Everyone woke up excited for our drive to Italy. We had enough breakfast meats so I went
to the local market for some rolls and pretzels . Manu arrived and joined us for coffee and food. After breakfast we gathered our luggage and packed everything into Manu’s and Hans’ cars. Manu drove Hans’ car with Bonnie, Miah and me as the co-pilot so I could take pictures. Carlos drove Manu’s car with Tom. Off to Italy we go !!!
      We stopped once for gas and the second time was right after we crossed the Italian border for our first cappuccino in Italy! As we headed back to the cars, Carlos took a picture of Miah overlooking the mountainside. The drive was not so bad and the weather was great. We left Munich around 9 am and arrived in Lazise, Italy close to 1:30pm. It is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Garda, which is the largest lake in Italy.
     We went to the rental office for our apartment and had to show our passports to record our visit. After we checked in, the rental manager rode with us to guide us to the apartment. It was only one block down the road. He opened the gate and gave us a tour of the apartment. In the living room was a small bed for Manu and the couch for Miah . There was also a room with a double bed for Bonnie and I and a room with two beds for Tom and Carlos. We brought our luggage up and then went for a stroll along the lakeside path.
       The sun was bright and we stopped to have a stranger take our picture. We soon found a nice café to have lunch and some house white wine. Carlos ordered Spaghetti, Miah and Tom had salads, Bonnie had Lasagna, Manu had cantaloupe with Prosciutto ham and I had pasta with crab. Lunch was good and relaxing. I was hard to believe we were experiencing the
Oktoberfest one day and the next we are sitting in Italy eating lunch overlooking the shores of a large lake. It was surreal to say the least. 
      After lunch we did some shopping. I bought another German soccer jersey ( This time with 4 stars to represent the 4 times Germany won the world cup) and some shorts, Bonnie got two purses, Miah got a purse for her friend Megan, Carlos got some sandals and Manu got some nice shoes. We then stopped again for some water, cappuccino and I got Rum and coke ( I decided to not drink beer while in Italy ) . On our way back to the apartment Manu stopped by a lakeside restaurant to reserve us a table for dinner at 8pm. We all took a rest and freshened up for a few hours until dinner time.
      We headed out to dinner a little early, but it was already getting dark. After a short walk we arrived at our table and the ambiance was great. Low lights with candles. We ordered 2 carafes of red wine, water and appetizers ( 4 Shrimp cocktails and 2 plates of mussels in
sauce). For dinner Carlos: Sea bass, Miah: Mediterranean Salad, Bonnie: Fruit salad with shrimp , Tom: Filet with Dragoncello, Manu: Spaghetti with truffles and I had Spaghetti with meat sauce. The food and conversation was great. During dinner it was decided to visit Venice, Italy since we are only a 90 minute drive away.
     We stopped one last time for all to enjoy a cappuccino or coffee at a place named Tavenna Marconi.