View of Lake from courtyard, San Viglio

We were due to visit a friend in Milan and go the Antique Fair which happens on the last Sunday of the month. However, we fell at the first hurdle when I wasn't allowed on the bus with the poodles. They didn't have, or at least I didn't have on my person, muzzles which are now compulsory accessories for dogs travelling on public transport.

So we went to Lake Garda by car instead. It takes about 40 mins to get to Peschiera del Garda, where we started our journey up the Eastern side of the lake. After having a lunchtime aperitif on the lakeside in Bardolino, followed by an unsuccessful attempt to get lunch in Garda, we visited San Vigilio.

San Vigilio is tiny and gorgeous. There is a hotel there and a restaurant, but they are both closed in the winter. You have to park your car (there aren't many places!) and then walk for about half a mile down to the water's edge through an avenue of cedar trees, and then down a cobbled street surrounded by medieval perimeter walls and buildings.

It was fabulous place to visit and I would love to go back, though I imagine that at the height of the holiday season it could be unbearably crowded.