#BeaumontTravels: Germany + Italy + Switzerland, Summer 2018: Day 7

Greetings from Lucerne, Switzerland.

Wow - Day 7 already?

Today is a long travel day, we will be driving from Venice to Lucerne, so we were up early with breakfast at 7:00, bags out at 7:45, and depart by 8:00.

Our big stop today was at Sirmione, Italy a little town on the shore of Lake Garda about a 2-hour drive from our hotel. Yes, Lake Garda the one where Angela Merici grew up. In fact, Angela was born in Desenzano in 1447 and we drove through Desenzano to get to Sirmione. I think we might be the first Beaumont student group to visit Lake Garda but I’m not positive.

Anyway, we arrived in Sirmione at about 10:00 and immediately walked to the waterfront where we got on our boats for our boat tour.

We had 2 boats each holding 20 people - not big but nice and fast. Our ride lasted about a half hour. We sailed around the peninsula where Sirmione is located. We saw a 2000-year-old Roman villa that was built as a resort for the emperors of Rome. The area has historically been a famous place due to the thermal springs that exist there. That is why the Romans came.

We then sailed to an area where you could see the bubbles from the hot springs coming to the surface. Then we sped around to the far side of the peninsula where we saw the 12th-century fortress built to protect Sirmione from the Venetians. Most of the modern day town lies within the walls of this old fort.

What a beautiful lake, I’m surprised the Ursulines left. Today the entire area is a resort where many Europeans come for their holidays. I can see why; it is very beautiful. We then traveled back to the dock where we started - the girls loved it.

Next, we had free time for lunch and exploring the town. So we walked to the beach, through the park, then up and down the picturesque streets filled with cafes and little shops. For lunch most of the girls had pizza or pasta, Sheila and I shared a Caprese Salad. Then gelato, the town must have had 20 places selling gelato so you had to buy some and of course we did.

At 1:15 we met up again by the docks where we exchanged stories of our adventures before heading back to the bus. Then our long drive north to Switzerland. We drove for about 4 hours before taking a break. We stopped at a very nice service plaza for 45 minutes (bus driver regulation) and then back on the road for another 2 hours through the mountains to Lucerne. We checked into our hotel and had dinner consisting of bread soup (a local favorite), chicken over rice with a sauce, vegetables, and pudding for dessert. Everyone enjoyed this meal.

Then out for a walk, we all needed to stretch our legs after being on the coach for so long so we walked up the mountain a little to watch the sunset. Some of our girls found a playground and played- laughing the whole time.
By 11:00 everyone was off to bed.

A correction on yesterday’s temperature, it was 87 degrees, not 78.

Talk to you soon,
Bob