My last week in Verona was a good one – I found a kind of rhythm for my doings and enjoyed a bit of more sightseeing (including a day-trip to close-by city Mantua), a lot of walking, yoga and some reading. Already during this short stay, I have met such wonderful people and I am so grateful for the friendliness and hospitality I have been showered with!  

Mind-blowing Duomo di Verona (I was gripped by a real wow-moment when entering this church, it’s so impressive, but didn’t quite manage to capture it in a picture), il Ponte del Castelvecchio and a street view pic of Mantua

The drive up to Levico Terme, where half of the Zaeske family met for our pop-up Xmas celebration of 2019, went well and we all managed to find each other in the village, where we had booked ourselves an apartment for five days. My brother and his girlfriend drove down from Hamburg and my parents came all the way from Helsinki. Of course, to the horror of the Air B n B host, also a third of the family’s animals were present with three dogs and a cat (OK to be fair, the animal situation was discussed beforehand, but perhaps it was a bit of a shocker to arrive into your rental apartment finding two big dogs and one middle-sized one all in a bit of a hysterical frenzy with excitement, mixed with the long car drive that had just ended and the overwhelming joy of exploring a new space and a reunion PLUS Pekka the cat lolling about).

We enjoyed our time at Levico and were surprised that so much was going on in the city – somehow we had expected it to be quiet around the holidays, but clearly the Italians hang around town much more than us Finns, who prefer to hide behind closed doors and windows, in the coziness of our homes (not implying that Italian homes are not cozy, rather remembering the totally dead streets of Helsinki around Christmas time, if I have crawled out of the house for some reason or other). One of the trip highlights were our daily walks in different nature areas, such as around lakes Levico and Caldonazzo, as well as the “contemporary mountain” Arte Sella, a park including interesting pieces of art in a beautiful setting (no pictures allowed).

Levico Christmas market was super and even though it contained slightly less stalls than my unthorough research data pointed out (600) and which I had used to lure the entire crew to the market, it turned out that a 60-stall market was still a fairly nice sized one for us – actually quite perfect! We concentrated on testing hot local beverages (we were particularly keen on trying a drink that according to my research was called “Parampampoli”, but in reality, was something with K which I cannot seem to find on Google, and that included wine, coffee, grappa and honey.) It was served as a small, hot shot, which you are meant to enjoy slowly. The local mulled wine was also delicious and won second price in our voting of “best warm Christmas drink” between the number one Glögi and the German Glühwein. Other stalls were selling small gift items, cheese and other Italian food and drinks, while cheery Christmas songs played in the background and kids were entertained by animals, such as donkeys and horses.

Levico Christmas market, some pop-up Christmas vibes (pls note the xmas lighting we put up to enhance the pop-uppy ambiance), and enthusiastic walkers

We also enjoyed lovely food (actually mostly at our apartment with Raclette and yummy take-away pizza, as our restaurant outing in the only place that was open on the 24^th December was a bit of a fiasco), chilled hang-outs and animated card games together – this was a totally different kind of Christmas compared to what I am used to, but definitely a memorable one; thanks to all who were part of it and love to the rest of the fam, who were celebrating back home ❤️

The view from our apartment’s balcony, pizza take-out delivery team, Levico Christmas market feels and the pretty scenery around lago di Levico and Caldonazzo

Being so impressed by lake Garda during my day-trip two weeks ago, I decided to head back there to do some more exploring over the weekend before my trip to Madrid was due; what a brilliant decision! I stayed at the most wonderful bed & breakfast hotel (Hotel Florence, Manerba del Garda) – a place with an authentic and local Italian spark. The hosts Viviana and Nicola truly made an effort for every guest to feel at home. I enjoyed the home-made three or four-course meals cooked by Nicola on both nights at the hotel and was invited and very much included in the big joint dinner with the hosts’ family and friends, which lasted late into the night. I spent time at the stunning lake and the beach, went for a 20 km hike in la Rocca del Garda nature reserve, enjoying breath-taking views, walking my feet to blisters and clearing my head somewhat, topping it all off with a nice infrared sauna session at the hotel. On Saturday, I drove to see the sunset in Moniga and took amazing pics at the beach.

Hiking path in la Rocca del Garda nature reserve, the view from the hotel balcony to the lake and Cass in hiking mode. Magical sunset in Moniga.

I can only recommend lago di Garda for anyone looking for a beautiful spot to spend some downtime at in Italy; perhaps for beach-lovers in the slightly warmer period (now in December the temperature fluctuated between 3-14 degrees, but always with sun during day-time), yet also nature enthusiasts. For a quieter place to stay in the country-side (car is a must!), hotel Florence is superb, however, there are also bigger and more lively areas to choose from. BTW driving through the villages around lake Garda was a real treat!

I am currently staying the night in Bologna, close to the airport, as I will fly out to Madrid early in the morning to welcome the new year with my friend Tomi – can’t wait! Thereafter, I will spend a few weeks here in Bologna. Stay tuned to read about my new adventures in a week.

Stay well & bacio! Cass 💋