I can’t help it, but I love old, weathered, rusty stuff! Forgotten things and deserted buildings make my heart beat faster, as I imagine all the stories that happened in this building, all the people going in and out of those doors and looking out of those windows…
Today is our last day in Muslone and it was an adventure! We decided to take a ship to Sirmione, a town at the end of a 4km long peninsula sticking out into the lake at the southern end. Unfortunately thousands of other people had a similar plan, so all of us met there today 😖 It was jampacked, the restaurants were busy, the streets were clogged, but it is a beautiful old town with an old castle – of course!
When we walked towards the harbor, Ted started running off as if a wasp got in his pants! I tried to catch up just to see him taking photos and talking to a few drivers / capitains of a group of „boat-cars / amphicars“, who were just about to drive into the lake. Over the last few days we occasionally saw a handful of them driving around the lake, but today we hit the jackpot: about 35-40 of them gathered right where we were and drove into the lake! How lucky we were!!!
And the last surprise of the day happened on our way back: we boarded the ship on schedule and started the 1.5 hour voyage back when a big thunderstorm build up. Lightnings, thunder and rain – very dramatic!
Our hope that it will be over upon arrival turned out to be wishful thinking: we ran into a bar, ate a panini there and drank a glass of wine before walking in the rain half a mile uphill to the car. A hot shower at home just felt like heaven!
Lots of houses have those small shrines with Madonna statues in them. Very thoughtful, beautiful reminders of their believes…
It seems that we are not slowing down yet: 7 countries in July (Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy). So far, Ted and I still like each other, nobody slept on the sofa (yet), we laugh together, we take showers together, we cuddle and kiss 🥰 Life is good! Nobody is homesick, we have not switched on the TV since we left home – except the finals of the womens soccer game tonight! We read, play cards, talk, plan and enjoy each other’s company.
A new friend we met along the way is Sandra, a very nice person with a great attitude, remarkable personality and a big heart! Harald & Beate, enthusiastic, fun and helpful – hopefully we’ll all be neighbors in Muslone, Italy one day! And then there is Enzo, the owner of Muslones alimentari store, who teaches me something new every time we stop by: for example that the locals don’t say Gorgonzola, they pronounce it more like Gorgonzöla. Very important! And of course my niece Saskia, who visited us in Italy for 4 days (only). Saskia has 5 siblings and it is very rare to have her to ourself, because the family is so big. Having her all to ourselves was a delight, a lot of fun, comforting and made me feel proud to be her aunt!
Fun fact: with Saskia you always get the prime seating at a restaurant (I wonder why) 🤪, you get to try the very special samples of olive oil and limoncello that are not even on display 🥳, you get somebody explaining everything at a store, etc. 🤩. The neighbor guys rang the doorbell every day to invite her for a swim or a cardgame. But the downside: when you ask for the check at a restaurant, it takes forever – they don’t want us (I mean her) to leave!
Now we are back in Germany with my mom, we enjoy being with family, but I do, I really do miss Italy! Muslone was the first location on this trip that made me very sad when we left. I did not want to leave. Saying good-bye to Enzo, waving to „our“ vacation home on the way down the hill, it hurt. I wanted to stay, I need to go back!
Todays plan was to hike down from Muslone to Gargnago, have lunch, then take the bus up the hill to Muslone. „Pfiffkaas“ as the Germans would say, it didn’t work out that way. At least the second part of the day looked slightly different.
So we started hiking downhill…
It was a beautiful hike along cobblestone trails, Olive orchards and – what used to be – lemon orchards, back in the days before lemon were cultivated and subsidized in Sicily.
But the bus didn’t come!
And the next one at 3pm didn’t show up either…
So we decided to bite into the sour apple and hike 4 miles uphill during the hottest time of the day 😤😤😤
And finally here it is: the calorie count of Italien food. Every day we go to Muslone‘s little alimentari store, checking out what Enzo has to offer. The selection of fruit and vegetables varies from day to day, but the basics are always there: Gorgonzola, salami, prosciutto di Parma and mozzarella. What else do we need?
What we need, sometimes, is going to a local restaurant to try pizza, seafood salad, pasta and mixed salads of various kinds! Life is good!
I grew up in Europe, therefore thunderstorms were not such a big thing. They happened all the time, especially during the summer after a hot day. The last 24 years, 7 month and 26 days I lived in California and experienced only 2 thunderstorms. 2! One of which was a dry storm that ignited many wildfires. The other one was a “real” thunderstorm with flash & lightning and lots of rain. It happened during the day, and many people stopped working, ran outside and wanted to be part of this unique spectacle.
So here we are now during a heatwave in northern Italy and last night we were blessed with a thunderstorm! Sitting outside on the terrace, playing cards until a sudden wind gust blew away an “Ace” and the first drops made us pack up and move everything inside.
The storm lasted a few hours and today, after another hot day that we spent with Saskia in Toscolano Maderna, another thunderstorm is just about to roll in. The birds a quiet, the air is filled with what seems to be electricity, a few people pack away their umbrellas and then: BOOM
My niece Saskia arrived today, staying for a few days, and as a special welcome the town of Gargnano put together a little festival: a stand-up rowing competition…..
It seemed like the whole town was there: life music, dancing, full restaurants, cheerful people – the races started at 9pm which is typical Italian style…
Rowing like that is difficult, rowing around a boje during a race requires serious skills
It should actually be titled “Malcesine: Sunday”, because that’s where we went with a small ferry to spend the day. It was wonderful! Small town, cobblestone streets, old castle, narrow alleyways – everything you wish for in an Italian fairytale village…
