July 1, 2007

Today, my dear family packed up the children and we set off to visit Lake Garda, Italys largest lake. It really was quite spectacular and only about an hour from home! It is roughly shaped like a banjo and is 32 miles in length, and 10 miles across (at the widest point). We spent most of the day in the village of Sirmione, which is quite touristy due to its lovely views of the lake. Sirmione is not one to dissapoint the traveler who is filled with illusions of brightly colored buildings and flowers filling the wrought iron balconies. Its narrow allies were filled with lovely little shops and almost everywhere we went, we were rewarded with breathtaking views of the lake and the mountains off in the distance. Sirmione is on a spit that juts out from the mainland, and it is really quite narrow. The narrowness allows one to look to the right and the left, and see the lake on either side of the land. It was a beautiful day and it was delightful to see all of the sailboats careening across the lake. While it was quite warm, the cool breezes wafting in from the lake cooled us down immediately.

I was particularly thankful for these chilling breezes, after the hour spent in the car. While my family has the Italian version of a minivan, complete with airconditioning, they did not see fit to turn the AC on. At first, I politely tried to hide the sweat that was pouring out of my very being, discreetly collecting it in a water bottle stowed beneath my seat. The mother had generously offered me the front seat, and more than once, I came near to dialing that little button one click to the right...yes, one click was all that was between heat stroke and a pleasant day out with the fam. At first, I thought that I was the only one affected by the heat, and that they were just acclimated. However, when I turned to talk to the mother, I saw that she too was quitely collecting her sweat droplets in a water bottle. Why she did not request the AC, I will never know.

The cool lake breezes revived me, and indeed sustained me over the car ride home. At one point, I did pass out from the heat, but came to without much ado, when the car pulled to a stop at a village festa (festival). I was only a bit surprised when everyone poured out of the car, and proceeded to long tables, covered in food. While we ate, a live band played music, and hordes of people danced around the outdoor dance floor. It was a bit chaotic...but I am getting used to this...and turned out to be quite fun! A fitting ending to this memorable day :-)