Day 156 - Our Final Day in Lake Garda

Another familiar start. Up around 8, coffees, breakfast. Emmett and Kia headed down to the shop to grab a few things, and it was the first time in a while someone had gone with him. Turns out he’d been going to the same lady each morning, and she recognised him straight away. She told Kia how responsible he’d been and how well he’d been doing. That was pretty cool to hear. He’s taken that little job seriously the whole time we’ve been here.

After breakfast, it was straight into packing. I got my bag sorted early and did Maddie’s as well, while Kia packed Emmett’s. We were trying to be organised, getting everything lined up and ready to go. One of those pack properly once so you’re not scrambling in the morning situations.

Emmett still had tennis, so I headed up there with him for his session. After that, it was back to packing and tying up loose ends until about 1.

At 1, we headed over to our Norwegian friends’ place. Their daughter has a birthday coming up, so they wanted to celebrate with everyone before we all went our separate ways. It was a really nice way to finish. The kids played card games, we all sat around chatting, and just enjoyed a relaxed lunch together.

They also surprised me with an early 40th birthday present. A pair of banana aero socks. Proper running and cycling ones. Random, but actually very cool. That was a really nice touch.

After lunch, the kids were keen to get down to the lake for paddle boats. A big group of us headed down, had to wait a bit as they were all booked out, but eventually got out on the water for an hour. Kids and adults all mixed in, just cruising around the lake, soaking it in one last time.

From there, it was straight to the pool. Not much time, but enough for a quick swim before we had paddle booked at 6.

The afternoon just rolled from one thing to the next. Paddle for a couple of hours, tennis court booked for the kids, running back and forward between both, heaps of laughs, heaps of energy. It felt like everyone was trying to squeeze everything in before leaving.

After paddle, Kia went to sort out the final bill while the rest of us started saying our goodbyes. Then we all headed down to the concert, which kicks off later in the evening, and got a few more goodbyes in there too.

Back to the accommodation after that to finish packing the kids’ bags, squeeze in the last bits, shoes, random gear, all the stuff that somehow spreads out over time.

We’re pretty much ready now. Just need to get up around 5 in the morning, make coffees, have something quick to eat, and be ready for the shuttle at 7.

It was a big final day. The kids wanted to do everything one last time, and we pretty much did. Weather was perfect as well. I even got the drone up in the morning and grabbed some shots over the lake, which came out unreal.

Plenty of photos, videos, and memories from this place.

It’s going to be hard to leave. Lake Garda has been one of those spots that just worked. The place, the routine, but especially the people. We were lucky with the group we ended up with here.

We’d come back. No question. And hopefully cross paths with a few of the same faces again somewhere down the track.

That’s Day 156.

Tomorrow, we head to Morocco.