Residence San Lorenzo

The Old Port

by croisbeauty

The Old Port of Desenzano is the most attractive part in whole of the town. Actually, it is narrow water basin of the lake which makes natural shelter for the small boats. There are several restaurants, cafe-bars and hotels all around it. The port is favourite pedestrian area for the tourists, especially in the summer evenings.

DAY 2: Desenzano del Garda

by kglazebrook

"Castello"

Our first foray in Desenzano del Garda was a walk in search of old memories.

My mother and sister recalled many a walk from our house down to the waterfront - we were reversing that as they pinpointed specific spots and shared their memories.

Here we are on Via Castello lookin at the Castello. My mother used to walk down this road with my twin sister and I in a carriage and my other 2 sisters in tow.

"Gelato"

What walk would be complete without a stop at a local Gelateria?

I'm not sure I can ever eat U.S. ice cream again! By far the best gelato we found in Desenzano del Garda had to be at the Vivaldi Cafe!

Service was impeccable (they knew our flavors in 3 days) and the gelato to die for!

If you're there, I strongly suggest any of the following gelato flavors: (1) boscotto, (2) kinder, and (3) Tira mi su - you won't be disappointed!

"Piazza G Matteotti"

The main piazza (right outside our hotel) provided many an opportunity to people watch and many photo ops.

Here I am looking toward Lago di Garda and Piazza Papa.

"Market Day!"

Every Tuesday morning is filled with a flurry of activity as the vans descend upon Piazza Matteotti and set out their wares. Desenzano del Garda becomes this haven of activity on Tuesdays as the entire town comes to the lakefront to shop and socialize.

It is quite fun to shop but even more interesting to take a seat nearby and watch. I suggest not attending the market on a holiday (we arrived the Sunday before Labour Day - 5/1 - and Market Day fell on the Holiday so it was even more crowded than usual).

"Breath-Taking View"

During our ascent away from the lakefront, we encountered the following vista. It was stunningly beautiful and worth the time to photograph.

"The Old & New"

Another view that we came across caught my eye as I realized it was old meeting new. The beauty of that combination is what I hope I captured in this photo.

"Almost There!"

My mother (73) is somewhat hampered by back issues so we found ourselves stopping and resting a lot. Those stops gave us ample time to take in our surroundings and more time to photograph what we saw.

This is a view up Via Tito Speri as we head toward the location of the house we once lived in from 1965-1968.

"We Found Our Old House!"

A big part of returning to Italy had to do with my mother and sister. My oldest sister was a young girl and attended school in Verona while we lived there and she has many memories of the area. My mother also has fond memories of Desenzano del Garda as well - although somewhat tainted by time (it was 40 years ago).

We spent the better part of our 2nd day in Desenzano walking and getting acclimated to our surroundings. As such, we went in search of our old house that we rented. Archival records that my dad had lead us to a street called Via Tito Speri and Mom & Devony remembered that the train tracks were very close and the road was a dead-end.

We traversed Via Milano, crossed Via Irta and walked uphill along Via Tito Speri to find that our old house was still intact, still vibrant and very much lived in.