We have now moved North to Lago di Verese. We didn’t intend to stop here and had previously found a free Sosta in Soragna. We arrived in Soragna and found just one other motorhome camped up. It was a hot evening and we were hungry. Its Sunday evening and the village is mostly shut but a pizzeria is just opening. We order and eat. Mosquitoes are also hungry. After eating we have both had enough of the heat and the mozies.

One of the great things about motorhoming is that we take our home with us and can move pretty much where ever we wish. It will be cooler further north. We decide on Gavirate on the shores of Lago di Veresa. It takes a few hours to drive but the air gets cooler as we drive and the coolness is a relief when we arrive in the dark. The Sosta costs €0.50 per hour inc services. In the morning we discover we really are on the shore of the lake and its a beautiful cool morning. The lake is a centre for rowing and the local boat yard is where the Italian Olympic rowing team train.

But we are on our way to Lake Maggiore prior to the Italian Grand Prix.

I need to do some work so we find a small camp site called Camping Calaverde with some good wifi. Its costs €23 per night but its worth it to have a rest and for me to catch up with work. The camp site is on the lake shore. Its hot when we arrive so a quick dip in the lake cools us down nicely.

In the evening we cycle to the local town Baveno and get the boat (with bikes) to the next town of Stesa for something to eat. A lovely small typically Italian town. Ice cream is consumed. We cycle all the way back (about 5Km) with makeshift cycle lights made out of torches and red napkins.

The next day we get the boat to Isola Bella, also known as The Enchanted Island. The island consists of a few small houses, one very large palace and some of the most stunning gardens all packed on to a small island.

The Palace was built in the early 1700’s by the Borromeo family but continued to be added to and changed for hundreds of years right up to the 1940’s.

The palace is a walk though beautifully furnished halls that afford incredible views of the lake and witness many renowned artists’ exclusive paintings, precious furniture, marbles, neo-classical stuccos, shining armors and Flemish tapestries made of silk and gold.

Below the palace are the summer rooms made like grotto’s decorated with millions of pebbles and shells.

The real feature are the gardens. The garden is a haven where you can see statues and architectural decors set amidst the perfect green geometry of botanical treasures. A two-hundred-year-old camphor tree welcomes you at the garden’s entrance. Crossing the gate, you will experience the breath-taking panorama of the Amphitheater in the middle of the island. This Italian garden with a baroque taste spreads on parterres and terraces placed at 10 different levels and sprinkled with statues, obelisks, ageless stone stairs and balustrades.