The trip back to Venice

We awoke yesterday to grey skies and cooler weather and I wondered who this chap was in jeans and jumper after 3 weeks of shorts! I even had reason to be pleased to have my rain jacket as it rained quite heavily in the afternoon!

             

We caught the ferry to Como and really enjoyed the 90 minute trip as we continued to be amazed at the grandeur of some of the houses and the immaculately presented gardens. We even saw  George  Clooney's retreat unfortunately he never invited us in! This is his little holiday shack! 

      

Como is a nice place too and we enjoyed strolling around -there was an expo of local produce and how we would have loved to stock up on local wines, cheeses, meats and veges. It rained quite heavily on the return trip but we managed our walk up the hill without getting wet! Our aerobic capacity has improved lately with all the steps and mountain climbing! 

Today we packed up and left Lezzeno - it really was a lovely spot and we were very relaxed and loved it there. We drove around the other side of the lake to Lecco and then headed towards Milan but turned off onto the auto strand to Venice. We had morning tea at Lake Gardiner - not near as pretty as Como but the place was bustling with people as there are lots of fashion seconds outlets plus there was a caravan park there too. 

Then we stopped at Verona and loved it there - most amazing is the Stadium which is a Roman ampetheatre still used today for concerts and operas! We would have loved to have a look inside but it wasn't opening till after lunch and we had to head off. We did have time for a bite of lunch and another ride on one of those tourist trains which gives you a quick overview of the city. This is the city of love and the play Romeo & Juliet was set here and we think this is Juliets balcony! 

         

       

       

This is the stadium - very impressive!

From Verona we had a tour through little towns on Venices outskirts and were surprised to see many huge villas quite derelict - seems a huge waste but maybe indicative of Italy's economic status. 

Once back here on Lido Darryl and I set off to do some grocery shopping with Greg's shopping trolley! 

         

                          

When you have to cart everything 1.2 km away this is the way to go! At 6.30 - 7pm the centre of Lido was buzzing with people walking their dogs, strolling along, having a drink at the local spots or shopping! Quite different lifestyle to ours at home! 

Tomorrow we plan to go into the university and catch Anne's presentation - if we can find her! 

We hope you are all well & till next blog xxxxxxxxxx Marg & Darryl