine (Italy), just south of the Swiss border; Rowing on Lake Varese – possibly the shoes of the England rowing team!!!

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