Malcésine, on Lago di Garda 10.5.06

Malcésine is one of the lovely cities on the eastern shores of Lago di Garda along the narrowest part of the lake. Towering above it is the majestic Monte Baldo. Yesterday we drove there and took the "funivia," the cableway that lifts you up to the top. It takes about 15 minutes and the scenery is breathtaking. The large cable cars hold about 30 people and rotate as you climb giving you a 360 degree view as you rise higher and higher. The deep blue sky was dramatically filled with clouds that ranged from purest white to dark and foreboding yesterday as rain threatened but did not fall, only enhancing the already incredible panorama.

The temperatures at the lake were more than comfortable, Fall is taking its sweet time arriving here, to our complete approval. Although we think it is truly around the corner as we have noticed the trees beginning to turn and even some of the leaves on the grape vines turning a deep red. We were glad we had warmer outerwear with us, however as it was much colder at the top than it had been at the bottom. The wind whipped around as we walked along the ridge, completely blown away by the spectacular views of the lake below and the Dolomites above.

We had lunch in one of the restaurants at the top and were lucky to get a table by the window and couldn't resist snapping a few photos through the glass as we waited for our meals to arrive. We listened to a smattering of languages, mostly German, some Italians and a few Americans and Brits. We were surprised by how many tourists are still here as every cablecar was filled to capacity but we know that the shoulder season extends all the way to November now when it used to be mostly September. Some of these hardy travelers took the funivia to the top (5,725 ft/1,745 meters) and then followed the trails all the way back down to the bottom. We opted for the round trip ticket and enjoyed the ride that at times seemed practically perpendicular!

Here are some of the views we enjoyed:

Lago di Garda (with blue tint: Bob had fun experiementing with tri-tones)


Row Boat with red buoy (in blue tones)


White Rocks on the top of Monte Baldo (in blue tones)


These next two images are the same photo. One is in full color, one is a Tri-tone in shades of blue.
VOTE! Which one do you like best? Let us know!

1. Full color:


2. Tri-tones in blue tint