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We arrived in Italy by the col of Brenner. In spite of crossing the Italian border, there was still an Austrian influence. We were still accompanied by the Vito, with all the family. We did a stop at Vipiteno, the most norther city of the country. We walked in the Via Citta Nuova, along massive buildings with a Renaissance style. At its extremity, we crossed under the Torre delle Dodici and its bell of 46-metre height. Since 1472, this tower was the link between the ancient and new city. On the main square, we found a shelter under the parasols of a café to order our first espresso ristretto.
We left the city and started to look for a wild camping place. As the forecasts were pretty bad, we asked to the local farmers for a shelter in one of their warehouses. But many of them refused. On the hills, behind the village of Mules, we finally had a positive reply after negotiations. We camped in a garage under construction, just under the sports field.
As usual, we celebrated the day with an evening drink. This time, we enjoyed a French southern drink: the Henri Bardouin Pastis to bring the sunshine after this wet day! For dining, we shared a “survival” box offered by Katadyn before our departure. Just a few kilometres further, this box would have done all the trip in the trunk of one of the sidecars. For the ones who are not sure about the taste of it, we were surprised! Well, we didn’t get all the flavours of a « Beef risotto with a Balkan sauce” without reading the label, but this meal was comforting after the tough day we had.
When we woke up, each one of the team went down to the river for a quick shower in the clear water from the mountain.
Once cleaned, we went down towards South and the city of Bolazno by going along the river of Isarco. Julien’s nephew, Zack, was with me, in the sidecar.
Back down from the valley, we looked for a campsite next to the Caldaro lake. But none of them were available with our tight budget and our needs of a wide area for 3 vehicles and 8 people. We decided to change our strategy and went back to the mountains. We arrived at the “Passo dela Mendola” where we enjoyed a viewpoint over the valley before to continue up to the Romeno village.
We spent the afternoon there on a play area. A nice break during our trip with games of Quixx, Yamms and a good skateboarding sessions by going down the hills with the kids.
The following day, we headed to the “Lago di Garda”. On the way, we stopped at the Azienda Agricola Fontanel in the Fiave village, before the lake. The young cheesemaker stopped his ricotta recipe for showing us its treasures. We fell in love with the fresh tomme cheese and the blue cheese.
While we went down towards the Riva del Garda, we enjoyed the view over the lake reaching the horizon between the mountains.
Once along the lake, we kept going towards East and stopped for a swim on a tree-field beach nearby the Porto village. The water was clear and refreshing. On the ground, there were small pebbles playing with our balance. Quickly we didn’t touch the ground anymore as there was a 300-metre depth in some places. After a few lengths, the abyss was mesmerising.
We went up to the village of Bardolina and opted for a wield field near the monastery of Enero San Giorgio, to pitch up the tents.
We woke up early in the morning on the following day and folded up quickly the tents to reach Verona. A quick start of the day to avoid the traffic of the city. No worries during this trip. We parked next to the football stadium of Hellas Verona and started our visit of the city by foot. People say that when you visit it, it is like doing a time travel. And this started by crossing the Palio gate and the park of the ancient fortifications drawing the entrance of the historical city. Verona keeps the heritage of its various glorious pasts. The Roman vestiges stands alongside with the Renaissance buildings in a quite interesting alchemy, which does not troubles to the inhabitants. Our walk was going through the central square called Piazza Bra where stands, in the middle, the majestic Roman amphitheater.
In the course of a street, we entered in a small courtyard where stands Juliette’s balcony. The one where Romeo would have done its famous tirade. Then, we passed the Piazza dell Erbe which lays at the bottom of the Lamberti tower.
The walk continued by the place where was the herbs market, now replaced by some souvenir shops. On the right of this ancient economical heart is the Piazza dei Signori ; genuine political center of the Renaissance city, surrounded by the courthouses : “del Podesta” and the Loggia di Fra Giocondo.
By narrow streets, we reached the Adige river bank. There, we took the breakfast made of focaccia, croissants and coffee. After crossing the Ponte Pietra, we conclued the trip by passing the Duomo of the Di Santa Matricolare cathedral after crossing the Castelvecchio and a break on the bridge of Scaligero.
Back on the stadium car park, it was our last picnic all together. The Vito and the family headed to France.
For us, the new direction was Brescia and we looked for a wild camping spot in front of the mountains, on the heights of the city.
After the village of Serla, we took a dead-end road. From the terraces, the elderly people were watching. We reached a nice picnic area, next to a barn with donkeys and horses. At 9pm, while finishing our dinner, there was a music on the back of the barn, from the house. Was-it a music for helping the animals to sleep ? There were three religious songs before to stop. At the time of going to our tents for the night, a car arrived and lighted up the camp with its front beams leaving only the noise of cows and bells.
On the next day, we went to the area of Brescia and more specifically the city of Flero where there is the Givi company. During the preparation of our trip, this company was one of the first ones to support us by offering the opportunity to become brand ambassadors on the roads of the world. We spent the day with Simona and Antonia working in the company and offering us a visit of the manufacture plus the R&D department.
Then, we went along the Iseo lake that we saw between the tunnels we crossed. Finally, we stopped for the evening along the lake of Endine. It was not easy to find a spot sheltered from the neighborhood. We asked a team of German scouts to join them but after a first positive request, they refused by being afraid from the reprisals by the city hall welcoming them. Finally, we pitched up the tents on a fishing area. At 9pm, the bar at the opposite side of the lake, played a loud music to celebrate a birthday and let off a nice fireworks by 11pm.
At 5am, a storm stopped the peacefulness of the night. We folded up the wet tents at 7am between two showers. We headed to Canzo, a small city next to the “Lago di Como”. We will stop there for a few days for Emilie’s birthday.
OUR FAVOURITE PLACE |
| Where to stop for a break?
The cheese factory “Azienda Agricola Fontanel” A charming small farm lost in the mountains of Trentin. A warm welcoming and delicious chesses. No excuse for not stopping! |
