Sirmione

 We decided to have another day just enjoying the lakeside, so just rode into Bardolino again yesterday to see things without the massive market - there had been a children's cycle race instead, with some quite young children all kitted out in the racing cycle gear and there were huge trophies waiting to be presented.  I did think about going up the hill to the swimming pool, but thinking was as far as I got ....  But we did walk into Garda in the evening, which is a lovely time of day to look around the shops.  Although still warm, it was quite an overcast day and did rain a little bit on our way back from Garda.  A pity for the people putting on a music concert on one of the piazzas - all the chairs got wet and the concert didn't start.  The rain didn't last long, so maybe it happened later.

This morning we left our lovely spot at La Rocca and came the short way to Sirmione - our last port of call at the south end of Lake Garda.  We settled in at Camping Village San Francesco, then cycled to the narrow promontory that extends into the lake for 4km.  We knew it was likely to be busy, being Sunday, but we were very pleased not to be trying to park a vehicle!  Leaving the bikes, we crossed the small bridge over an inlet beside the castle of Rocca Scaligera, through the little village of Sirmione with its many giftshops, restaurants and ice cream parlours and onto a path which eventually led to the end of the peninsular.  On the way, we stopped at the small pool surrounded by rocks at the lakeside where Garda's mineral spring water has been piped up to.  I paddled in the warm water and then got a bit too close to the spout - and oh boy, was it hot!  At the headland high above the lake, are the Grotte di Catullo, the remains of an enormous 1st century BC/AD Roman villa (167m x 105m).  We marvelled at how clever those Romans were - it had been 3 stories high and with some arches and walls that are still standing.  Back in Sirmione village we had a (very expensive!) cup of tea/coffee before the ride back to the van.  Took an evening stroll along the lake to find a geocache.