Day 13: Sirmione and Venetian Beaches

On the morning we left our jail cells in Switzerland, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It's a bit unfortunate that we didn't get a chance to enjoy Lucerne in the sun, but it did make for a beautiful bus ride through the Alps on the way to Venice. It would be a long day of driving, but our tour guide  Mike had a nice surprise for us during lunch.

Originally, our trip was supposed to include a stop in Verona, Italy for some photo ops. But according to Mike, Verona was "over crowded and much too touristy", so he re-routed us to a small peninsula town called Sirmione. It sits in the middle of a lake surrounded by the Italian Alps and has served as a vacation destination for over 2000 years (Roman ruins on end of the peninsula are one of the main attractions). We were scheduled to take a boat around the lake to see the city, but it was a bit too crowded. So 8 of us decided to go for a dip in the water while waiting for the next trip. The lake was a color of blue and green I haven't seen before, and the icy cold water was quite refreshing after four hours on the bus.  Eventually our boat showed up, and we took a 30 minute ride around the ruins and hot springs off the coast. On the other side of the lake, mountains stretched for as far as could be seen. I don't think I could have been more content.

After the boat, we grabbed some authentic pizza and our first taste of Italian gelatto. Both lived up to the hype, and made us excited for the rest of Italy. We regrettably boarded the bus after a short 3 hour stay and continued into Venice.

Luckily, our separation from the water was short lived. Our next hotel was actually quite a bit outside of Venice on the Adriatic Sea, so we ditched our bags on arrival and headed back out to the beach. The rest of our afternoon consisted of 1 euro wine and talking with new friends as the sun went down. So far, this is hands down the "best day of the trip" award winner. However we are only halfway done, with plenty more to see.

Plotting my return to Sirmione,

Russell

 on the drive through the Swiss Alps to Venice

 would have been nice if the weather was like this while we were in Lucerne

 Sirmione, Italy: definitely a new favorite

 swimming in the port waiting for our turn on the boat, and getting yelled at later by a boat captain

 the Scaliger Castle, built in the 13th Century

 the Grotto of Catullus, Roman Ruins from 2000 years ago. This area was a resort for rich families coming from Verona

 the small town on the right

 one of the drawbridges, had to lay completely flat to make it under the next one

 spent some time soaking up the sun on the rock beach

 finally made it to Venice, well, actually Jesolo Beach 30 minutes away from Venice

 looking out into the Adriatic Sea