First stop Veranno, on Lake Como
Which gave us the opportunity to take a ferry to Bellagio for the passeggiata...
and we had a nice lake view to wake up to
From there we headed north towards Bormio and up the Stelvio Pass
A great drive, with dozens of motorcyclists and pushbikers
then down the other side
"The Stelvio Pass is one of the highest Alpine Passes of Europe with its 2758 m. The original road was built in 1820-1825 by the Austrian Empire to connect the former Austrian province of Lombardia with the rest of Austria, covering a climb of 1871 m. Since then, the route has changed very little. The 60 hairpin bends, 48 of them on the northern side numbered with stones, are a challenge to motorists."
From there we drove through miles and miles of apple orchards (just at the start of harvest) and couldn't believe Italy could produce so many apples in one spot. We stayed at a little Gasthof in Terlan, this area was once Austrian and a lot of the locals still think that it should still be Austrian! Next day we detoured into the Dolomites and stopped at Lago Carezza...
before heading south to Lake Garda, stopping the night at Sirmione on the southern shore
A late flight on our final day gave us enough time for whistle stop tours of Mantua, Brescia and Bergamo before flying home.
Fino al prossimo tempo...
