“If you don’t watch out you’re going to knock him on his ass and then jump out of the car and pray for him.” Yes, bicyclers and motor scooters are omnipresent in Italy, just like gelato. They dart in and out of traffic and own the road, as it were. Ken Hancock was sitting beside me, helping navigate, as I drove us out of Florence to the Lake District of Italy. One daring motorcyclist came flying in from the side, cutting right in front of me, and I swerved to miss hitting him, thus bringing Ken’s retort. We laughed about this the rest of the day–a pastor first running someone down and then praying over him. The drive through the north Italian countryside towards Verona was beautiful and uneventful. Mountains and mountain tunnels were our big sights.

Then we arrived in Sirmione, built on a narrow peninsula jutting out into Lake Garda. An imposing castle guarded the entrance to the old town. We heard a choir singing and church bells ringing amidst the storybook Italian buildings surrounded by crystal clear baby blue lake waters on three sides. What beauty! Then we drove north along side the lake towards Malcesine, another lake town. The further we drove, the more beautiful it became. Immaculate and postcard pretty villages crowded along the lake and then the mountains began to rise up and surround us, squeezing the road towards the lake. We saw the snow capped mountains that signaled we had arrived at Malcesine. Amazing beauty. Mid sized but dramatic ridged mountains stood across the lake (its west side), with it baby blue water shimmering in the late afternoon sun. Cobblestoned Malcesine with its pastel buildings and castle perched on a cliff above the village was pressed between the water and the imposing and snowcapped mountains on the west side of the lake. We took deep breaths of clean and cool lake air and we tried to impress into our minds the beauty of that which we beheld. WEG