We had a lovely lazy morning today - got up quite late for us and then had a leisurely breakfast in front of the lake, watching the birds, the people and the boats. Then after a spot of sunbathing and reading we decided to explore round the outskirts of the lake. We can see another town rising from the opposite side of the lake and the street and house lights twinkle as the night time falls - that is where we headed - a place called Castiglione del Lago.
A short 10 mile mile drive round the beautiful lake brought us to a very pretty town with the fortifications rising from its centre. We scaled the old cobbled streets and found lots of old houses and shops and of course the obligatory fort, church and castle. They were a particularly bloody lot here in medieval times - always fighting and killing each other and there are torture museums in most towns - grisly or what? We associate castles and forts on wooded hilltops as something romantic when in actual fact they represent killing, fear, greed and power - strange that! They are interesting though.
We found quite a few shops selling local produce and tasted their salami, wild boar ham, truffle infused cheeses, wines and olive oils. That solved the choice of food for dinner tonight - a selection of the above. Other shops sold pretty pottery, jewellery and linens and we bought a few momentoes to take with us to Cyprus.
After this we headed for the local internet cafe and did our bit then went home to Essie. Only round the lake but when we arrived there had been a big storm with lots of rain. No great problem and in fact it cleared the air beautifully and brought the temperature down for a change. The evening was clear and fresh and we sat on the beach with our bottle of wine watching the most stunning sunset imaginable. An otter was playing in the shallow waters of the lake and the swallows were diving all around us - we couldn't have paid for a better show!
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