Saturday
I woke up at around 6am on the Saturday morning after a pretty dire first nights sleep. I put it down to the long journey and also apprehension from being in a strange place alone. Still, I made my way back to the castle for sunrise. I have to admit I was surprised to find a few other photographers there when I arrived due to the time of year. I’d seen the composition I wanted so whilst they were mooching about looking for a spot, I quietly made my way to where I knew the best view would be when the light eventually poked over the horizon. I took a few photos in the blue hour before sunrise then had a sit down to wait for the light. Once the light broke the horizon it cast a lovely golden glow over the rooftops and spires of the churches and cathedral. I didn’t hang about too long there once the sun was up as I’d got the best light and was eager to mooch about Verona.
Verona in the blue hour before the sun came up.
Before exploring I made a plan to go get some breakfast, I was desperate for a coffee so headed down into Verona town. I parked up and ventured into a café I’d scouted on tripadvisor which had great reviews, walked up to the counter and ordered a Latté. The fella asked me Latté / Latté Macchiato to which i I just replied Yes. I sat down and was presented a large glass of hot milk, or rather …. a Latté. I stupidly hadn’t researched things like this and found out the daft way that a Latté basically means milk. So as not to look completely insane I said thank you and drank it, I did order a cappuccino and some food to go with it so all ended well. When I went to leave I asked about the parking situation in Verona as the bays are all different colours. Apparently they have different bays depending on whether you live there or commute there and there’s no bays for tourists. He was very unhappy that I had inadvertently parked in a local bay! I decided to cut my losses and move on from Verona, Luckily it’s not too far away from Lake Garda so I figured it’d be worth a look. I don’t know why I didn’t plan to go to Lake Garda in the first place as its absolutely stunning.
Verona as the sun poked over the horizon
My first stop was Castello Scagliero in Torri Del Benaco on the east shore of the lake, a beautiful old town with a large ruined castle right on the shore. There was a nice little marina there as well as loads of restaurants. It was fairly early when I arrived so there wasn’t many people about but as it got a bit warmer the place filled up, mainly with German tourists who were friendly enough! The next stop was a town a few miles up the coast called Malcesine – I’d seen a photo so kinda knew where to go and what to look for but it was still really pretty. As I was walking along the lake shore a little Fiat 500 came flying past beeping it’s horn, a couple of hundred feet further along it pulled up and out popped a bride & groom for some wedding photos. As quick as they arrived they were back in the car and flying along the road back in my direction. I rattled off a couple of shots and gave them a wave, a nice little surprise and something different to photograph! By the time I got back to the car time was ticking on and I knew I needed to be at Lago Toblino for sunset. I had a quick stop off at the Northern end of the lake and took a couple of shots looking back south, there was some lovely sun rays cast by the ever dropping sun – time to move on before I ran out of time and more importantly, light!
The world most comical Latté!
Castello Scagliero – Torre Del Bonaco
The marina at Torre Del Bonaco
Believe it or not there’s 3 people in there!!
The small town of Malcesine on the East coast of Lake Garda
Looking south along Lake Garda from Torbole
I arrived at Lago Toblino about 30 minutes prior to sunset so had enough time for a little explore. I photographed Castel Toblino from the west while there was some warm light hitting the hills and castle, then moved around to my sunset viewpoint. Upon arriving at my planned spot for sunset, 2 swans made their way down to where I was stood. Experience tells me that swans are very curious and will just basically hang about if they think they’ll get fed. Great if you like birds but not fantastic for reflections of the sunset! After accepting they were there to stay, I decided (not really a choice!) to include them in the shots. Sunset was pretty nice and the colour hung around for a while afterwards too. I had some tea in a local restaurant, it wasn’t fantastic but I was starving so it hit the spot then I made my way up into the Dolomites for the following day. My plan was always to sleep in the car so I found a layby near Bolzano and got some sleep.
Castel Toblino from the west, as the setting sun catches the top of the surrounding hills
Sunset swans on Lago Toblino!!
>> Sunday <<