Marriage of Anthony Quinn and Lisa Thomas

Malcesine – Lake Garda

June 18th 2010

About the Area

Malcesine – pronounced by most English as Mal-chezney.
But for those who want to be a bit more particular, you would say Mal-Chez-i –nay
(the ‘i’ is pronounced as in pip)

This is based in the North of Lake Garda and is surrounded by mountains and over
looked in particular by Monte Baldo.

The castle Scalgero where we are getting married resides on the side of the lake and
can pretty much be seen from many view points within Malcesine.

Getting to Italy - Flights

For Lake Garda, there are several airports you can fly into with Verona and Brescia
(also called Verona Brescia) being the closest. Many flights low cost flights from
regional airports also come into Bergamo (also called Milan Bergamo).

Further away but well served especially for long haul flights are Milan Malpensa and
Milan Linate as well as Venice Marco Polo.

Bear in mind that the low cost airlines often fly to small airports slightly away from the
cities, check where these airports are in order to avoid misunderstanding. Eg. Verona
airport is ‘Valerio Catullo’.
Ryanair call Brescia Montichiari airport ‘Verona (Brescia)’. Milan airports are
‘Malpensa’ and ‘Linate’.
Many Low costs airlines refer to Bergamo Orio Al Serio airport as either ‘Milan Orio al
Serio’ or ‘Milan (Bergamo)’.
Venice airport is Marco Polo. Ryanair use Treviso which they call ‘Venice
(Treviso)’. It will say in brackets where the airport actually is.

The low-cost carriers add, change and cancel routings from their programmes each
year so check on their relevant sites for the current flight programmes.

Airport Websites
Verona www.aeroportoverona.it

Brescia www.aeroportobrescia.it

Bergamo www.orioaeroporto.it

Venice www.veniceairport.it

Treviso www.trevisoairport.it

Malpensa www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/eng

Linate www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/eng
Airlines

The low-cost carriers add, change and cancel routings from their programmes each
year so check on their relevant sites for the current flight programmes.

Ryanair www.ryanair.com

London Stansted to Brescia

Brescia to Rome Ciampino

Glasgow Prestwick to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo)

Newcastle to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo)

London Stansted to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo)

London Luton to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo)

Liverpool to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo)

Shannon to Milan Orio al Serio (Bergamo)

London Luton to Venice (Treviso)

London Stansted to Venice (Treviso)

Liverpool to Venice (Treviso)

Venice (Treviso) to Rome (Ciampino)

Easyjet www.easyjet.com

East Midlands to Venice (Marco Polo)

London Gatwick to Venice (Marco Polo)

Bristol to Venice (Marco Polo)

London Gatwick to Milan (Linate)

London Gatwick to Milan (Malpensa)

British Airways www.BA.com

London Heathrow to Milan (Linate)

London Heathrow to Milan (Malpensa)

Bristol to Milan (Malpensa)

Birmingham to Milan (Malpensa)

Edinburgh to Milan (Malpensa)

London Gatwick to Verona (Valerio Catullo)

London Gatwick to Venice (Marco Polo)

Alitalia www.alitalia.com

London Heathrow to Milan (Linate)

Jet 2 www.jet2.com

Leeds Bradford to Venice (Marco Polo)

Leeds Bradford to Milan (Linate)

BMIbaby www.bmibaby.com

London Heathrow to Venice (Marco Polo)

London Heathrow to Milan (Linate)

Aer Lingus www.flyaerlingus.com

Dublin to Milan (Malpensa)

Dublin to Milan (Linate)

Dublin to Milan (Bergamo)

Dublin to Venice (Marco Polo)

Verona (Valerio Catullo) is used by all major charter airlines from many regional
airports in the UK and Ireland during the summer months. Most fly Saturday and
Wednesday for minimum stay 1 week.

If you book your holiday as a package, then you will more than likely have transfers
included in your deal.

If you are not booking a holiday package, then some hotels will offer airport transfers.
I am sure that closer to the time, we can organise transfers if we know that people
are arriving on the same day.
There is a local agency that work with the Wedding Company we have booked with;

Europlan

Contacts: Malcesine, Garda, Bardolino, Torri, Riva & Limone

http://www.europlan.it/
Via G. D'Annunzio, 11 - 37011 Bardolino (VR)
Tel. +39 0456209444 • Fax +39 0456210420

E-mail: giovannat@europlan.it

If you contact them and say that you are coming to a wedding with Lake Garda
Weddings, then they will help you. I do not know if they will charge a fee, so check
out prices for booking independently.

Useful links for public transport:

Trains www.trenitalia.it

Buses from Verona and Peschiera www.aptv.vr.it

Accommodation
Malcesine is a lakeside town – the main centre has two ports and is joined together
by narrow cobbled streets. Cars are not permitted to drive in the main centre.

There are not really any beaches in Lake Garda, some of the hotels will declare that
they have a beach on their doorstep but these are more like shingled bits of shore
line big enough for a few people to sunbathe on.

It is therefore a strong consideration to try and find a hotel with a pool, if you
are planning to catch a few rays.

Another thing to think about is the strength of the fact that the euro is fairly weak at
the moment (Dec ’09). Therefore opting for a hotel with half board may be
economically wise, the food is fab and it saves you shelling out loads when you are
there.

***All of the bars in the town are easily accessible, so even if we are all staying in
different hotels, we can easily meet for drinks later on.
Below is some info on some of the hotels in the area, which I visited last year.

Excelsior Bay

www.hotelexcelsiorbay.com

This four star hotel is based right on the lakeside and is very lovely. The hotel staff
were amazing and the food was top standard.

Mum and Dad will be staying here and Anthony and I will be also for the first part of
the week. (Saturday – Wednesday) I will also be staying here the night before the
wedding.

There is a minimum of 3-4 nights stay. No deposit is required and if we get enough of
a group together, the hotel will offer us a good discount – especially if you pay cash
on departure for your stay rather than a credit card.

The hotel offers half board, has a lovely pool and music most evenings after dinner.
Dinner can be eaten outside right next to the lake - a stunning location. It is literally a
five minute walk in to the main town along the lakeside promenade.

Also if we do get a big enough group, the hotel will provide airport transfers for aprox
20 euros per head.

Hotel Capri

www.hotelcapri.com

**I believe there is a minimum stay requirement of 7 days at this hotel.

We stayed at this hotel and I can highly recommend it. This is a family run hotel and
the service is impeccable. Fantastic food every night, you do have to choose your
menu choices the day before, or at breakfast of that day but there is always a choice
of fish, meat or vegetarian for each course.

Great pool, fitness room and spa room too. You can also hire bikes from them.

This hotel is not directly on the lakeside but offers stunning views over the lake as it
is higher up the hillside. It’s location is practically directly opposite the Excelsior
(above) and you can look down on it from the front of the Capri.

Again it takes about 8-10 minutes to walk into the main town centre, either by
heading down past the Excelsior to walk along the lake, or by walking on the Via
Gardesana, which is the main road in to Malcesine and can be fairly busy.

There are also apartments at The Capri, which are separate to the hotel but give you
the freedom of a kitchen, so that you can self cater if you prefer. You still have full
access to the hotel pool and can upgrade to half board for a small fee. These have
recently been refurbished and are very smart!
Casa Barca

This is a wellness hotel, lovely and modern and has a pool, spa area, fab gym and
you can have beauty treatments etc on site. The location is further up the hillside
again and further away from the Lake but every room does have lake views.
Anthony and I are moving to Casa Barca on the Wednesday night and other than the
night before the wedding, when I move back to The Excelsior, we will be there for the
rest of our stay.
Please be aware that this hotel is just Bed and Breakfast, so take this into
consideration if you are on a budget, as you will have to buy meals out on top of your
holiday.
It is about an 8-10 minute walk into town but there is a clue in the word hillside –
good for the butt cheeks!!

Hotel Castello
This is located right next to the restaurant where we will be having the reception, so if
you do not fancy much of a walk after a few babychams, you may want to book in
here.
We did not actually look at any rooms here but the reception looked very nice and it
is right on the lakeside.

Other Hotels within walking distance of the castle

Hotel Augusta
Hotel Prima Luna
Hotel Luna Rossa
Hotel Meridiana
Hotel Internazionale
Hotel Lago di Garda
Hotel Vega
Hotel Venezia
Hotel Capri
Hotel Peler
Hotel Dolomiti (Next to the Lake Garda Weddings office)
Hotel Ideal
Hotel Alpi
Hotel Cattulo
Hotel Ariston
Hotel Diana
Hotel Erika
Hotel San Marco
Hotel Alpino
Hotel Antonella
Hotel Modena
Hotel Gardesana
Hotel Firenze
Hotel Sirena

Hotels within further walking distance of the castle

Hotel Europa
Hotel Du Lac
Hotel Bellevue San Lorenzo
Hotel Cristallo
Hotels not within walking distance of the castle or that can be reached by the
tourist bus
Hotel Olivi
Hotel Benacus
Hotel Majestic Palace)
Hotel Baia Verde
Hotel Maximilian
Hotel Val di Sogno
Parc Hotel Querceto
Hotel Alesi
Hotel Astoria
Hotel Bellavista
Hotel Campagnola
Hotel Oasi Beach
Hotel Orchidea
Hotel Panorama
Hotel Sailing Center
Hotel Garden
Hotel Villa Carmen
Hotel Villa Smeralda
Hotel Villa Lisa
Hotel Lido
Hotel Casa Serena
Casa Popi

Apartments within short walking distance

Casa Cresotti
La Cioca
La Pervinca
Le Palme
La Pergola
Laura & Jasmin
Madrugada
La Perla (up hill)
Priori Villaggio Turistico
Alpi
Villa Fiori

Apartments within further walking distance

Andreis
Il Cedro
Villa Sopri
Alesi
Vacanze 2000

Apartments not within walking distance or that can be reached by the tourist
bus
Residence Goethe
Garden

Things to Do
There are many things to do in the local area
 Hiring Kayaks
 Boat trips to other resorts on the lake
 Shopping
 Golf (about half an hours bus trip or drive away)
 Windsurfing / Kitesurfing
  Paragliding from the top of Monte Baldo
 Mountain walks
 Mountain Biking
 Relaxing by the pool!!!

Guided Excursions

VERONA:
VENICE
DOLOMITES
LAKE TOUR
MILAN
FLORENCE
WINE TOUR

What to Wear
I have two words to say to the ladies FLIP FLOPS!!!
The streets leading up to the castle are all cobbled and quite an incline too, so trying
to walk in high heels is a big no no, unless you want to look like you’ve had an
accident whilst walking….!! 

If you are going to wear posh dresses (which I hope you are) and you would like to
wear heels, the wedding planner suggests wearing your flip flops up the entrance
and then changing once you are at the castle.

The restaurant where we are having the reception is within walking distance, so once
the ceremony is over – you will need to change back to walk between venues and
change again once you get to the restaurant.

Gentlemen, if you get hot in your suits, then you can leave a spare shirt at the
restaurant to change into.

Weather
Whilst I was there in July, the weather was very mixed, some days at 2.00pm it was
baking hot, some days fairly overcast and pleasantly warm. The average temperature
for June for the past 3 years has been about 24 degrees. To give you an idea, the
terrace where we are getting married is open and you will not be shielded from the
sun - you are likely to be up there for about an hour all in all.
The lakeside champagne toast and the restaurant reception is also outside but there
is shade available if required. The Italians love to eat under a canopy and shut out all
the fantastic sunshine that we English crave!

Order of the Day ( This is subject to change)

1.00pm
All guests meet Anthony and wedding planner at Bar Castello near the castle and
help Anthony to settle his nerves.

1.30pm – Make way to Castle, get seated and wedding planner will fill you in on
what’s happening and when.
2.00pm – Bride arrives and Ceremony takes place

2.30pm – Ceremony over – guests have half an hour spare whilst photographer
takes Anthony and Lisa off to take some pictures.
(In this time, you can either hang back and take some pictures, go get an ice cream
from fab parlour just outside the castle, or head back to the bar for another drink)

3.00pm – Guests meet back at the front of the castle and wait for Anthony and Lisa
to come out – this is where you can throw loads of confetti if you so wish?

3.15/3.30pm – Head to Old Harbour ( aprox five minutes walk) for Lakeside
champagne toast. Here you will be offered champagne and canapés to keep you
going.

4.45pm – Walk to Corsaro restaurant

Yet another Champagne Toast with a few speeches

5.30pm – Sit for dinner

7.30pm – Band starts

Menu Selection

We have a six course delight for you to enjoy.

RSVP

You will be sent a formal invitation in due course – however in the mean time, if you
have received a ‘Save the Date’ card and have an idea as to whether or not you will
be able to attend. Please could you let us know, so that we can get an idea of
numbers.

At this stage, we do not need to know how long you are planning on coming for, or
any other details about accommodation, menu choices or what colour pants you are
wearing – just whether or not you are planning on coming out to Italy.

Wedding Party Hereford

Anthony and Lisa are also having a party in Hereford at the Aylestone Court Hotel
the following Saturday 26th July starting at 7.00pm – 1.00pm.
We would love for you all to come and celebrate – Again!!

**We have decided to keep this part entirely for adults as we would like all of our
friends to kick back, relax and enjoy the party.