Good-bye Viking Sea / Hello Italian Lakes
As we got up this morning the ship had already docked in Venice (actually just outside Venice since big cruise ships are no longer permitted in the Venice Harbor proper). The sun was coming up and I took the photo above. We had to put our luggage out by 10pm last night, but we kept our carry-ons with us, and we were to be down in the main atrium by 7:45 am to await our call to disembark and board the bus for the Italian Lakes. After a brief miscommunication with the paperwork we were quickly boarded and off on our L-O-N-G trip. The schedule called for us to depart around 8:30am and arrive at our hotel around 4:30pm. That's a long day on the bus. But the plan was a good one - we stopped about 1 1/2 hours into the drive for a 20 minute stretch & bathroom break. Drove about two more hours and arrived at an amazing winery for lunch. The main home of the family that has owned the winery for generations - well it's a villa, not a "home" - was built INSIDE the ruins of a medieval castle, which you can see in the photos below. They produce several kinds of wines and we got a brief education on them. Also showed us how they plant a rose bush at the end of each row which helps keep unwanted insects off the vines. We then went into the restaurant area and were served a four course meal - the main entrée being an exceptional lasagna dish. Back on the bus for another two hours and change before we arrived at our hotel right on the water. Checked into our room, and walked briefly around the grounds to snap a few scenic photos - it's just gorgeous here, then took a short stroll down to a café where Kim enjoyed an "Americano café" as we looked out on the water. We met everyone in our group and our guide, Stefanie for dinner at 7:30pm.
Tomorrow should be an AMAZING day - the plan is to board a small boat and sail all over Lake Maggiore, stopping at the three main islands on the lake, one stop will include lunch. Buongiorno!
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