When I took my first few steps onto the terrace of Hotel Villa Giulia, in Gargnano, on Lake Garda (Italy), I could not resist becoming curiously entangled by the 360 degree views. And, as the day passed into a lake-view evening experience, well, that just made my pleasantly unreal state ‘thermometer’ climb even more.

As it turns out Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. Could have fooled me! I would have thought Lake Como snared that spot. The lake is clean, swimmable, old world feel, yet sparks of current day springing up in the various villages and towns.

I had 7 of my childhood years on a lake which tickle my memory bank on a regular basis, especially as I climb the age ladder. Arriving at this hotel where I stepped out of the room and onto a flat, manicured lawn with choices of shade and sun , exotic and well-known plants and trees, and an ever able-to-view lake sent my heart into a positive twitter.

While I was working on the travel plans for this trip, our neighbors found out Lake Garda was in the plan, so they recommended this hotel, as they had recently stayed there. By the way, it does mutually support a Michelin-starred restaurant and there is a cluster of amenities available–spa and pool.

We arrived in time for lunch on the lake-view terrace and the October Mediterranean climate warmly accommodated our outdoor seating choice.

This travel episode started in Venice (recent posts exist on Venice portion of this travel experience), then made its way to the up-close shocking views of the Dolomites in the ‘gem of a town’, Cortina d’Ampezzo. Then on to yet more anglular views of those Dolomites in the South Tyrol region. Each stop just a few hours drive from one another went from a sense of “I’m definitely in Italy” to maybe “Am I still in Italy due to the German influence/language being spoken” found in the South Tyrol.

The Lake Garda stop was slipped in before a grand finale week on Lake Como. This turned out to be the last travel experience before Covid-19 hit and it was, as so many others, a delicious, glorious wish-we-had-more-time-to-explore adventure. After almost three weeks with my travel partner, I returned to my familiar yet enjoyable challenging style of solo travel.

Villa Giulia website: https://www.villagiuliagardasee.com

Other hotels on Lake Garda: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/italy/italian-lakes/lake-garda/hotels/

Lake Garda info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Garda