Mantova

Our tour guide says this is an adventure not a holiday, and getting up at 6-45 on a Sunday must fall into the former category! Spent over 10 hours on the go today in 37 degree heat, which includes walking approximately 47 miles.  Started with a guided tour of Mantova. We went in a massive church, more like a cathedral and she demonstrated the acoustics by walking right up to the front and sung facing the wall. Amazingly you could hear perfectly and the whole place went silent and then gave her a big round of applause when she finished.
Lunch next and I got my first Hugo of the holiday. It was fabulous and nothing like those attempts I had at recreating it! I fancied a salami ciabatta but when I told her she said Mediteranee? I said ok and when it came it was tuna and olives again! Very nice. I like having no idea what is coming. We then got lost and walked right across the Sahara trying to reach the coach pick up point before the sun killed us.
They then took us to a famous garden place but to be honest I feel it’s overrated; just like our garden but bigger. We could have hired a golf buggy to drive around but you needed your driving license and I left mine at home. The other member of our party had her license with her but didn’t fancy it. So we toured the whole place on one of those little trains towed by a tractor disguised as an engine. It was better than walking in that heat. We went to a nice restaurant for tea with hundreds of tourists baking in the heat, eating outside. But we asked for a table inside and were surrounded by all the Italians having their Sunday family meal in the beautiful cool air conditioning! They’re not daft and neither are we! We both had pizza today and it was spot on. I had some more red beer in the further absence of Hugo availability