Dream Tour Days Lake Garda Day 5

Rest Day!

After so many beautiful and eventful days, we wanted to take a rest day in Desenzano, so we strolled leisurely down to the lake after breakfast, slightly puzzled by various roadblocks and a lot of police—and then realized that a quiet day by the lake would not be possible 😳.

Desenzano had prepared for a huge festival, the Aeronautica Militare, an airshow featuring helicopters, parachutists, many information booths, and a spectacular show in the azure sky over Lake Garda. Everything was geared towards this festival, the entire district around the town center had been cordoned off, the streets were full of people, and everyone was walking around looking up to the sky to not miss any of the incredible aerial displays being offered.

First, we walked through the festival area—and it was long—and admired the excellent organization of this event, the calm and peacefulness in which this beautiful festival unfolded. We let ourselves be enchanted by the spectacle in the sky taking place before us. As our feet grew tired, we strolled back into town, found a spot in a street café right up front with an unobstructed view of the sky, and there we sat for the next few hours, sipping Aperol and cola, nibbling on our snacks and enjoying the show above. The pilots' aerial artistry was already spectacular, flying in alternating formations, they performed circles and hearts and loops that took our breath away just by looking at them. A bit unusual being so close over the city—such a thing would probably not be allowed back home—but still highly interesting and breathtakingly beautiful.

A small downside to this day was that because of the festival, all bus traffic in the city was paralyzed, and we had to walk back to our place. Of course, there was ice cream on the piazza as a reward, and on that day, the spirited Neapolitan—the owner of the gelateria—was in such good spirits that she first sang along loudly to “O Sole Mio,” and then we had a great little dance on the floor or rather on the steps of the ice cream shop—and Alessio, the son, recorded everything on video.

We had such a blast; this kind of fun can really only be found with Italians and their exuberant zest for life!!!

Insight of the day: sometimes the unexpected is the most beautiful part of the day!