We travelled by coach, stopping overnight in Strasbourg to break the journey. Our hotel was in Garda, and had a huge outdoor swimming pool, which we made use of every day as the weather was hot and sunny! The food at the hotel was great, with lots of choice of Italian dishes. We spent a day in Gardaland, Italy's largest theme park, and also visited a huge outdoor water park, Caneva world, with many slides, black holes, and even water roller coasters! Only the bravest band members went on the kamikaze slide! We had a relaxing afternoon boat trip across the lake to Sirmione, a picturesque town with a castle, where the band ate Italian ice-cream and bought souvenirs. We also rode on the revolving cablecar to the top of Mount Baldo, from where there were stunning views of Lake Garda, before returning back down to Malcesine for pizza by the lake. One morning was spent at Centro Benacus, where there was a Laser Quest and a great go-cart track. The highlight of the tour was a trip to Venice, where we climbed the belfry for stunning views over Venice and the lagoon, toured around St Mark's cathedral, and walked through the streets to the Rialto Bridge. The day was completed with a wonderful private water taxi ride down the Grand Canal.
We gave two evening concerts, one in Peschiera at the southern end of the lake, and one in Garda which was attended by around 250 people. Our final concert was an afternoon performance in Torri del Benaco, the most picturesque of our venues, looking out to the castle and tiny harbour. After this concert we went out to a local restaurant for the final meal of the tour, and were served delicious traditional Italian food.