This time, we thought, we were drivers who had successfully negotiated our way through Italian traffic, so we would have no problems making our way to our isolated destination in the Italian Alps. How wrong we were! The trip became complicated from the start because our train…Read More

This time, we thought, we were drivers who had successfully negotiated our way through Italian traffic, so we would have no problems making our way to our isolated destination in the Italian Alps.

How wrong we were!

The trip became complicated from the start because our train from Rome to Milan broke down, and eventually we had to return to Florence station to change to another. We never did discover the full story, as our Italian is extremely limited and the couple who translated the loudspeaker messages for us were French with limited English.

So the four hours we had allowed for the car journey had now been reduced to three, but the very helpful young lady at the car hire office assured us our intended journey would take a maximum of one and a half hours, so we would definitely arrive before the resort office closed at 7pm.

Lesson One: never believe an Italian driver's estimation of time taken to travel. Remember, they don't drive like the rest of us!

Having missed our turn off out of the airport to get onto the Milan motorway, we completed another circuit and this time had success. We made sure that were in the correct lane for the turn off towards Venice as we approached the toll gates, but lo and behold, as we exited the toll gate, there was the sign to Venice dropping away to our right, from two lanes across from us! Without reversing back to the toll gate (not recommended, particularly with all the traffic we could see) there was no way we could possibly get our car onto that road!

Lesson Two: never become overly confident when on unfamiliar toll roads--they just can't be trusted!

No problem. We did have an alternate (although longer) route; just take the next exit and travel through some of the local towns, instead of the express route. And we did have plenty of time as office closure time was about three hours away. Our only problem was the maps we were carrying didn't show much detail, so we did make a number of unnecessary turns but always managed to get ourselves back on track successfully.

Lesson Three: never become too confident when driving on unknown roadways. You never know what's going to go wrong next!

Meanwhile time was clicking away, but as we arrived at Largo D'Iseo, we were congratulating ourselves and still hopeful of arriving at the resort within the allocated time. Just to be sure we phoned the resort manager and were assured that from where we were the trip should take no more than an hour. This kind gentleman also said he could remain at the resort for an extra hour, but would be definitely be leaving after then.

Lesson Four: never try to make definite arrangements by phone when each party speaks a different language and communication is not as clear as usual!

So we proceeded around the lake, looking for our next turn. The lake slowly disappeared behind us, then we found ourselves in a narrow valley--definitely not climbing to our mountain peak destination! By now it was becoming dark, and we could see there was no way we would arrive successfully. Another phone call to the resort proved to be impossible (we later discovered the manager took the phone off the hook if he was leaving the office), so we retraced our tracks and booked a bed for the night in a lakeside hotel. After a good nights' sleep and purchase of a detailed local map, we set off the next morning and successfully reached our intended destination. The final climb to the resort consisted of a narrow mountain road with 14 'tournanto' (hairpin bends) to the last of civilisation, then a further 20 minute drive to the resort. How thankful we were that we hadn't tackled that bit of road in the dark!

Lesson Five: it's when you set off on adventures like these that you discover places you hadn't intended to vist and people you would never have met without these interesting little challenges!

Nestled among the Italian Alps is this less-well-known beauty! Our day spent exploring the area by car and boat was one of the most memorable of our entire holiday. Lovere is the major town at the northern tip of the lake, and it was here that…Read More

Nestled among the Italian Alps is this less-well-known beauty! Our day spent exploring the area by car and boat was one of the most memorable of our entire holiday.

Lovere is the major town at the northern tip of the lake, and it was here that we started our day of exploration. The local tourist office supplied a map showing the high points of interest in the older historical areas. We spent many hours walking and climbing through narrow lanes; each turn supplied us with something new and fascinating. Cobbled streets with buildings dating back several centuries, wooden doors that looked as though they had been there since the beginning of the towns life and numerous churches were all asking to be noticed and enjoyed. The local signage was excellent, with historical descriptions for all major landmarks. There were none of the busloads of tourists that you have to battle in the larger centres -- most of the time, we felt as though we were the only non-locals around! While there are many homes of high standard, we also discovered an area where women must use outdoor troughs of cold water to do the family washing, then carry their load up to the apartment balconies to dry.

When our feet began aching for a rest, we boarded the local ferry for a trip around the lake. This enabled us to view the town from another perspective, and to see the smaller settlements along the lake. The trip terminated at one of the small islands on Largo D'Iseo, allowing us about half an hour to explore this isolated place before returning to Lovere on another ferry. Several families lived on the island, and were happy for visitors to walk past their properties and view their self-sufficient lifestyle.

Lovere township has several hotels and many cafes and restaurants, as well as plenty of shops of all descriptions.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day, and felt as though we had been given a change to step temporarily into the local life,.