Italy Day Seven

A free day, so a long slow breakfast on the sunny (but not yet too hot) hotel promenade. We had planned to walk to a nearby garden and famous house, info Hazel got on the plane on the way over here - she was sitting beside a tour guide who lives here. It turned out to be an excellent tip!

It was a bit of a climb up the footpath, past gorgeous houses with views over the lake, our destination was Il Vittoriale degli Italiani - opulent gardens filled with art works, an open air theatre and an eccentric house, built by Gabriele D'Annunzio, one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century. He was a friend of Mussolini. 

We came to the old part of the village - very picturesque. But the garden was incredible. There was a whole ship, there was an amphitheatre with a wonderful view over the lake, and a big horse. There was a dog graveyard on the highest hill, with several tombs with the doggie's names on them. There were statues and art works dotted around the gardens. We were able to book a guided tour of his house, which was dark and bonkers and stuffed full of thousands of things he collected all his life. He was a bit of a recluse and didn't like daylight.

After the house visit we came back to the wee village, and were lucky enough to get the best table in a very cute wee trattoria, for a lovely lunch (NO pasta) before wandering back down the hill to our hotel. (8,786 steps).

In the evening we sat on Hazel's balcony to drink our bottle of wine from Cantina del Castello, and watch the ferries coming and going, and the standing up rowers who kept sailing by, quite fast.

Home tomorrow. What an epic holiday. Thank you Italy! ❤️