Italy - Lake Maggiore

Friday, 15th May.

It rained last night...at about 11pm we had a heavy downpour but I don't think it rained again as the grass was dry this morning and the sun was out when we woke.   We'd decided last night to alter plans a little and spend a few days at Baveno on Lake Maggiore before heading south to the coast and Cinque Terre.  When we were here two years ago, it was very hot and we jumped into the lake to cool off soon after arriving but there's no jumping into lakes this time around!  Today is a total contrast to yesterday...just before leaving our aire, the rain started up again and continued on and off for the entire journey.  At one stage it began to hail, causing us to pull over in a tunnel behind three cars and with others behind us, until the hail had stopped and the rain had eased enough to make the road ahead visible.
We're now in Baveno, the rain has eased to an occasional drizzle and after waxing lyrical to Shirley and Les about the lake's attractions, we're hoping for an improvement in the weather tomorrow.