Beautiful Lake Garda, Italy, for Some Pampering

Finally, I get to wear my swimsuit! The Hotel Palazzo del Garda has a pool! And lounge chairs with umbrella tables! And a masseuse! And a block away from Lake Garda in Desenzano del Garda.

Lake Garda is in the northeast part of Italy, near the Alps. The nearest major airport is Venice, but we used the Milan airport. The lake is a popular tourist destination, and has been for over a century.

A lovely evening 

A view from Desenzano

This is an area just made for films!

From James Bond to a Saracen epic, Lake Garda has been the setting for many movies. There's a display showing clips of each movie, based on the location. It goes on for a couple of hours.

This tricky little step on the way to the toilet in a bar makes sure you aren't drunk!

I leaned on the wall while placing my foot on the glass, before getting my nerve up to walk across it to get to the bathroom.

We had many thunder-and-lightning storms while we were there. It reminded me of Ed's and my days in Texas, with the ionization in the air, as we watched the storms come. I remember several times when we had to pull over and wait out the storms, because the wipers couldn't keep up with the deluge. In Italy, we could keep driving, with the wipers on "light speed" setting, but we definitely did not get out of the car until the lightning wasn't nearby. For you scientists, a car is Faraday cage. Take advantage of it!

My last note from the vacation was... a massage. It was a wonderful neck and shoulders 30-minute massage. The hotel has a sauna, Turkish bath, a relaxation area, and a very skilled masseuse. They also have an "emotional shower with a Scottish bucket". I will leave the Googling of that to you, dear readers.