Our Trip to Northern Italy – Venice and Lake Garda

Tom and I planned this trip together. We first found cheap flight to Milan and decided to continue from there to Barcelona. Afterwards we read a book about northern Italy. We saw a variety of trails from which we chose to visit lake Garda and Venice.

Each and every trip gets us excited as if it were our first, and the day we fly is a day of celebration.

Writing a blog adds interest to the whole experience and contributes to our travels a sense of a purpose to help other people. The kids are proud and delighted that the blog posts featuring them help people have a good time.
Tom and Shira also read some of your letters, and their eyes shine with happiness when Rachel or Ethan write that they found cheap flight for their trip. Or when Michael and Judith share with us that they’ve finally mustered the courage to go on a family vacation, thanks to our stories, and had a great time. 🙂

Finally the day of departure came.
We arrived at the airport at 6 pm, two hours before the flight. In November there aren’t long security lines, and we don’t have any luggage to check in. We got through check-in and were at the playground within 30 minutes.
How wonderful, I thought to myself, we have an hour to play, perfect so the children will sleep during the flight till we land in Milan at midnight.
At about 7.30 pm we headed to the gate. On the way I took a look at the departures flight board.
What’s this? A 2 hour delay??
Our flight was highlighted red and showed an updated boarding time of 9.35 pm.

Well, what can you do? We’ll take it easy.
We returned to the playground, to the delight of the Chinese tourists who got there just before we previously left. The Chinese were waiting in line to receive their tax returns at the stand nearby and asked for some farewell pictures from Israel with locally bred and born children.
Beforehand I had politely declined because we had a plane to board, but we now had enough time for everyone! 🙂

People of the Far East really like being photographed with western looking children. During our travels in Vietnam Shira felt like a star. We would be stopped at every street corner for a picture with her. 🙂

After the Chinese photo shoot we went to grab something to eat and at 9.30 pm we arrived at the gate.
“See, a 2 hour delay is not that bad at all, it goes so fast”.
But my fellow travelers, seasoned as they were, noticed that I was unduly optimistic…
“Mom, there’s no plane near our jet bridge”.
The children went up to the counter to find out when we’ll depart. Tom returned to tell me that we’ll have to be patient a while longer… we’ll probably board the plane in 2 hours time, towards midnight.
Vered and Nofar, part of the ground crew at the desk, told the children that the plane had a very busy day. In the morning it was supposed to take off from London to Milan and from Milan to Tel Aviv, and then take us to Milan. But he wasn’t cleared for take off at Luton airport due to dense fog. It’s dangerous to take off when there’s fog. Eventually the fog cleared and the plane took off safely after a long delay. It is now making its way from Milan to Tel Aviv, but it will take a further hour and a half to reach us. It will then take time for people to disembark, and the plane cleaned and fueled before it can take us to Milan.

What a lovely turn of events that I don’t need to explain the situation to the kids, but rather they explain it to me! 🙂

The wonderful ground crew helped us pleasantly pass two more hours.

Around midnight we reached our seats, but it seemed like someone up there decided to test our patience…
One passenger was missing on the flight. The crew started looking and announcing for him. It was then deemed a security issue and they went one by one and checked every passenger’s passport. The man remained missing. The next step was to remove his luggage from the plane. That took a while more… Towards 1 am we were finally ready for take off.

During take off the girls fell asleep.
Minutes after the “fasten your seat-belt” sign went off, a commotion started a a few rows down. Someone was feeling sick and probably fainted. We were requested to remain in our seats while two passengers went to help the crew.

15 minutes later it was announced that we would have to make an emergency landing at Cypress’ Larnaca airport because the man required immediate medical care. A medical crew boarded the plane at Larnaca and decided to send the passenger to a hospital.
“We ask you to remain patient.” called the flight manager, “Disembarking a passenger involves paperwork…”

At 5 am we arrived at our hotel. Extremely tired, but happy. 🙂
Why happy?
First of all, thank God we were safe and sound: our plane had taken off and landed safely.
The sick man received medical care. We send him our best wishes of recovery.
The passengers kept calm and patient while the crew performed their job well and showed that everything was under control.
My children behaved exceptionally well under the greatest test of their patience to-date.
And finally, our hotel, Moxy, was located next to the terminal. We crossed the street and entered the lobby. A clerk at the front desk welcomed us with a smile and we were in our beds within 10 minutes. Great! 🙂

We slept till noon and after a late breakfast returned to the terminal to pick up the car we ordered ahead.

We were still tired from the long journey to Milan so we decided to change our plans and start the trip with a restful activity. From the airport we drove to the thermal park –  ‘Parco Termale del Garda’, at the town of Colà. We skipped a walking trail that was originally planned.

“Shira, remember when we swam in a warm sea during the summer holidays in the Greek island of Cos? Well, now we’re going to swim in a warm lake…” Tom explained to her.

Swimming in a warm thermal lake during chilly November while people outside wear winter clothes was a fun experience.
We stayed till late in the evening. The children had a great time, and it seemed as if nothing would get them out of the water…

I sent a message to Claudio, our airbnb host, to notify him that we would arrive later than planned. He replied, saying it’s no problem and that he will even wait for us with supper ready.
What a lovely surprise! 🙂

We arrived at Claudio’s farm famished. Dropped our bags in the room and headed to the table.
A wonderful smell of cooking pervaded the house. Claudio came smiling out of the kitchen with a dish of pasta in hand. We amused him with our starved looks. He must have felt like a savior.
He served our dishes and we were ready to devour it all.
I tasted the pasta and was speechless to describe the wonderful flavor of this simple dish that I myself prepared million times.
I have never had pasta as tasty as this in my whole life!

Wait, I asked the children. Let’s wait for Claudio to join us at the table. His plate remained empty while he returned to the kitchen. We swallowed hard, but waited. We wanted to be polite and respectful. The five minutes it took him to return seemed like ages. Finally Claudio returned. I smiled at him, happy that we were able to hold off the temptation. He smiled back at me, but suddenly his smile vanished…
“Zoe, why aren’t you eating?? Don't you like the food?”
“We were waiting for you…”
“No! Why? The food will no longer be tasty… The flavors are best at the time of serving. Now it’s already…” He continued to explain to me about the interaction between the oils and cheeses that have by now been absorbed or disappeared completely. “In other words, you’ve ruined the food…” he concluded his dramatic speech.
I was both embarrassed and amused at the same time. 🙂
“Ok Claudio, give me a second chance. I promise to eat everything you’ve prepared, including dessert. At the end of the meal you'll be happy with me.” 😉

We woke up to a beautiful morning in a charming farm house with a spectacular view of a winery and fruit trees. Breakfast was waiting for us – an assortment of home-made fruit preserves, pastries and fruits from the garden.

The farm, Relais des Roches, is situated near the village of Sona, between lake Garda and Verona.
It is perfect for family vacations – the house has 3 rooms that can accommodate up to 9 people. Claudio, an amateur chef and wine maker, offers remarkable meals for a fair price. In short, you’ll get a stunning house  with a personal chef for your stay.
Only remember to eat right when Claudio serves the dishes! 😉

Our plan included a trip to the famous Monte Baldo. I thought we’d reach the town of Malcesine on the eastern side of lake Garda, ride a cable car to the top of the mountain and continue higher on a walking trail. To finish off the day, after coming back down the cable car, we thought of walking around the town and visiting the ancient fort and harbor.
Claudio suggested we alter our plan a bit and start from the intermediate cable car station. He marked the spot on a map. “If you drive to that station by car, you’ll not only enjoy a scenic route but also save money: you won’t pay for parking and the cable car tickets will be considerably less expensive compared to those from the first stop. He also suggested we take a boat ride to the town of Limone after our tour of Malcesine.

Claudio was right. The road up to the cable car stop was a real experience! Very narrow, winding and challenging with many sharp turns and steep inclines…
It was our kind of extreme. 😉
In the “scary” parts, when I thought we’d never make it because of narrow path, the kids kept cheering me “Come on mom! Come on mom!…”
But even with all the sharp turns and steep hills, I recommend this drive. Thinking about it now, there was nothing to be scared about. 🙂

We parked just above the cable car station happy that there were no crowds. Actually, we were almost by ourselves – us and the cable car workers.
“The cable car is closed till the middle of December due to maintenance work”, told me one of the guys.
“What do we do? Should we go down to Malcesine and take a boat ride to Limone?” I asked Tom & Shira.
“Mom, let’s walk around here. After all the way we came to get up here I don’t want to go back down right now” Tom said.
“You know what? I remember reading on the internet that there are pretty trails up here. Why don’t we look them up and find where they start?”

We went up the road and found the trails’ starting point. The kids chose the only trail that went towards to forest.
“Mom, I want forest”! said Tom decisively.
“Yes, it’s similar to the "Park of the Senses" in the black forest, where we went on a trail barefoot” , exclaimed Shira.

We went on a stunning walk through the Monte Baldo forest. The children led the way following the red and white markings on the rocks and trees. Along the way there were signs with explanations about the ecological life of the area. We read about insets and birds, found mushrooms, stopped for the beautiful views, picnicked and laughed a lot.
When we returned to the car it was starting to get dark. I hurried down the mountain to Malcesine hoping we’d catch the last hour of daylight and go for a short walk through the town, but the children were fast asleep in the car.
So we continued driving to the farm, to yet another delicious meal prepared by Claudio. 🙂

The following morning Claudio gave us a short tour of his winery. The winery is located in the cellar and it produces 10,000 bottles each year. The wine we drank at meals came from here.

We said goodbye to Claudio and Relais des Roches farm and continued to the town of Sirmione with the ancient fortress.

We walked around the old city and lake shore. The weather was perfect and the autumn colors full of charm…
Sirmione is our last stop at lake Garda; from here we continue to Venice.

On our way to Venice we will pass the beautiful island of Pellestina which is not so well known by tourists. There we’ll stay with a local family too, also found through airbnb.
From Sirmione we drove to the town of Chioggia, where we left our car. We won't need it till we return to the airport. From now on we travel by water!
From Chioggia we took a ferry to Pellestrina.

David with his father Angleo, our hosts, picked us up from the ferry.
We found ourselves in a fairytale…An Italian village located in a serene corner with the sea on the right (the Adriatic), and a blue lagoon to the left (Venetian Lagoon). Sun, peace and quiet, and only half an hour from the touristy bustle of Venice.
Our flat had a separate entrance, an outdoor courtyard and four bicycles for the benefit of the guests. What more could you ask for? 🙂

We woke up full of energy. Venice is the part of the trip the children have been most excited about.
We took a bus north to the end of the island where the bus boarded a ferry going to the next island. Getting off at the port, we boarded a water bus that took us to the heart of Venice – Piazza San Marco.

This famous square is full of pigeons that eat whatever you offer them right from your hands. I brought a bag of bread and crackers cause the kids love feeding the birds.
Seagulls caught the point that free lunch is served at San Marco and joined the pigeons. To be more precise, the seagulls scared the pigeons away with loud cries.
We took pictures with the pigeons.

And the Chinese took pictures with the kids. 😉

We discovered that Gondola rides are as Venetian as it gets…

And that there’s nothing more Israeli than a kosher Friday night dinner in Venice.
We found Gam Gam restaurant in the Jewish quarter. The children were very happy to read a menu in Hebrew, talk in Hebrew to the Israeli waitress – Danielle, and of course eat Falafel (that is sold for the price of gold here). 😉

On our way to Bergamo airport we took a ferry back from Pellestrina to Chioggia, where we had left our car.
In the afternoon we boarded a plane…
Ciao Italia – Hola Barcelona! 🙂

Post about our Barcelona trip is here