We left the rolling hills of Tuscany behind and headed north to the Italian Lakes, stopping off in Bologna and Mondena along the way. We selected the small town of Castiglione della Stiviera, just south of Lago di Garda, as our rendezvous point with my Mum and step Dad, Ken. We booked them into a small hotel which seemed like an Italian Fawlty Towers, with 70s decor and crazy but likeable staff, who insisted on showing us every room in the hotel before they woul...

It is great to be back in the van and on the road again! After a couple of days of intensive driving, we arrived at the opening to the mighty Mont Blanc tunnel, our chosen route into Italy. We were shocked to discover it cost 46 Euros one way to get through! We enjoyed our drive through the Alps and south to the dramatic coastal region of the Cinque Terre. We spent a couple of days in the area and while bad weather closed the famous coastal path we did enjoy ex...