Lake Garda is a beautiful location in Northern Italy. I had the pleasure of spending Easter weekend…read moreat Lake Garda. The weather was mild in April, nice enough not to need a jacket. We were able to stay in a hotel with a lake view. You will notice the beautiful mountains that surround the lake. There are winding cobblestone streets and wonderful eateries. There is also a really cool old Castle (Rocca Scaligera) that you must see while visiting Lake Garda.

Review #700 goes out to my favorite lake in the world.... Lago di Garda! :) :)…read more Ohhh, where do i start? I first visited Lago di Garda about a year and a half ago when my brother and i were retracing our Grandfather's WWII footsteps in Italy. We visited during February, which is definitely "off-season" for tourists - - but this gorgeous lake and community still offers plenty of breath-taking views and activities even then. Speaking of activities, this lake is heaven for outdoors enthusiasts (and really anyone else, I suppose). But there is so much to do here: *You can rent a bike and casually ride around the towns, or for those more adventurous you could ride around the entire lake *You can rent mountain bikes and go on the many trails, even starting on top of Mt Baldo *In the winter you can ski or snowboard the backside of Mt Baldo *Nearly year-round you can go paragliding (I went in June and it was AMAZING!!!) *Kite surfers *Wind surfing *Sailing *Obv, boating!! Less active, there are so many great restaurants and small cafes to visit in the many towns that are dripping with history! For me, the historical significance is due to my Grandfather serving here in the 10th Mountain Division during WWII. He stayed in the town of Malcesine for a few weeks.... and I know he was able to get some fishing-time in here too. But there's a castle in Malcesine overlooking the lake that's from over 500yrs ago!! Whoa... now that's old! Go for the beauty of the lake....go for the activities...go for the breath-taking views...you can do everything or nothing here, and still have an amazing time!! :)

I've never seen a match played here but I was brought here one afternoon as part of a sight-seeing…read moretrip of all the highlights of Verona! It's one of Italy's best sport's venues (as the 9th largest stadium), dating from the 1960s. It has been updated and improved ever since then and can seat up to 45,000 people.

Piazza dei Signori is Verona's third largest piazza behind Bra and Del Erbe. As a result, it often…read moregets overlooked. It shouldn't be missed though because you will find quite a few goodies here. We stopped by late at night after dinner and the town square was almost empty. One of the highlights of the Piazza is the statue of Dante Alighieri. You'll find information in the square about Dante and his connection to Verona. The architecture surrounding the square is also beautiful. It's super close to Piazza del Erbe so you can easily do them back-to-back. Town squares are always important places to visit in Italy and what's nice is you can visit at any time of the day.

One of Verona's larger squares, this one is surrounded by the Palazzo della Ragione (city hall),…read morePalazzo Domus Nova, Casa della Pietà, Palazzo di Cansignorio, Palazzo del Podestà and the Loggia del Consiglio. Dating back to the 13th century when it was then the Platea Domini vicarii, it's gotten more developed as these buildings were added and the rectangular shape began to form. On the front of the Casa della Pietà, note the bas relief of the seated woman holding a flag that reads, "Fide et Charitate in aeternum non deficiam." And of course, the statue of the great Dante, author of the Divine Comedy. [Review 16989 overall - 194 in Italy - 505 of 2022.]

The last time we visited Parco Natura Viva was 10 years ago. Our daughters have grown, we have seen…read moremany zoos, but this one remains great. Starting with a safari (the white lion is great) you then go into the zoo. Despite the warm temperatures most of the zoo was in the shade. Four red pandas, two snow leopards and a great "giants" enclosure are some of the highlights and, if you want, there is still the dinosaur exhibit at the top of the park. Well worth the effort of going.

Excellent zoo for 20 EUR. For one ticket you get to drive through a large section of the park then…read morewalk through an even larger area. The animals were very active during my visit and looked to be very well cared for.