Riva Del Garda - various towns.

Pop quiz Griswold lovers.

15 minutes is:

(a) 15 minutes 

(b) 900 seconds

(c) one quarter of one hour 

(d) ALL DAY!!!

If you answered (a), (b) or (c) you are WRONG!  15 minutes is ALL DAY according to Max when we announced we were jumping in the car to drive to the beginning of a walk.  What a huge drama some things are. 

Part of the trail - Busatte Tempesta
15 minutes = an all day drive to get to.

Besides the earlier histrionics the walk itself was great and wound it's way along the hillside of the Eastern shore of Lago di Garda.  This gave us terrific views of Riva Del Garda and the adjacent town of Torbole as well as the towering mountains surrounding the lake.  Where the track couldn't progress any further there were steel walkways bolted to the cliffs which helped get over the more difficult bits.

Castle at Tenno - Now private residences inside.
The kids loved the fact you could live in a castle.

Lake Tenno

After that we decided to head north for a drive in the countryside and visit a few of the castles in the local area and check out this magic turquoise lake we'd heard about at Tenno.  The lake itself was an amazing colour and was formed when about 500 years ago a landslide blocked the valley.  Despite the glacial temperatures of the water Max decided he'd go for a swim.   He was definitely on his Pat Malone there.

There's always one

Wrapped Max in the space blanket, restored feeling to his toes and drove off to see some other castles which are dotted seemingly on every hill top.  Apparently this area was a hotbed of territorial disputes over the ages due to its proximity to the Austrian border and every man Jack seemed to have built a castle at some stage.  Some are in better shape than others. 

Stopped at a deli on the way home and enjoyed some of the local delicacy which is some sort of salted rare beef only half cured called "carne salada".  Delicious, tastes much better than it sounds.  

Stray observations:  For some, 15 minutes is longer than you think.

Dolomites in background.