We left Budapest and headed for the Croatia and the Dalmatian coast. We stopped at the largest lake in Europe outside Scandinavia, which should have been good for windsurfing and relaxing, but the beaches were disappointingly and surprisingly prison like with fences for each private section who wanted to charge just for entry. The weather wasn't that brilliant so we just had some lunch then continued driving. Made it to the coast the next day and enjoyed a stunning drive looking at the unspoilt clear turquoise water. Stopped for lunch and went for a dip to cool down and you could see loads of different fish. We headed a bit further down to find a bit more life and soon realised we would not make it down to Split if were going to have any time relaxing. So we settled in a small town called Karlobag for a couple of days, parked up right next to the sea with a nice beach not far away. Went diving but not too much to see here. I'm sure this place will catch up with western tourist demands in a few years so it was nice to see it in it's original state now.

We had a kind of deadline to meet in Italy as we'd arranged to stay with Chris' extended family there, so we headed to Zadar, the nearest main port you can get the ferry from. Had a nice evening in a campsite right on the beach, then got the ferry the next day - the calmest sea we've ever seen made for a lovely smooth and sunny 6 hour crossing - we felt like we were on a cruise lying on the sun loungers on the top deck!

When we arrived in Ancona we had given ourselves time to explore the area for a few days, but with not much to see there we headed inland and went to Amandola in Eastern Tuscan hills to explore some countryside. Went for a lovely walk in the beautiful Sibillia mountain range and camped the night near a big gorge with waterfalls. This was our first night under canvas and we enjoyed a nice big fire and the peace of having no one else around. 

It was then time to see the real Italy from the Italians point of view. We visited Chris' sister-in-law's parents and stayed in their home town for a few days. They cooked some lovely fresh food for us, much of which was home grown in their orchard, and enjoyed wine from their vineyard.

There are plenty of deserted beaches just 15 minutes drive away and we enjoyed some cheap lovely pizza and ice-cream - the Italians definitely do them best! Had a fun evening playing cards in the town square, although my experience was slightly more intimidating as I was the only woman in a patio bar of containing about 50 men, so I got quite a few looks. All the women, I assume, were at home doing the family thing while the men spent their hard earned money!

We were sad to leave this real and welcoming town, but with half of the country still to explore we had to keep moving. Next stop was the foot of Italy and over to Sicily...