Today we set aside to have a relaxing day. Most of it was spent hopping in and out of the pool and even just bathing in the sunshine. These activities are not something I usually indulge in, finding myself easily bored, this time though it seemed appropriate and I have to say by the end of the day I found myself almost converted to the lazing in the sun approach to holidaying. I think having our own pool to do this with certainly helps as you don’t have to put up with sand in your shoes and other people’s noise.

I did break up the lazy day of sun worshipping though with a quick trip into Peschiera with Robyn to find a park and some ice cream and also again in the afternoon with the whole tribe to enjoy Pechiera’s shops, cafe’s and scenic views. Not much else to report as it’s been a day of rest. Verona planned for tomorrow so no doubt they’ll be more to say. :0)

We were very pleased this morning to have a change in the weather about half an hour after rising from our slumbers. One minute the rain was coming down and then half an hour later the sun appeared and the temperature rose rapidly. A great way to start the day and it put a smile on everyone’s faces.

We decided to make the most of our good fortune and headed out in the car along the eastern side of the lake to the small town of Malsecine. The reason for our visit to this lovely little town was to board a cable car up to the top of one of the highest peaks around Lake Garda called Monte Baldo. The drive around the lake itself was enjoyable taking in the sights of Garda and Bordalino but the views from the top of Monte Baldo were incredible and the cable car ride was lots of fun. The Spine of Monte Baldo was populated by some pretty hardy looking cows who obviously had no fear of heights and they seemed to really enjoy the tourist attention. We enjoyed a spot of lunch at the top and took a few dozen photos before returning to a more normal altitude. We also took a few videos which I might post up at a later date.

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Day two of our Lake Garda adventure and also Fathers Day. Sadly the rain continues to come down heavily, making us all slightly annoyed. Robyn is absolutely gutted about not being able to use the swimming pool (hence her less than amused face in the photo) and it’s made the Italian al fresco culture much less enjoyable. We’ve tried to stay positive though I’m sure it can’t rain all week (can it?).

I started the day opening my card and Fathers Day gift from Robyn…..both were awesome. We then took a walk (in the rain) through Peschiera to explore the local area. You can tell that this town is absolutely gorgeous in the sunshine as it doesn’t look that shabby in the rain either. Lovely little streets and waterways brimming with cafes, pizzerias and small fashion boutiques. We explored as much as we could (including a small museum) until the drenching rain became too much and we had to retire back to our apartment for a change of clothes. After regrouping we decided that it would make more sense to do some exploration with the car so we drove from Perschiera around the southern end of the lake to Desenzano. The rain broke for literally half an hour so we had a quick walk down the cobbled streets towards the lake to admire the view over the slated roof tops.

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Well, we’ve been encouraging Robyn to write a small journal/diary on our travels so it seemed only fair I did the same. I’m not sacrificing any of my away time doing this as I’m offline and not tempted or distracted by twitter, facebook, client emails etc. Just me and a blank page to fill with the highs and lows of the day while we sit in the comfort of our villa at night. I’ll either wait for a wifi hotspot to upload or possibly tether my phone and briefly turn on the data roaming….worse case scenario I’ll upload these when I get home…..anyway I digress.

Today we have spent most of the day travelling. We left the house at approx 5:30am (after only 4 hours sleep – was very excited) and reached the airport parking by about 7:45am which was pretty good going. Penny (my mother-in-law also travelling with us) was a bit annoyed with the sloppy service there but we were soon on our way to Gatwick North Terminal to get baggage checked in and run through the security mumbo jumbo.

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Just a quick note to say I’ll be offline for a few days as me and the girls are off on our holiday. This time tomorrow we’ll hopefully me in Northern Italy. This will be the first time Robyn and Chloe have flown anywhere and my first time out of the country in approx 11 years. We’re all so very excited. I am taking my laptop with me so who knows If I’m not too busy eating ice cream and I happen upon a wireless connection I may pop online and update with our progress…..but don’t get your hopes up ;0)

I’ll certainly be posting lots of photos on my return. Smellz ya l8rz