There was frost on the ground at Palmanova this morning. We had had a walk around this fort-town the night before to the grand and imposing plaza at the centre of this star-shaped town. We had a fabulous meal at a bistro on the square. The older husband and wife team that run it obviously taking much pride in their work. It was filled with locals having a drink and catching up. Unusually for an Italian bar, a group of silver haired ladies enjoying an Aperol. An unexpectedly lovely stop, we would definitely return.
We made the mistake of calling in at a Eurospar supermarket for some bread as we left town. An hour later we finally emerged! There’s something much more interesting about a foreign supermarket with all the local delicacies and this was a particularly impressive one. Kevin the foodie was in his element.
The drive through northern Italy was less inspiring. It is very industrial, with enormous factories and warehouses lining both sides for miles and miles. I am sure there is some more scenic routes through on the slower roads, but Italian toll roads are pretty good value and we need to get some miles in. The family we are meeting in France for skiing soon are getting rather nervous we are still a long way off 🤣⛷
We were less impressed with Lake Garda too on arrival. The fog / bad air quality which had surrounded us on route persisted. Instead of the picturesque mountain lake I had pictured, we saw instead “Gardaland” theme park and felt we had wondered into Blackpool. However, the scenery improved as we got further north, the densely packed hotels pietered out to more scenic villages. We have managed to get into a fairly empty sosta overlooking the lake. Well, we can see the shore, but sadly the more distant views of this notoriously beautiful lake is still shrouded in mist. Hopefully it will clear by the morning.
Our German motorhome neighbours have been camped out on the lakeshore with big coats and a bottle of wine since we arrived. So probably time for us to head out for a wander round the shore.
In for a Penney 