THE PERFECT DAY
The RyanAir offers to get everyone flying again after the terrible attrocities of September 11th 2001, was too good to miss. So I booked a return flight from Stansted
to Verona Brescia for the unbelievable price of £2.99 return plus taxes of course. So I could afford to book myself up into the San Marco Hotel in Verona, it was the only one I could see that had a swimming pool in the basement, and as I like swimming it was an ideal choice, and only a bus ride away from downtown Verona. I had a weekend to 'do' Verona and Garda. Saturday was an enjoyable bus ride from Brescia to Verona and I spent most of the day getting used to my hotel and surroundings and doing a "reccy"of the old town. On Sunday I headed off to Lago Garda. I got the local bus down to the main bus terminus and took the stopping bus to the lake. As it was Sunday, nothing much was happening in most of the small places we passed along the lake, and when we did eventually get to Garda, it looked so drab, I decided to stay on the bus, and completely forgot to tell the old english couple we'd got there, who on boarding had asked me if I could let them know when we got to Garda (not really knowing myself) until it was too late. "Are we at Garda yet?" they asked, "No, we have just passed it" I said, and then hastily added "but isn't the scenery wonderful!!" and it was. They didn't seem to mind either and said they'd get off when I got off! So it was with joy that I noticed 'something going on' at a place I later learnt was Castelleto, the excitement and bands and fair were all down to a locally organised Regatta. I checked the bus return times, and somewhere during the translation and everyone gettting fed up waiting for the bus driver to write things in big letters for me, the passengers decided that my idea was good and one by one they got off the bus, and the driver drove on alone.
Having lost the 'old English couple" on the 'nougat' stall and with all the joylity and fun, I thought it was best to secure a table early at one of the few restaurants before everything was 'off' the menu. "Uno" I pointed at myself to the rather sweet smiling and pleasant looking chap of a waiter, and he sat me down at a table for 'uno' and said "sorry no pizza today", in other words today is for"Us"and not for tourists. I was happy, and asked him to suggest something good for my stomach and soon a wonderful freshly caught fish from the lake, a small carafe of local wine and some fresh veggies was placed in front of me obscuring the wonderful paper place mat with the picture of the restaurant in it's setting by the lake. I began reading John Grisham's latest novel and sneakily people watching too, and soon a jolly tableful of sailors arrived laughing and joking and they were great characters. They seemed well known, and had obviously booked their table well in advance and soon the wine and grappa were flowing. I smiled at them, you couldn't help it they were 'fun', they only spoke Italian and a bit of German. My Italian was restricted to musical terminology. They poured me a glass of 'wine' and smiled, and motioned me to join them, "Why not" I thought. Of course the glass of wine was 'grappa' and had me gasping from the fumes. But I tasted some, and then stuck to wine. "How are you getting back to Verona" they enquired, "by bus" I said. "Why not come with us by boat to Bardolino, you can get a bus from there" , I wasn't sure I wanted to 'row' and they laughed as I gestured to them how I would look 'rowing' to Bardolino. Then one of the two girls who had also passed the 'grappa' test on the 'reserva' table for two in the corner said in broken english "Don't worry we are going too". The smiling waiter had read my mind and as I left the restaurant presented me with a clean rolled up paper place mat tied with pink ribbon as a memento. And, soon Lucy, Antonella, Tisiano 'Il Capitano', Georgio, and everyone was boarding the 'boat' which turned out to be a lovely yacht. More grappa, more wine, more laughter, local olives, bread, cheese and salami, made our sides ache as 'us girls' were serenaded by these wonderful characters. It was cold, and since no shoes were allowed on board, except suitable ones the other girls were forced to wear their gloves on their feet.......We got to Bardolino eventually and had some more beverages in a local bar, and the serenading and laughter went on into the night, and way past my "bus time" , and so they guys drove us back up to Castelleto, we had a few more beverages and then we said our goodbyes, and were invited back in the Spring..... The girls drove me back to Verona and we drank some cappacinos at my hotel...... What a perfect day.
|
