Lucky we, me and my boyfriend got our summer vacations arranged to be at the same time. This allowed us to make a little trip a little further than just our own home country. We booked a trip to Italy, and left early Sunday morning, not really knowing what to expect.
Our plane took off at 6:00am Finnish time from the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, and right after we had reached our flight altitude, the cabin crew started to serve us breakfast. Warm food, bread, yoghurt, orange juice.. pretty decent in my opinion. After eating, I fell asleep. I woke up a bit later with the plane shaking a little, and saw that the light was on that indicated that passengers should fasten their seatbelts. I thought we were just experiencing some turbulence, but soon I heard the captain explaining that we will start landing. The whole flight took 2,5 hours. We landed to Valerio Catullo Villafranca Airport of Verona (yes, the hometown of Romeo & Juliet) at 7:30am Italian time. We got off the plane, got our luggage, and headed out. Finnish tourist guides greeted us, and showed us to our bus to Malcesine.
Busdrive from Verona to Malcesine took about an hour, during which the guide told us little about Italy, Lake Garda and of course Malcesine. The village of Malcesine is located on the shores of Lake Garda, notably one of the most beautiful places in the world. When we arrived at the bus station, all the people headed for their own hotels. One of the best things about Lake Garda is that none of the hotels there are owned by some major international hotel chain; instead the hotels are relatively small and managed by locals. We stayed at Hotel Modena, and the owner was there at the station to greet us and to take our bags to a vehicle that could be only explained as vespa for three people with a sunroof. The hotel owner, Gino, took our bags to the vehicle so we didn’t have to carry them, and drove in front of us to the hotel. Me and my boyfriend were only accompanied by four other elderly Finnish couples. No kids here, hurrah!
The small vehicle was the only motor-run thing that can drive on the narrow cobblestone streets of the village. The only ”big” road that can be driven with a car passes the old town, but never enters it. Our hotel was located right at the center of the old town, only one house away from the shore. Our room was located on the second floor (ground floor being floor 0), with windows facing the inner court. The room itself was small but very comfortable, and was entered though a terrace. We loved the place right from the beginning.
Since we arrived to Malcesine so early in the morning, our room wasn't ready when we got to the hotel. We had prepared that the room wouldn't be ready until 2pm, but to our surprise the owner said that the room is ready at 11am. We left our luggage to the hotel for safe keeping until then, and decided to head out for some good old Italian breakfast. Since it was raining, we chose a cafe next door to our hotel. We got some traditional italian snacks, and probably the best cappucino ever. Trust me, it tastes so much better in Italy.
The Finnish tour operator Aurinkomatkat organized a walk around the town for the new arrivals at the afternoon. They showed us all the most important places, like a pharmacy, ATM's, best restaurants, places worth a visit, etc. The tour ended at Al Marinaio restaurant for a toast to celebrate the beginning of our vacation. The restaurant itself is worth the visit. It's located at the old harbor, and has real napolitan pizza, with the thick edges and thin center with the toppings.
It’s also a good idea to remember how the italians themselves enjoy their food. The breakfast is pretty light, with different types of ham, bread, cereal, and espresso or cappucino. Italians also always use warm milk in their coffee. The lunchtime is around noon, and is also pretty light, usually a pizzaslice or a panini. Afternoon is a time for a siesta, when most stores are closed for about 3-4 hours. Dinner is served around 7pm to 9:30pm, and is the heaviest of the day. It is usually started with a drink, aperitivo (our favorite was a Spritz), and followed by appetizers, antipasti. The dinner itself includes three servings: First course, Primo piatto, is usually a pasta or a soup. The main course, secondo piatto is fish or meat. The side dishes contorni is ordered separately, and is usually potatoes or salads. The dessert, dolce, can be either a cake ice cream, and is finished with a digestivo, a drink to help start the digesting. Our favorite was a citron liquor, limoncello. The wines are also fairly cheap there, so we usually ordered a bottle of red wine with our food.
After the tour we headed to a restaurant close to our hotel, and ordered a pizza for both. We also got Spritz for apetizers, and since I wanted to celebrate our first day there, I got a mimosa drink with my pizza. Mimosa is a mix of orange juice and sparkling wine. And tastes delightful. The pizzas were served from a pizza plates, that were still too small for the gigantic pizzas. I don't know was it just the ecstasy of the first day, but those pizzas were awesome and so tasty. Best pizza I have ever had! After lunch we headed out of the restaurant, and noticed a ice cream parlor called La Dolce Vita right in front of our hotel entrance. Their ice cream was heavenly, we ended up visiting that place several times a day, every day during our vacation.
We took a little siesta ourselves, and decided to head out for a walk to the south side of the town. We walked for few kilometers, and reached Lungolago, a place noted as a nice beach for swimming, and also for having a beach bar. The view was breathtaking: Malcesine at the horizon, the deep blue Lake Garda and the majestic mountains. After the walk we sat down for an ice cream at the new harbor plaza. The ice cream plates were big and tasty and the band playing at the plaza was very groovy and talented. The night was warm and starts were shining.. perfect beginning for our holiday.
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