Garda Lake, Not God's Lake

This past Saturday, Chiara, myself, and the children were planning to go to Garda Lake. When Chiara first mentioned about going to Garda Lake, I thought she had said, "God's Lake". It was only when I went to Google it, I found out the correct name and that it is the largest lake in Italy! I had been speaking with Sammie, my Au Pair friend, about her plans for Saturday since it was her birthday! When I mentioned to Chiara if Sammie could join us, she said, "Absolutely!" Chiara even offered to pick her up in Vicenza since it was on our way.

Chiara with Giorgia and Mattia

Garda Lake was about an hour and a half away. On the drive, Chiara would point out different sites for us to see. She really enjoys playing tour guide, I think. The town we went to was so neat! There were cobblestone streets, little shops everywhere and plenty of pizzerias and gelato shops! We walked along the lake where there was a little boat harbor, some ducks and two beautiful swans. I had never seen a swan so close before. Chiara said, "Watch out. Swans can be mean!" I believe her too. A swan tried to peck one of the ducks! 

Sammie and I on her birthday!

We ate lunch at this cute little pizzeria and gelato shop. Chiara was on top of it and ordered all of our meals in Italian. She had ordered tortellini with tomato sauce for me; however, that's not what they brought out. I ended up with tortellini with some type of creamy sauce and meat. It actually tasted great though! Sammie got the lasagna, which looked delicious too. The waiter brought a basket of bread out, so obviously Sammie and I took a roll to eat with our pasta. Chiara laughed at us and said, "Italians never eat bread with pasta!" We said, "Americans ALWAYS do!" Of course, we had to get dessert afterwards since it was Sammie's birthday! The dessert menu had so many different types of gelato. It was hard to choose, but Sammie and I decided to share the Banana Split! It was the best ever! We weren't even sure the flavors of the gelato, but it didn't matter. We loved it! 

I'm not sure what is "so funny!"

Giorgia and Mattia wanted to ride the train after lunch which goes around a part of the lake. Unfortunately, the train rides were closed until 4pm. But not to worry, Sammie and I made it very entertaining even with the train sitting still. We all climbed aboard and sat in one of the train cars. Sammie and I started saying, "Chugga chugga chugga chugga, Choo Choo!!" We even had our arms going like the wheels. It was as if we were on a real life train! Chiara just looked at us like we were crazy! She said in Italy they say the Choo Choo part, but not the Chugga Chugga. She then said if someone yelled at us for being on the train she would just say, "I am American! I don't know any better!" 

Italians version of a tire swing.

The kids played in a nearby park, which was super clean and nice. Of course, even in Italy, there were the teenage couples making out. Besides that though, we had a wonderful time! Sammie and I even tried out the see-saw. I also tried walking on this wheel that spins as you walk and goes uphill. It was tricky. I didn't last long on that. But I did push Giorgia and this random little boy on it. It was actually pretty cool because I was able to communicate to the boy. I would ask him, "Pronto?", which means "ready?". He would shake his head yes after he was situated. Then I would attempt to push them, which was way more difficult than it should've been.

Garda Lake was absolutely beautiful! I am so grateful to have a host family who likes to go on adventures and show me the beautiful sites of Italy!