Lake Garda is one of the locations for the new James Bond film. If it's good enough for Daniel Craig, it's good enough for Michael Parsons
'YOUR mission, should you accept it, is to fly to Italy and observe the new James Bond film being shot at Lake Garda," said the travel editor with the steely authority of M. And so there was nothing for it but, with the assistance of Miss Moneypenny, to pack a linen jacket, a Moleskine notebook and a poisoned dart disguised as a fountain pen.
James Bond has come a long way since the stuffed-Turnbull- -Asser-shirt days of Roger Moore. Now the 007 look, as honed by Pierce Brosnan, is more playboy of the western world than Jermyn Street gent. The glamorous globetrotting spy has graduated from the simplicity of a Milk Tray ski suit to the Knightsbridge version of Italian style. He may still be on her majesty's secret service, but it's the monarchs of Milan's design studios who create his look these days.
Bond wears handmade Brioni suits, Persol sunglasses and, in his most recent outing, courtesy of Daniel Craig in the remake of Casino Royale, racy pale-blue GrigioPerla swimming trunks.
So it is appropriate that some of the next film in the hugely successful franchise - Quantum of Solace, the 22nd in the series, which opens in November - is being filmed in Italy.
They have been using Lake Garda, a two-hour flight from Dublin. At more than 50km long and almost 17km wide, it is Italy's largest lake, and it has long been a major destination for tourists.
"See Naples and die" recommends an Italian proverb. Well, die another day. Before you pop your Ferragamo clogs, see Lake Garda and gasp at some of Europe's most beautiful scenery. DH Lawrence described the deep-blue lake as "so lovely under the sky of sunshine, it was intolerable".
The lake is fringed by lovely resort towns that cling to the slopes of the "pre-Alps". Sumptuous villas and picture-postcard hotels shimmer in pastel shades: elder lemon, dusty pink, pale green.
Cobbled streets and piazzas are pleasantly car-free; the pace is gentle, the light clear, the mountains soaring.
The best months to visit are May, June, September and October. July and August can be uncomfortably hot, especially for young children and the elderly. Spring can be chilly, but on a very good day the temperature can reach the mid-20s.
Arriving on a rainy Friday night in April was initially dispiriting. But the following morning's forecast, while not quite scorchio, looked promising. Rai Uno's breakfast-show presenters looked as if they had been dressed by Versace and sounded as if they had been scripted by Fellini.
And the Italians do like a man in a heavily braided uniform. An air-force colonel, wearing full regalia and sporting a moustache to put Willie O'Dea to shame, delivered the forecast with gusto.
The clouds broke. In the exquisite town of Limone (Lemon, in English) early-season tourists, mostly from Germany, strolled around contentedly.
Local papers carried headlines about the Bond film. Surrounded by much secrecy and security, the production company was filming a high-speed car chase on the spectacular coast roads using €1 million worth of Aston Martin sports cars (one of which made headlines by plunging into the sea while being delivered to the set in bad weather). But Craig was not present. The scenes are shot using stuntmen and rally drivers, then he's added in back at Pinewood Studios, in England.
Limone was once a major centre for commercial citrus-fruit growing. Although the industry has declined, some of the trees are still cultivated for ornamentation in hotel gardens and along some streets.
At the Al Porto bar, by the water's edge, watching the sun go down behind the snow-capped mountains, the waitress took an order for a dry Martini. "Liscio o shakerato?" she asked. Shaken, not stirred, of course.
This was the dolce vita, all right, sitting beneath orange and lemon trees laden with ripening fruit, feeling every bit as suave as Signor Bond while sipping a 007 cocktail.
But the blissful tranquillity was disturbed by the disagreeable ping of a text message arriving on the mobile phone (cleverly camouflaged as a gold Cartier cigarette lighter). It was M: "Please report back to Dublin at once." And you hoped that tomorrow never comes.
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go
Where to stay
The three most popular resorts for Irish visitors
are Riva, Malcesine and Sirmione.
The area has hundreds of accommodation options, from opulent five-star hotels to family-friendly mobile homes in serviced holiday parks.
Michael Parsons stayed at the four-star Hotel Splendid Palace, in Limone, where a week in June with half-board costs from €869 per person sharing, plus taxes, with Topflight. The price includes charter flights, transfers, drinks with dinner, and afternoon tea. A lake-view room costs an extra €95 per person. The single supplement is €199 per week.
Where to eat
La Cantina del Gato Borracho. Via Caldogno, Limone,
00-39- 365-914010,
www.gatoborracho.com.
This untouristy restaurant's sensational food will delight even the
most demanding buona forchetta ("good fork", or gourmet). A
five-course tasting menu served by owner Michele Ghidotti, his
wife, Noris, and their charming staff costs just €35 - about
the price of a main course at many Dublin restaurants. The chef
uses Irish beef, and a fillet steak he prepared was so good that
Bord Bia should arrange honorary citizenship.
For a lunch to remember, take a trip up the mountains to the village of Tremosino and dine on the Terrazza del Brivido of the Hotel Paradiso (19 Viale Europa, Pieve di Tremosine, 00-39-365-953012, www.terrazzadelbrivido.it). No hotel has ever been more appropriately named. The views are extraordinary and the food exceptional, and you can sleep it off afterwards beside a heart-shaped swimming pool. The road winds up the mountainside via heart- stopping hairpin bends, so take a coach or taxi unless you have nerves of steel and the driving skills of Ayrton Senna.
Where to go
Many visitors to Lake Garda combine the trip with a
visit to the open-air opera in Verona (
www.arena.it), from June 20th to
August 31st. Topflight offers tickets with transfers from €78
to €157. This year's operas are Aida, Tosca, Nabucco, Carmen
and Rigoletto.
Book-lovers will enjoy browsing at Studio Bibliografico Benacense, an antiquarian bookshop in Riva (29 Viale Dante, 00-39-464- 556344). The helpful English- speaking owner, Dr Mario Francesco Giupponi, gets a lot of Irish customers. His stock includes a lovely 1837 Irish atlas with 32 hand-coloured plates featuring the counties of Ireland for €500.
Where to wed
Lake Garda must be one of the world's most romantic
destinations. Like Rome and Sorrento, it is very popular for Irish
weddings. It's also a classic area for honeymoons. You can choose a
religious ceremony at an exquisite baroque church or a civil
ceremony at a venue such as Castle Scaglieri, Malcesine.
How to get around Instead of taking a taxi between resort towns, use a ferry operated by the state-run Navigazione Lago di Garda. A taxi from Limone to Riva costs €22, for example; a return ferry ticket costs €3.40.
The world is not enough
Last Wednesday, May 28th, was the centenary of the
birth of Ian Fleming.
The London-born author and naval officer wrote 12 novels and nine short stories featuring James Bond. He also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Success enabled him to move to Jamaica and the plush Goldeneye villa. He died, aged 56, in 1964, a month before the third 007 film, Goldfinger, came out.
For Your Eyes Only, a show about his life and work, is at the Imperial War Museum in London ( www.iwm.org.uk) until March.
As another tribute to Fleming, on Wednesday Penguin published Devil May Care, a new Bond novel written by Sebastian Faulks.
Go there
Michael Parsons travelled with Topflight
(01-2401784,
www.topflight.ie), one of
the main operators to Italy.
A package has the advantage of flying you to Verona, the nearest airport to Lake Garda. Some tour operators also offer seats only to Verona. Expect to pay from €349.
Aer Lingus ( www.aerlingus.com) flies from Dublin and Belfast to Milan and from Dublin to Venice.
Ryanair ( www.ryanair.com) serves Verona from London Stansted. It flies from Dublin and Shannon to Milan and Venice.