#digitaldrawings #ipad  #lakegarda #garda 

On holidays I like to sketch people around the pool or on the beach. Unfortunately at this hotel there were times when hardly anyone was sunbathing and those who were kept moving or didn't stay still long enough for me to sketch. Maybe this was mainly because of the intense heat.
Because of this I decided to have a play on my iPad and stylise some of the images I had collected. This was an interesting experiment which I enjoyed. To some extent it reflected a style I used many years ago with some of my precinct studies. I hope you like them.

These reflect how people spent there time on the beach, around the pool, on a jetty,  and sheltering under an umbrella or tree.

I did do a few watercolour sketches but was far from happy with most of these as I couldn't spend enough time on them before the people moved., or the paint dried too quickly.

#lakegarda #garda #dolomites #fiemme #fassa #gardenavalleys  #pordoipass #sellapass

Having used various forms of public transport. we now decided to go on an organised tour by the travel company, because of the distances involved.
After being picked up near the hotel, early in the morning, we set off on our journey. After about an hour, we had our first short stop and a chance to grab some breakfast. Soon, we had a photo stop overlooking a pretty lake with the mountain range in the distance.

An hour later we approached our next stop for an optional cable car ride up the mountain from Val di Fassa. This involved a  drive up the road with 27 hairpin bends. This was not an easy task with motorbikes and cars coming the other way. The expert driver at times had to rely on the tour guide peering round the coach window on her side, to see if anything was coming. I half expected the Top Gear team to be coming down the road as a challenge! 

The journey to the top only took four minutes and arriving there, we realised we needed our warm clothes as the temperature had dropped considerably, but it was well worth while, as the views were spectacular.
​After exploring, we descended down on the cable car and decided to have a meal. With limited choice we opted to have a ham burger and apple strudel. The  burger was one of the worst we have ever eaten but the strudel was excellent, so we made a pact to eat more desserts in future, in order to play safe!

Back on the coach, we only had to negotiate half the turns before heading to our next destination in the Gardena Valley. Here we stopped in the pretty town of Ortisei Sankt Ulrich, where we had time to explore the pretty streets.
This valley is famous for it's Winter sports as well as it's woodcarving. We were told that about 300 carvers were working in the valley in the 1880's and this number was about the same today. With this information, it was interesting to see that there was an art gallery exhibiting a range of carvings from more traditional themes to more modern ones.

Exploring the rest of the town, it was interesting to see the colourful buildings, some of which had painted scenes on them, as well as a  stunning church.
We even went into one of the wood carving shops hoping to replace a cuckoo clock that we had bought many years ago and had stopped working, but like most of the items on sale proved very expensive so we gave it a miss. 

After looking around, it was back to the coach for a long ride back to the hotel. A super day in which we had ideal conditions for the view from the top of the mountain. Next time though,
​ we would take an extra water for the return journey as the heat in the coach was intense.

#Sirmione #GrottediCatullo #malcesi​ne #bardolino #lazise

Not being happy just sunbathing nowadays on holiday, we like to explore the area as well. In this case choosing to visit Sirmione by the ferry. A relatively cheap option and a chance to see more of the coastline on the way. Compulsory mask wearing was a farce as everyone put them on to board then immediately removed them. 
We passed both Bardolino and Lazise on the way and decided if we would like to visit them as well another day. 
Sirmione was another pretty town and we enjoyed exploring the small streets with interesting shops and squares. One great photo stop was the house covered in Bougainvillea, which I decided to sketch on my iPad.

After exploring the town, we decided to explore the old ruined Roman villa on the headland, the Grotte di Catullo, although it would have been cheaper if we were still members of the EU!  An interesting site with a fascinating history and great views over the lake. 

After a hot afternoon exploring, it was back to the ferry which fortunately didn't have any stops on the way back, and we were soon back in Garda.

Having been told about the cable car up the mountain at Malcesnine, this was our next day out and we decided to go by bus as the bus station was near the hotel. Buying the ticket was easy and as soon as the bus arrived we decided to get on the bus. As Sue entered, the driver suddenly decided to close the door and she was lucky not to be hurt when it hit her. There was no apology!. The driver was quite aggressive threatening any one who removed their mask during the journey and generally unpleasant, but we arrived safely.
Deciding to go straight to the cable car, we saw there were huge queues. Buying our tickets we were told to join the line thirty minutes before our time slot although, most people seemed to ignore this. After refreshments, we joined the line and managed to get on the cable car after about forty minutes. We then played a game of squash to see how many would fit in. This seemed counter productive having worn a mask on the bus journey but not everyone wearing it here.
Arriving at the top, the views were excellent and we spent a couple of hours wandering around the area, before queuing to come down, just as the rain started. It was interesting, as the cable car descended, we noticed that the ones coming up were nearly empty- all about timing it seems.

Arriving at the bottom, we decided to have look around the town before heading back and with the sun out we soon dried off. The town was another typical lakeside one with more cobbled streets and shops etc. Another town well worth a visit as was the trip up the mountain.

Having passed Bardolino on the ferry, we decided to walk there, as it  was only forty minutes away. The lakeside promenade made the walk easy and although hot there was some shade. With cafes along the route there was always somewhere to get a drink if needed. This was another typical town with lots of impressive buildings.


Bardolino was another interesting town with a large square. At the end of it was a large church and  wedding was taking place inside. We took a sneak peak and then met a couple from Yorkshire who wanted a photograph of them standing next to the bridal car! 

Another day we decided to visit Lazise,  further down the lake by bus. As it was a Sunday the ticket office was closed and you had to buy tickets at the machine which wasn't very easy. One young woman, who had four children with he,  put the children on the bus and tried to pay the driver by card but he would only take money. She then went to the machine to get tickets there, but this wouldn't work. The bus driver was then going to drive off without her but fortunately it was sorted with no help from the driver.

Three interesting days out. Although the towns have some similarities, they all have there own unique characters and are all worth a visit.

Before visiting a holiday resort, we like to research the area for things to see and do. This includes day trips, sights of interest and artwork. 
We decided on a few towns along the lake that would be worth a visit and a organised tour. We also like to find local galleries and sculptures. Our daughter likes dragons and seeing there was a sculpture on the seafront this was added to the list. There was also local viewpoint on the mountain but seeing it in the distance we weren't inspired to climb it, although I did manage to do a quick sketch of it in the distance.

After a couple of days acclimatising and exploring the area, we set off on our quest to find the elusive beast only to realise that we had passed within yards of it on our evening walks. Also it was only five minutes from our hotel. What to do now!

After admiring the sculpture, I had seen a picture of another sculpture, the Madonna del Pign that was just up the road. As we had found the dragon so quickly we decided to wander up the road to find this sculpture.
The road climbed steeply out of the centre of town, before going past some small houses and then we came to a sign post. Without realising it, we were already a third of the way up the mountain, at this point it seemed a shame not to continue to the top, as we could see the sculpture later on the way down.
This seemed a good idea at the time but the road soon ended and we were then in the forest on a stone lined pathway. This seemed to get steeper and steeper as we went on, although often in the shade it was still very hot and hard going. Exhausted we reached near the top where we saw our first other intrepid explorers resting on benches, which we thought was a good idea. After resting, and yet another steep climb, we were soon at the top and followed the pathway to the viewpoints, which were as impressive as described, looking over Garda and the other side towards Bardolino.

After an enjoyable time walking around the top enjoying the views, we set off to go back down the mountain. This proved to be harder than expected as the loose stones and worn smooth rocks made the going precarious and a lot slower than anticipated. We didn't fancy a damaged ankle ruining the rest of the holiday.
Eventually, we arrived back at the signpost and decided to walk to the statue, which unfortunately, involved a little more climbing of steps, but it was a nice shaded area to sit and admire the Madonna del Pign. 

Arriving back in the town we treated ourselves to a well deserved drink and ice cream as a reward. We must have been mad to attempt the climb in 32 degrees heat, but the views at the top made it worthwhile. 

Having just returned from a holiday in Garda here are my first impressions of the town. 
Garda seems a smaller version of many of the towns around the lake and is an ideal situation to visit some of these by either bus or ferry.
The side streets were enjoyable to walk around in the evening with a lively buzz to them. Many of the shops were selling clothes, although many seemed to go to the same supplier. There were a lesser range of retailers selling a variety of items such as Italian leather handbags and jackets, brightly coloured pottery and of course Italian Olive oils and other cooking ingredients. It was nice to see that there weren't shops selling the more tacky souvenirs you find in some holiday resorts. 
Along the seafront, there was a range of bars and restaurants with stunning views across the lake. Here people spent the evening enjoying food and drink or promenading along the front often with an ice cream in hand. 

                 (This is a digital drawing I did of one of the side streets during the day)

During our stay we saw some impressive sunsets which changed every night. Normally, the sea turned a pinkish or orange  colour as the sun set behind the distant mountains. On one occasion there was a stunning sky as an approaching storm gathered strength. I did a digital drawing of two of these skies, It was good practice on my iPad. The colours are slightly exaggerated  a little, as I was inspired so much by the scenes.