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Travel Diary Lago Di Garda – Part 2 – Day 3 and 4….

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^Parco Sigurta^

^Café Americano^

^Spritz Bianco^ and dinner at Café Roma – Garda
^tuna salad^
^pizza capriciosa^

^the view from our dinner table^

^Bardolino waterfront^

^the perfect Italian ride^
^the marina in Bardolino^
^Caesar´s Salad^
^crema catalana^

^Bellavista restaurant^

^marina in Peschiera^

^Peschiera by night^

^the canals^

….

Hi guys 

and happy Thursday. I am checking back with my 2nd travel guide about our stay at Lake Garda today. I am sharing what we did on day 3 and day 4.

Day 3
On our 3rd day at Lake Gardo we went to Parco Sigurta which is a huge parc. Since the Sigurta family owned the area in 1941 in has been a parc. The first use has been a farm which got destroyed and after that the parc was unclaimed. 

There are also several buildings at the park which have been used as secret meeting places but are closed today. 

From our hotel in Castelnuovo it was about 15 minutes to drive and we arrived there. We got our tickets (12,50 Euro each) really quickly since there wasn´t a line at all and decided to get onto the little train and ride around the parc first before running around wihtout a destination. It cost 3 Euro extra per person but was great. The park is huge and you really can ´t see how huge from the map. The ride took about 20 minutes and we came back to where started. From there we took a map and decided where we specifically wanted to go.

We went to see the turtles, the water lilies and the koi carps. They also had maze to wander around but there where about a hundred school kids inside so we skipped this one. After walking around another hour we decided to go back to the car and get some coffee at our hotel since the coffee bar at the parc was very crowded.
Overall I liked the parc very much but I was a little disappointed that they didn´t have anymore flowers. They had some roses and some hydreangeas but I expected fields of flowers and that just wasn´t the case.

In the afternoon we went to the pool to relax and read a little and of course for swimming. 
For dinner we decided to drive to Garda which is also a really pretty city but we almost always forget about it. We had trouble finding a parking spot cause I couldn´t remember where to park at first and Garda is not that big so we passed through pretty quick. But we found a nice spot not far away and after walking a little we got a front row dining spot which could not have been more picturesque. The restaurant is called Café Roma and you can have dinner there as well as just sit with a drink and stare at the lake. Everything we ate was delicious (view pictures above).
I totally love all of these little cities cause after having dinner you can stroll around, look into all the little shops and maybe sit down at another place to have a drink or two.

Day 4
On our fourth day we finally got to go to the market. I really love the Italian markets since they sell really pretty things from clothing to leather goods and shoes to ceramics (which are the prettiest) and high quality table cloths. I waited on purpose to go to the market on Thursday. On Thursday´s the market takes place in Bardolino and I think this is by far the best location for it. You are walking along with the lake view on your left and the market stalls on your right.

We planed on getting up early but this failed terrible. We where so tired we didn´t hear our alarm but overall we where just about 30 minutes late which was totally fine cause obviously we picked a great week with less crowds than usual. 

After buying a bunch of stuff at the market we decided to get into Bardolino itself to get a drink and something to eat but this was by far more exhausting than I thought since it was a hot day and everyone wanted to have a refreshing drink. 

It was also our first time to get some ice-cream. I got a scoop of pistacchio but it wasn´t as good as I thought.

The rest of the day was spent by the pool and trying on all of my fashion finds.

In the evening we drove over to Peschiera del Garda which was only about three minutes away. We walked a little along the boardwalk until we got hungry and searched for a restaurant. We ate at the Bellavista restaurant a little outside of the city and the food was delicious. 

I had a Cesar´s Salad and Florian ate a pizza. The Aperol Spritz we ordered where huge. I would always go for wine and aperitifs restaurants offer on their menu since they are the affordable drinks. Beer is really pricey in Italy but also who wouldn´t enjoy a glass of red to his pasta or pizza or a glass of white with the fish over a beer.

After our dinner we headed into the city. It is a really nice city with little bridges and lots of flowers. The main restaurants and the main life takes place around the canals inside of the city wall.

I have also found a cute shop where I got an awesome Valentino handbag dupe for a really good price and also such a beautiful black jumpsuit which makes me want to ditch all my LBD´s.

It really doesn´t matter which city you are visiting they are all unique and pretty in their own way. 

Here are the other posts of this trip so far:
Our day in Milan, Italy…
My quick and easy poolside make-up look…
Summer has started and here is my summer playlist…
Travel Diary Lago di Garda – Part 1…
An afternoon at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and outfit details…


If you want to see more places we went to just click on the travel tab and it shows all our travels from the last years.


Thanks for stopping by. Take care. See you.

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An afternoon at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and outfit details…

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culotte Vero Moda sold out similar here, here and here / handbag Mango sold out similar here / t-shirt Olsen old similar here and here / slides H&M / lips NYX / straw hat Asos sold out similar here and here

….



Hi guys,

(post contains affiliate links / Werbung/Beitrag enthält Affiliate Links)

it is Monday again and I don´t know what to think. The weekend was great. I got so much work done (redecorated and decluttered our bathroom), tried some new recipes, shot blog photos and also visited a lot of people. So Monday hit me like a hurricane with all this back to work crap.


As you may remember, we had been to Lake Garda in Italy about three weeks ago and we also went to Milan by train for one day. Milan really is an intense city with so many impressions and all the huge and historical buildings. It didn´t disapoint.

The photos above where taken at Galleria Vittorio Emanule II (read my Milan post here), an incredible luxurious shopping centre with marble floors and a glass ceiling. 

You can find stores like Louis Vuitton and Prada in there but also several restaurant and they also have two rooftop bars with view to the dome, one from Campari and one from Aperol. I wanted to go up for a drink but after eight hours of exploring we where really tired and just wanted to go home.


The look I am wearing in the picutres above is my interpretation of a casual day as an Italian women wearing a pair of culottes, a cute t-shirt, a straw hat and a chic hand bag.

Meanwhile I turned to a real culotte lover, I own several pairs and like to wear them all. They are super comfortable and in my opinion enormous flattering and oh so chic. So easy to dress them up with a pair of heels and a cute button down or to dress them down with flats and a t-shirt like I did. 

I really hope your day started better than mine. Anyways thanks for stopping by. Take care. See you.

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Travel Diary Lago Di Garda, Italy Part 1 – Day 1 and 2….

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Our favorite restaurant – Torre al Casillo – aka „The barrel bar“

 

Official entrance to Lazise / parking lot is right across

the small but adorable marina of Lazise

The Aperol Spritz is a classic Italian drink or aperitif which shouldn´t be missing when you are dining out.

„Cheers“

Grilled turkey and vegetables at our favortie restaurant in Lazise

Restaurant Classique

The sunset was picturesque

….

Hi dolls,

since this is one of my favorite vacation spots it is no surprise that we went back to enjoy the Italian sun, the landscpape the food and the vino.

This time I am giving you a little more insight on what we did and also how to get there. Talking about expenses you don´t know before and anything else I can remember.

 Day I:
  So we started on a Monday morning and also tried to get up as soon as possible. This is always hard for us and usually we are getting about one hour later out of the house as we have plan but I think we managed pretty good this time. Wanted to leave at 06:30 a.m. and left shortly after 07:00 a.m.


We always go there by car which means we are crossing 3 countries. So after leaving Germany we are driving through Austria for about an hour and a half. Be sure to stop at a gas station first before you cross the border cause you need a vignette. They smallest amount of days you can buy are ten. Costs about 9 Euro. 
If you want to get to Italy from the Austrian side you have to cross the alps or just drive through. They have an alpine pass which is called Brenner. This simply is a tunnel which connects the two countries. So after you are through you are a short drive away from Italy. 

The exit for our destination was Lago di Garda Sud. It is always this exit cause we are always staying on this side of the lake. Before exiting you have to pay toll for the distance you have gone by car. It is about 16 Euro.

When we are exiting there we drove about 550 km in about 5 hours. Depends on traffic and how many stops we make along the way.


The nearest place located to the highway is Affi (they also have a nice shopping center there – for rainy days). From there our hotel was about 10 minutes away but first we went to our favorite little restaurant – the barrel bar (the real name is Torre al Casello but we couldn´t remember first so we called it barrel bar since they function as tables there).

My dad and I found this hidden gem a few years ago and everyone who went thers has loved it ever since.  It really has such carribean flair and is totally affordable. Also the food is great and the staff is really quick.


After having a lunch – never said no to a panini – we headed to our hotel.

We choose a totally different hotel this time (not only because all the others were full) because I love Disney so much and this is the closest I can get when in Italy. The Gardaland Hotel Resort. This hotel belongs to the Gardaland theme park and looks like a little castle with a huge pool landscape. Staying there is in fact magic.
It is the perfect hotel for children since they are having themed rooms and a lot of child animation. The pool area is really pretty too with different areas.

After arriving and checking in we brought everything to our room, upacked and then went to the pool straigt away. After driving for such a long time swimming is really great to stretch and move your bones.


We did some exploring in and around the hotel, went to shower and then headed of to Lazise for dinner.


If you are going by car it is always the problem where to park. Well, parking in Lazise is pretty simple. The best parking spot is straight across the official entrance (a big stone arch in the wall with the name of the city above).
  
Where to eat in Lazise:

Restaurant Classique – Italian and grill restaurant
I love to eat there cause the view is amazing. Be sure to come early to snag a seat at the waterfront on the balcony. The staff is pretty stressed out all the time so they aren´t as nice as it would be required but they are quick.
The bar inside is one of the prettiest I have ever seen. You can get your espresso or aperitif there while waiting.
I had the grilled turkey with the vegetables and Florian ate pasta. Last year we had the carpaccio and the caprese and everything is so good.

Bar al Porto

We love to sit at this corner bar cause everyone is passing here and you are also sitting close to the water so this might be the best place in Lazise for people watching.
We enjoyed another Spritz here and most bars serve crips, olive, peanuts or little sandwiches with your drinks.
Café Battlo
I really love this place for snagging a scoop or two of ice cream before leaving the city but it is also really nice to sit and have some coffee or a drink. The white chairs and tables surrounded by the high planters are just adorable.

Where to shop:
fashion
There are so many stores which sell pretty much the same pieces (they also sell lots of these clothes on the weekly market so I would recommend going there).
 On Piazza Vittorio Emanuele are the two best shops to buy stuff. They have many pieces and good prices. I couldn´t remember the name but they have big white awnings in front of the store so you will find them. 

There is also and O-Bag store located in Lazise. Just in case you are interested.
I wanted to buy mine there but there where just five minutes left before they closed and that wouldn´t be enough time at all. 

ceramics
The ceramic pieces are amazing. In fact I could buy one of each. They are handmade and each one is different but perfect in its own way. It is totally incredible and real art (see my cake palatter here and a salad bowl and matching salad servers here)  I always get a few pieces when we are at Lake Garda to expand my collection at home. And since I love cooking and having dinner parties these pieces are amazing. 
But I highly recommend buying them at the market. Got the same quality, maybe a little less pieces than in stores but the price different is huge. They charge almost double prices in stores.  

Day  II:
On the second day we went to Milan by train. You can read all about it here. 

 As always thank you so much for stopping by. If you have anymore questions about travelling to Lake Garda feel free to ask.
Take care. See you. 

Other posts about Lake Garda here:
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Our day in Milan, Italy – what to see…

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up on the roof of the Duomo





the inside of the Duomo



Gallerie Vittoria Emanuele 

Inside of the train station of Milan


….

Hi guys and happy Wednesday, 

as you might know we are currently staying at Lake Garda in Italy. We have been here two years ago and I was here several times ago. Although Milan is about 200 km away we never vistied before and decided to go this time.

After several thoughts about how to get there and some advice of people who already visited we decided to go by train. I am not a real train fan but sometimes there is no way out.

So yesterday morning we got up early and headed to the train station in Peschiera del Garda which is about 5 minutes away. We parked the car and went to get our tickets. Be sure to bring some extra time (about 30 minutes) since the ticket machines aren´t always working and the lines are long. 

We caught our train at 08:57 am. The train ride took us about 1 1/2 hours and cost 21 Euro for two adults.

It passes some suburbs of Milan until it finally gets into the main train station. Be warned upfront cause Milan is huge. The population of the city itself is by over one million and including the suburbs they are counting about 8 million milanese´.

So we got into the main train station and believe me when I say it is overwhelming. There are so many incoming trains and so many people you get lost pretty quick. The central station of Milan looks more like a really old and beautiful building than a station – like the Central Station in New York. High sealings, beautiful old stones including lots of artisty carvings and figurines.

You can easily walk into the city centre where the Duomo, the Scala and the insane pretty Galeria Vittoria Emanuele is (takes about 30 minutes) but we took the metro and I am glad we did cause our day was exhausting enough with all the other stuff we did. The metro ticket is super inexpensive. 1, 50 Euro per person and ride.

The best station is called Duomo and that is also where you get out. In front of this absolutely huge and stunning building. We got our ticket voucher upfront through Tripadvisor so all we had to do is get our tickets and the audio guide and we could start to climp up the stairs to the „balcony of the Duomo“. There are over a hundred stairs so be sure you can actually make it to the top otherwise there is an extra entrance with a lift.


It
really is super high and the view over Milan is breathtaking. There
are so many different buildings combining old and new in the best
Italian flair.

After
wandering around on the rooftop we went down a different staircase
but still so so many steps but we totally go rewarded cause we came
out in one corner of the church. The inside of the Duomo itself is
really impressing. Sky high pillars and huge colorful windows. Each
one showing another line from the bibel. The floor is over and over
with the prettiest marble flooring in the most gorgeous color
pairings.

The
Duomo of Milan really is a must-see. I think it is the number one
sight Milan has to offer among many others. A combo ticket is about
21 Euro and I think this is definitely worth it.

Very
close to the right side of the Duomo is the entrance of Galleria
Vittorio Emanule II. I have never seen anything comparable. The architecture really is one of a kind. The shops are as luxurious and high class as possible and the restaurants are super chic. If you are planing on buying a high class souvenir which reminds you of your trip or you are just window shopping don´t miss this out. It really is awesome. 

We also planed on visiting the Scala – an old opera building but to be honest we where so exhausted. After a 6 Euro espresso with view to the Duomo and a delicious burger we went into the stores we wanted and then headed back to Peschiera. The train also was on delay so it took about twenty minutes longer and it was super hot. I might have lost two pounds on sweating in the train but we came back safe and sound to the hotel and ended our day with a Spritz Bianco (white wine with sparkling mineral water).


Overall Milan is worth a visit but it is a really really big and crowded city. Although it is full of history and if you also want to shop for designated Italian brands it is perfect. 

If there is anything else you want to know feel free to ask maybe I can help you.

Thanks for stopping by. Take care and see you tomorrow.

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