Italy

So we left sunny Chamonix on a beautiful day and as we came out of the Mont Blonc tunnel (38 Euros one way wow) it started to rain and then it continued to rain for the next 2 days so our first few opinions of Italy were

· It rains a lot

· There are far to many round abouts

· The Italian drivers are crazy, the French don't mind if they hit you but the Italians actually try and hit you

· The Italian petrol stations do not like foreign bank cards we tried to get fuel at 6 before getting lucky

· People try and sell you umbrellas alot

So we drove some distance and after 3 hours it was still raining so we pulled up next to a large lake and made lunch in the car (our fridge is so cool for that). We then decided as it was still raining to drive all the way to lake Como. Arrived at Lake Como at 6pm at night and yes it was still raining (but not a little lashing it down) and guess what the sides of Como are so steep there are no campsites ( our mistake for not checking before we left but we are learning from a lot of mistakes as we go).

So we got our waterproofs on and walked round Lake Como which is stunning I am sure on a good day and we tried to find a cheap hotel but this proved difficult so eventually found a 3 star hotel for 110 euros a night but safe parking which was more important for our valuable truck.

I hated having to pay so much for a hotel when some of our camping spots were far more stunning but it would mean we would be able to go into Milan the next day by train and leave the car safely (oh and a big hotel breakfast included).

Milan

The day started with it still pissing down with rain so on with the waterproofs and off to the train station. 8.90 euros return to Milan and the train took and hour and then we where in the Fashion capital but yep still raining. We went for it and did a whistle stop 2 and half hour tour of Milan saw the awesome big buildings, walked the fashion parade of prada and Louis vuiton shops ect, ate some Italian ice cream and bought some Italian pasta then jumped back on the train to Lake Como. Had lunch in the car next to lake Como and then made tracks for Lake Carda in the hope that the rain would stop and after 2 hours of driving blue skies, yay.

Lake Garda

We managed to find a campsite where we could camp right next to the lake so the waters edge was just 5m from our car but we seemed to have swapped the rain for strong wind but it was warm and the thought of camping to the sound of waves was very appealing. However Jonny was concerned and therefore attached a few more bits of string to the tent for added protection. Managed to cook a green curry in the protection of the boot of the car and after a few hours the winds died.

We decided to stay another day at Lake Garda for a bit of a kick back and chill day that meant

· Swim in the lake

· Bacon butties for lunch

· Ice creams on the beach

· Long walks with great views and

· just chilling

The next day we left for the drive to Venice and decided to stop and a small town called Verona for a look around. I parked the car next to a large church in a 30 minutes parking bay thinking that would be ok and can move if we want more. However we managed to get lost and some how we could not find our way back to this huge church and so 1 hour 10 minutes later we found it but thankfully it was between the hours of 12 and 2pm where Italy sleeps so the Tow men obviously where having a nap and the car was still there. It turns out that you are not even able to pee between the hours of 12 and 2pm and the pay toilets are locked up (can you believe it). So we just got BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN and headed for Venice.

Venice

Camped at Fuschina a 20 minute boat ride into Venice for 12 Euros but you could see Venice from the car as we camped by the waters edge. Arrived in 30 degree heat and so decided after 10 days since we left to do some washing and made and Italian style omelette with a glass of Italian Chianti.

We ended up being camped next to 50 youth French people and so their party went on till the early hours but we managed to sleep through it (all this travelling must be knackering). However we did not sleep through their 8am trombone wake up call.

Boat into Venice and wow what a stunning city but instead of being offered to buy an umbrella 100 times as we where in Milan we where offered a Gondala ride at every opportunity (for 100 euros we decided to see the city by foot instead). Venice is stunning however the canals could do with a clean and there were far to many tourists (as in millions) but we liked it a lot. Venice is supper expensive however you can buy pizza for 3 euros, ice cream for 1 euro but to pee you have to pay one euro 50 cents so some how we managed not to pee all day from 9am till 6pm back at camp.

The campsite became very busy and so we decided to hit the road and make for the Italian/ Slovenian border which was a stunning drive and just before we crossed the border we pulled over by the river and had lunch out the back of the car absolutely stunning.

SO THAT'S IT FROM ITALY AND MY NEXT UPDATE WILL BE OF JONNY,TERRI AND THE TRUCK IN SLOVENIA

HOPE YOU ARE ALL WELL