Simione is in Lombardy, but although it’s actually on a peninsular in Lake Garda, it’s best visited by one of the several boat trips operating from the ports around Lake Garda. The principal historical landmark of Sirmione is the Grotte di Catullo, the most striking example of a Roman private edifice to be discovered in northern Italy. Other places of interest in Simione include the 13th century Scaliger Castle, with good examples of medieval port fortifications, the church of San Pietro in Mavino with a bell tower dating from the 10th century, while the rest of the church, although originating from Lombardy times was actually restored in the C14. My partner and I were on an Alan Rogers Guides staff trip to Brescia on Lake Garda some years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed our visit, including the following quite amusing incident. Our last day was mainly spent enjoying a boat trip around Lake Garda, which provided everyone with a useful insight into the Italian Lakes “tourism scene” generally, and more particularly the exact situation of many of the campsites around Lake Garda that are featured in the Alan Rogers Guides. This boat trip also involved a short visit to Simione, where a few of us decided to drop in to a café for a beer or a coffee – during this short break your truly decided to visit the loo, which was up a long flight of stairs. On reaching the WC and finding it occupied it seemed sensible to see if there was a second one on the floor immediately above – there was too, and at the time it wasn’t in use, and furthermore it was very elegantly decorated – however on vacating the WC a few moments later I was greeted (if that’s the right word) by a very surprised Italian gentleman in a dressing gown – apparently I’d inadvertently walked into his private apartment and used his luxurious bathroom. Having wished him “Bon journo” (the extent of my Italian) I beat a very hasty retreat, much to the amusement of my colleagues.