We decided to visit the Lake District of Italy. Lake Como is very popular with Americans, and it was culture shock to hear so much English spoken around you when just the opposite has been true for weeks. It is very luxury oriented, with designer shops for browsing. Lake Garda is very popular with Germans. It is more activity oriented. Bike paths, paddle boats, and of course lots of walking paths. Both locations had an over abundance of places to eat, drink and shop. . . . The traditional vacation things to do. They also had an abundance of benches and gelato stands, just begging you to sit a spell, take a deep breath and R E L A X. In a town on north of Lake Garda, riva de Garda, there was an international bike festival where we toured tents of many bicycle manufacturers and vendors.

The architectural style is mostly traditional Italian vernacular, which is very picturesque. There are also many classical style building churches, grand houses and castles. Both lakes have a ferry system that gives you wonderful views from the water. I think any house on a lake is magical.

What made this lake journey special for us, however, was our B&B host, Jerry and Laura from Il Bogno B&B in Lierna on Lake Como. Who declared we must be tired of restaurant food and offers to make us a homemade Italian dinner. They even invited their niece as a translator! How wonderful conversations can be, with gestures and pictures, great conversation and home made olive oil (from the garden) laughter is the same in every language. Our best night in Italy was not seeing anything, just in the company of open hearted people sharing their story.