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

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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