Day 43 Friday 13 July
Mantova. Rest Day Total 2530km
At quarter to five in the morning, while lying in the dark, I can hear arrivals on a bicycle through the pebbles, and milking beginning.
The lady of the house brings us coffee when she sees we have got up and brings our carnets back. She is friendly and shakes our hands. I hope we have helped to dispel their suspicions about tourists.
We need a rest- so go only a few miles to Mantova, the beautiful city. We have found the camping in Mantova beside the lake, near to the town and are pitched in a shady area, have eaten special milk breads with bilberry jam for lunch. At the tourist office we get leaflets about the town so have reading material. The shade is bearable, but outside it is almost unbearably hot.
Later I cycle to town for the shopping, along with the food I buy a litre and a half of wine, intending it to last for two days. But we drink it all as evening arrives, and with it come mosquitoes; so unheeding we  get many bites by staying out too long.
not at home 