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On Sunday we hired a car to drive to Riva Del Garda on Lake Garda around a 2 hour drive from Venice. When we arrived at the car hire office they had run out of small cars and gave us a 10 seater mini van, which you could describe as a small truck. We gave the van the appropriate name ‘The Enterprise’ as it truly was the size of a spaceship! Poor Al had to adjust to driving on the opposite side of the road and also driving this huge thing through the little narrow streets once we arrived in Garda.

We had booked accommodation staying on the hill towards Tenno, 5 minutes from Riva in a car or 45 minutes if you walk which we had to do several times during the week. The apartment should have had Internet but surprise, surprise we didn’t have any. This meant finding an internet cafe to work in daily (flashback to Bali) and so for the first week in Garda Al saw the inside of a cafe while I went house hunting. Finding a house was fun and games.

Most real estate agents don’t speak much English so translating what I needed was time consuming and somewhat frustrating but I eventually managed to find a few people who were willing to help me and understood sign language. The rent prices range from $500 per month for a small apartment to $2500 per month depending on what you are looking for. The Real Estate agents rent properties for 1 year to 4 years so finding something for a short-term lease was somewhat tricky. The first place we looked at was a house in the next town along from Riva called Torbole.

This house had an amazing view of the lake and out of the 9 properties we looked at was the best. However that wasn’t the end of it. Oh no this is just the beginning of a very stressful week. After a week of dramas we decided to pay extra (double the price) and they agreed to a 3-month lease. The lease was signed last week and we moved in.

Living out of a suitcase can be quite hard and frustrating at times. Al is fine with it and after 1 year on the road you would think I was okay with it but no, there is nothing better than gathering sticks and making a nest.

Overall I LOVE Italy, here I was thinking I was the only person that enjoys tuna and salad, nope not anymore. Over here that’s one of the most popular meals sold – it’s everywhere, supermarkets & restaurants. Plus everybody drinks Moscato and now with my new coffee and red wine addiction I fit in perfectly.

We bought 2 bikes 3 days ago as that’s pretty much what everyone does here in Riva. Riva Del Garda is one of the best mountain bike destinations in the world and every second shop is a bicycle repair/hire shop. It has so many trails for people to ride for all levels of fitness plus around the lake is perfect for riding as it’s so flat. Yesterday we rode along the lake into Riva (20 minutes) and went to local Museum, saw a 60 piece orchestra (brilliant), had pizza by the lake for lunch. On the way home we stopped at a winery ‘Madonna delle Vittorie’ and had a wine tasting, bought a couple bottles and then back on our bicycles for cheese and nibbles at home. Oh that’s the other thing I love about Italy, there are deli’s selling fresh baguettes, cheeses and sausages everywhere. Seriously I can see how people put weight on over here.

I’m now chilling out with my glass of Moscato after riding 28km to and from the next town along the river called Malcesine. It is the cutest town on the lake with cobble stone road winding around the old town and old buildings squashed together, flowers pots hanging from the window sills and gelato shops serving up yummy ice cream. There is a 5th century castle perched on the lakeside, which only makes the town even more magnificent.

We are filming the rest of the House Hunters International show on the 15th/16th/17th of this month (June). We have 3 full days of filming and then flying to London for a wedding. We are staying pretty local and exploring the towns around the lake for the next few weekends and then when we come back from London we will do another big road trip to Milan, Rome etc. Milan is only 2 hours away so it’s pretty close! The sales I’ve been told are in July and that’s the best time to head to Milan so might have to go for my birthday.