We had mixed feelings about Stresa. Very beautiful but touristy place. Some palatial old hotels along the lakefront. Interestingly, these hotel owners have bought up other old villas and simply let them turn slowly into ruins. Some of them are now covered with creepers and with wildly overgrown gardens making them look like haunted houses or Sleeping Beauty's castle. Apparently they are hoping the by laws change so they can demolished and replaced by new hotels...all very strange.
Travelling today down the valley of the Po we saw the uglier Side of Italy with semi derelict looking factories and commuter towns on a broad featureless plain crisscrossed by transmission lines. However, Desmonoza was a buzzy little port town on Lake Garda and after refreshments we crossed by ferry to Sirmione as the twilight came on.
Full moon behind Castelo Sirmione. The moat connects to the lake.
Murray practicing his devilish look out on the town
Larger than life,Veronese poet Gaius Valerio Cattulus. The Grottoes of Cattulus are named after him. These are Roman ruins at the tip of the peninsula. Look at http://www.gardalake.com/place/grotte-catullo-sirmione/
We had to google it for a closer look as the gates closed as we were about to go in.
Sunset up by the ruins
The olive trees are so old, the trunks are gnarled and often split into two or three.
Lazing by the lake under olive trees
Walking back down to the ferry
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