The main square in the lakeside town of Lizise

Last September when my friends and I spent one night in the hills overlooking Verona, we liked it so much we thought the area deserved a closer look.  So here we are back again, staying in the small town of Lizise on Lake Garda.

The waterfront in Lizise

For this trip we rented a car instead of relying on the Italian train system that last year had a strike during our visit.  We landed in Milan and drove the 2 1/2 hours to Lake Garda.  Lizise is a small tourist town enjoying an end of summer boom.  Streets are full and we hear a lot of German spoken.  Pizza and gelato shops are numerous, as well as shoe stores.  We have enjoyed lunch on our rental house patio, drinking local wine at 5 or 6 euros per bottle, fresh bread and cheese, and pizza of course.

Lunch on our rental house patio. Augie uncorks a bottle of local white wine.

Lunch of local wine, cheese, grapes and pizza

Passeggiare is the most popular past time, the evening stroll along the waterfront, followed by gelato.  Gelato shops must make a killing as every day, morning and night, the lines are long.

A street performer along the waterfront at sunset

So many choices

Our nightly gelato ritual

We drove up into the hills NE of the lake and found the scenic hillside vineyards and olive groves we were looking for.  The small twisting roads climbed up towards the Parco Regionale Della Lessinia where we found the Parco delle Cascate di Molina.  Just a little hiking was all it took in the warm weather for us to look for a lunch spot.  Fortunately we stumbled upon a small family restaurant with homemade pasta.

Heading back to Lizise from the hills we drove along the lake from Torri del Benaco southbound to Garda, then Bardolino and home.  It was a beautiful drive.

The small town of Albisano

Local transportation, perfect for the tiny roads