🥥 Coconuts and Camel Rides 20: Boats and Boobs
Last night dreamt I was drowning in orangeade... It was only a Fanta Sea. 🍊
Venice to Lake Garda.. one of my favourite spots in the world. Gorgeous sunsets, delicious Italian food, swimming and nature. It is fantastic. A four night stay to rest and recharge. A few plans for the days, so not totally resting but a bit of excitement.
An Old Best Friend
On February 12th, 2014, I had some friends over at my apartment to celebrate my birthday. All guests had arrived, yet there was a knock at the door. I was welcomed by a tall, handsome, Frenchman with multiple packs of biscuits. He was my new neighbour and wanted to introduce himself with the kind gesture. I cant turn down biscuits so I invited him to join us for beers, we had food, got drunk and 9 years later, he is still one of my best friends.
Now that may have sounded like a gay love story, however, I truly appreciate this man. He is a true friend. We meet every year in France or England (a couple years skipped by covid) and this year we met in Milan for a lunch and a catch up. As always it was a laugh. Some of you may also know him as CM's Finance Director. There is no one else I would trust.
Rent a Boat: Life Saved
Today, I saved a life. As a party of 4 we rented a boat for 4 hours on the lake. With the sun shining, beers in hand and tasty food at the ready, we enjoyed a dramatic free first hour.
Things seemed to take a turn when we anchored up the boat to swim.
Side note: Alcohol did not play any part in this, each person had consumed a small can of low percentage beer.
So the story goes like this... my three fellow travellers are not confident swimmers but they wanted to try swimming in the lake. As I played captain, I gave them all a life jacket so at least they can float.
I jumped in, traveller one jumped after. All was going well until traveller 2. In he goes and down he goes. We are unsure what fully happened but it caused a panic attack in the water. At the exact same time, the boat was drifting away to rocks.
I had to act quick and put my rainbow swimming badge into practical use (lol) as I swam and leaped onto the boat. Throwing a rope to the traveller, grabbing him, calming him and then pulling him onto the boat. Then navigating the boat away from the rocks and circling around to collect traveller 1 who had drifted away.
I would love to say these events were like scenes from Baywatch and I was heroic but it was more like a Carry On movie and a little comical. My leap on the boat led to me falling, the rope had no buoy attached and I hit front end first into a rock when attempting to save the propeller. But.. we made it.
The last two hours were more chilled, drama free and wonderful.
A Magical Boob
Verona. Another beautiful city in the North of Italy about 15 minutes away from Lake Garda by train. Famous for its small colosseum and the house of Romeo and Juliet.
It was a stunning day and the city was booming. There was a long line of people from Romeo and Juliet's house ready to touch her boob. For those unaware, it is a famous thing (for good luck) to touch the boob of a statue of Juliet. So I lined up.. and gave a cheeky squeeze. Let's see what luck it brings. I wandered the streets and had a nice lasagne for lunch.
It's quite a busy city but if you are ever in that area of Italy, it is worth a visit.
Connecting with a Swan
On my final night I sat and reflected by the Lake until around midnight. I really enjoy sitting around nature and connecting. Tonight was a little special, I was joined by a swan who was getting very close to me. It was a weird and wonderful moment which we could not capture on camera.
Today’s blog task:
🎯 Tell me about a time you connected with a wild animal.
Book Update
At the moment I'm writing up a chapter 'When the Odds are Against Us'. Some of us give up on a quest for success because of our backgrounds and the cards we have been dealt. Some of us are underdogs and have the odds against us. In this chapter, I am writing about how this, how we can still succeed and use the cards we are dealt to our advantage. A teaser for some of the sub-headings:
Playing the Hand we are Dealt
The Underdog’s Secret
Our Luck is Created
Dave & his Untimely Death
As always there is going to be some jokes and personal stories in this chapter.
Tips and Recommendations
Here are my tips and recommendations for anyone planning to visit Lake Garda.
Visit. It is a must see destination.
Rent a Boat.
Swim in the Lake.
Watch the sunset. (with an ice cream)
Visit Sirmione and see the castle.
Take half a day to go to Verona.
Touch Juliet’s Boob.
Have an aperol spritz.
⚔️ Thanks for reading, liking and Substackateering!
Haha...ok, David Hasselhoff you saved the day😄
Hope those boobs bring your alot of luck 🤣