007 Travel story: Lake Garda, Lake Como & Cernobbio (ITALY) 2015

In order to read our Italy 007 travel story from day one, click here. 

Wednesday 29 July 2015

We woke up in beautiful Castelnuovo del Garda already at 6.00 in the morning, had breakfast and checked out.


007 Travelers (Pirita, Mika and Little Agent Traveler) on the road again!

Traveling by car

From: Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy
To: Lenno, Italy
Toll charges: 10,30 EUR

Start your engine! It was time to jump to car again and we were ready to go around beautiful Lake Garda. 007 movie "Quantum of Solace" (2008) starts with hair raising chase on the edge of Lake Garda. We drove the route to different direction than they did in the movie. Awesome sceneries of Malcesine, Naveve, Riva del Garda and Gargnano were on the way.

On our way from Gardaland to Riva del Garda

Riva del Garda

We stopped first at the end of lake where was popular Riva del Garda. There we had some snack in a place called Tapas. 

Riva del Garda is a town and comune in the northern Italian province of Trento of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It is also known simply as Riva. People from Riva are known as Rivani.

Mika / 007 Travelers

We found potato chips called Highlander from Riva del Garda. Though, they didn't have anything to do with movie "Highlander" (1986), starring Sean Connery.


On our way from Rival del Garda to Salò

Villains chasing Bond near Lake Garda




Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC



Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC



Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC



The chase continues through the tunnel

Photo © EON, United Artists, Danjaq LLC

Salò

Salò is the largest city on the west shore of Lake Garda and is part of the province of Brescia. Salò is an important centre of tourism, education and culture for the villages located on the western part of the lake.

Later on that same day we arrived in Lenno. 

Lenno

About:
Lenno (Lombard: Lenn) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Milan and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Como. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,800 and an area of 9.6 km².

Lenno borders the following municipalities: Bellagio, Bene Lario, Grandola ed Uniti, Lezzeno, Mezzegra, Ossuccio, Porlezza, Tremezzo. The Comune di Lenno will be united to Mezzegra, Ossuccio and Tremezzo to form a single municipality named Comune di Tremezzina: the new administration will be formalized after election of the Major on 25 May 2014.

Accommodation

Hotel: Hotel Ristorante Plinio **
Address: Via Carlo Lomazzi 3, 22016 Lenno, Italy
Booked: Via booking.com
Price: 120,00 EUR / 1 night / for 3 persons
City tax: 0,00 EUR
Breakfast: Included
Wi-Fi: Free
Parking: Near the hotel, on the same street
Check-in: 12.00 - 22.00
Check-out: 07.30 - 10.00
Room type: Triple room, with balcony and lake view, 16m2 

We got room number two, which is on the second floor. The hotel has no elevator and the room has no airconditioning. However, this hotel has a very fast Wi-Fi connection and a great lake view from a window!

We enjoyed the view from our windows

After checking in we drove to Villa d´Este is. It is one of Italy's finest 5 star hotels in Lake Como, in one of Italy's most desirable locations: Cernobbio.

Cernobbio is a comune (municipality) in the province of Como, Lombardy, northern Italy.

How to get there

By car:
Highway A9 (Milan - Switzerland): Exit Como Lago then follow the direction to Cernobbio, cross the village; Villa d'Este gate is on the right side.

By train:
Como San Giovanni is a major railway station, connecting Northern and Southern European rail lines. There are hourly connections to Milan train station.

See other options here.

"Within a few minutes they were on the road leading out from Milan on their way to Lake Como and Cernobbio.

- We aren´t going to Villa d’Este by any chance, are we? Bond asked.

- Do you know Milan well? Bodo smiled again.

- I know Villa d’Este. It is a very high profile for meeting with your contact persons. So you man is an Italian police officer who must have very good connections since we meet him here.

- Who said he is a police officer? Anyway you will be surprised when you see him, the one who is in Villa d’Este nowadays. After saying that Bodo took a comfortable position and seemed to falling asleep."

John Gardner: "Never Send Flowers" (1993) 







Villa d’Este
Photo by: Villa d’Este





We had dinner at Sport Bar Lenno´s terrace.

Good night from beautiful Lenno and Lake Como!

Thursday 30 July 2015


We had breakfast which was good. Also we liked the view from the windows: Lake Como!

Our next 007 travel story: Villa del Balbianello, Villa La Gaeta, Italy and Andermatt, Switzerland.

007 Travel story: Verona & Gardaland (ITALY) 2015

In order to read our Italy 007 travel story from day one, click here.


Tuesday 28 July 2015



We woke up early as usual, had breakfast and we checked out before 9.00 AM. 
007 Travelers (Pirita, Mika and Little Agent Traveler) on the road again and towards Verona.

Traveling by car


From: Maranello, Italy
To: Verona and Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy 
Toll charges: 7,70 EUR

VERONA

Verona is a city straddling the Adige river in Veneto, northern Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of northeast Italy. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, owing to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans.

Three of Shakespeare's plays are set in Verona: Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Taming of the Shrew. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture.

Verona getting ready for the Opera Festival which takes place annually in the summer.

The Opera Festival takes place in Verona Arena, which is Italy´s third biggest amphitheatre with capacity of 30 000 people. Only Rome´s Colosseum and Capua´s amphitheatre are bigger.

Mika / 007 Travelers
@ Verona Arena

We knew that Greek stuntman Aris Comninos was in a car accident which left him in in a coma after his car collided with a lorry and then crashed into a wall. He played a villain chasing James Bond's Aston Martin DBS in an Alfa Romeo 159 along a curving road by the shore of Lake Garda. He suffered from a fractured cranium during the filming of a dramatic 15-minute car chase which opens the film "Quantum of Solace" (2008). He was airlifted after the crash to the nearby Borgo Trento hospital in Verona, we found the hospital.

Photo below by Splash

Borgo Trento Hospital, Verona
Photo: Bonatti.it

Part of the hospital area of Verona

We reached Piazza Brà in Verona. Brà means meadow in Verona´s dialect. Through Piazza Brà many busses drive to the railway station and to many parts of the centrum. We had our lunch in Bistrot Mamma Mia, which is located at Piazza Brà, 20.  

The name Mamma Mia has a Bond related connection:

"Mamma Mia" (2008) was of course a musical movie starring e.g. Pierce Brosnan.

Bistrot Mamma Mia

The Alps Fountain at the centre of the garden was a gift from Verona's sister city Munich and depicts the two cities separated by the rugged mountain range. 

The Alps Fountain

Since we were in Verona, we visited the famous balcony of Juliet (Romeo & Juliet). It was hard to find at first, but finally we did. It is located on Via Cappello, in the downtown near Piazza delle Erbe. 

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. See more about Rome and Juliet here.

Juliet´s house (Casa di Giulietta) is one of the main attractions of Verona
with the most famous balcony in the world

According to the popular belief touching the right breast of the bronze statue of Juliet
will bring luck to all who are trying to find their true love

A few blocks away from Julia´s house is her grave (Tomba di Giulietta)

Romeo and Juliet have also some kind of Bond connection. Bond Lifestyle writes:

"In "The World Is Not Enough" (1999) Bond finally gets the chance to enjoy the cigar itself, in the pre-title scene, when he is offered a Romeo Y Julieta Churchill in the Swiss bank in Bilbao. But in the end, he doesn't seem to have time to even light it. The fact that the Swiss banker, who smokes a Churchill as well, holds on to it, even after falling on the ground and held at gunpoint, shows how good these cigars really are. Bond finally gives his cigar (still in it's aluminium case) to Moneypenny: Bond: "I thought you might enjoy one of these." "How romantic. I know exactly where to put one of these.", Moneypenny replies, in subtle reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and then she throws it in the garbage bin, which shows what women really think of these cigars... "

Photo: Wikipedia

In the afternoon we reached our destination of the day: Gardaland Hotel!

The main building

Little Agent Traveler

About: 



Hotel: Gardaland Hotel ****
Address: Via Palù 11, 37014 Castelnuovo del Garda (VR), Italy
Booked: Via www.gardaland.it
Price:  270,00 EUR / 1 night package "Gardaland, great value fun for all" with best available rate prepaid (159,00 EUR without package)
Package includes: One night with buffet breakfast, Happy Hour Drink at the Relaxing Cafè, Buffet Dinner Italian style including drinks House Wine, mineral water and soft drink for children 
Gardaland park tickets: 29,50 EUR
City tax: 1,50 EUR / person / night
Breakfast: Included (15.00 EUR without the package)
Wi-Fi: Free
Parking: Free
Check-in: 15.00 - 24.00
Check-out: 11.00
Room type: Triple room, 21m2 with garden view 


We got room number 1127 which was located in additional building.

Additional building of the hotel

The room was beautiful but wi-fi was pretty weak. 

Garden view

Hotel´s hall is large and beautiful. Take a 360° virtual tour of the hotel here. 

Hotel´s Prezzemolo character in the middle

Play here!

The hotel arranges free bus rides to Gardaland and back, distance about 2 km. Our expensive 1 night hotel package did not include free entry to Gardaland, so we had to buy the day tickets, 29,50 EUR each.

Gardaland is an amusement park located in North-Eastern Italy. Opened 19 July 1975, it includes "Gardaland", "Gardaland Sea-Life" and "Gardaland Hotel". It is adjacent to Lake Garda while not looking out of it. The entire complex covers an area of 445,000 m² (4,789,940 sq ft). Every year it is visited by nearly 3 million people.

See the opening times here.


Tickets:
FAMILY OF 3 PEOPLE: 96,00 EUR
(2 adults + 1 child under 10 years
OR 1 adult + 2 children under 10 years)
With Family Ticket you will be given also a coupon valid for the purchase of a meal at price of 6,00 EUR (one coupon for each person).

See more price options here.

Little Agent Travelers on the right

We had ice creams and beer in Gardaland´s restaurant Merlin and visited couple of park´s attractions but not more since the queues were too long.

At Merlin restaurant you sit side by side and in a row

 

After this day we had our bus ride waiting for us. They drive every 30 minutes. Back at the hotel we had our Happy Hour Drink at the Relaxing Cafè, and later in hotel´s restaurant Buffet Dinner Italian style including drinks House Wine, mineral water and soft drink for children. During the evening there was a music show for the children in front of the restaurant.

In the morning we were the first family at the breakfast, but after 5 minutes the place was crowded.

Our next 007 travel story... Garda, Salo and much more!