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Sarah Scudamore
Sarah Scudamore

Sarah Scudamore

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Sainte Marie Sur Mer Plage

    25 juin 2019, France ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    We head west along the med coast, but make a change of plan to make the drive a little shorter, and when we arrive, we are so glad we did. We find a beautiful, natural and peaceful campsite with our pitch a few metres from the big, sandy beach, where the sea is perfect temperature. The site feels really off the beaten track, with lovely little extras, like the little farm with donkeys, peacocks, sheep, alpacas and goats - although one of the goats did try to butt Amelia as they roamed freely around. No harm done luckily!

    We are getting reports that the temperatue is rising this week, and we extend our stay a few days so that we are by the sea and pool for the hottest days. And we’re also feeling pretty smug about the air con in the moho now!

    We spend our mornings at the beach, and then head to the pool late afternoon. As the days go on, we spend longer at the beach, the sea is perfect to cool off and there’s sea breeze. We see lots of fish swimming about in the shallows, and although the sea gets deep straight away, the children love it with their new body boards, or arm bands or woggles. There’s also a big pool area with toddler pool and some great flumes, and a very heated pool too - a favourite pool so far. There’s even a spa! Obviously we don’t really spend much time in there, but it’s lovely to be able to cool off before the evening heat. It’s still high in the 30s when we are going to bed most evenings.

    Amelia loves being able to cycle all around the site, and we all love being seconds from the beach, although even the walk down towards the sea to set up is getting pretty hot. We take the SUP down and it’s great to get out on it on the warmer sea. Nic spots some big jelly fish way out, so I take the children (including Amelias new friend) our to see if we can see it. Nic is adamant he wants to get some sea life photos, so heads out again, just as he gets out one of the jelly fish gets washed in to our feet so we get some really good photos from dry land. We have fun trying out some headstands on the board - easier to be a bit braver when the sea is so much warmer and calmer!

    We chat to some other English travellers on te site who have had to leave their holiday home inland and move to the coast for the heatwave - we’re in the midst of a big Saharan bubble and the rainy days are forgotten!    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Camargue Wildlife to Marseillian Plage

    21 juin 2019, France ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We aim to make it at least to the Camargue region today, although we hear the mossies are pretty bad and we’ve already been bitten quite a bit, so we are not looking forward to more around the marshy lands.

    We are not quite sure where we’re heading when we get here but the area is known for its beautiful white horses, black bulls and the main attraction for us, pink flamingos.

    As we drive down through the nature reserve we immediately see the black bulls and white horses (the oldest breed in the world, and a brilliant white - used by cowboys to herd the black bulls) in the fields besides the wetlands, and then as we tell the children to keep their eyes open, we see two flamingos in the water beside the road - so now we know we’re on the right track. There is a large bird park with miles of trails around the marshy fields of the nature reserve so after a quick drive around the seaside town of Sainte Marie De La Mer, we head into the park.

    Amelia is excited as she has her very own flamingo to show to the real ones! As soon as we get into the park, we are greeted by huge flocks of beautiful pink flamingos, along with huge herons, ducks and many other bird species (of which I couldn’t name!). As we walk around the lakes and marsh land with boardwalks in every direction, the views get better, and we get closer views of the birds, we are amazed as they stretch out their wings at how colourful they are - apparently more pink in the winter - and not because they eat pink shrimp, this is a flamingo myth!

    We decide to take the shorter route round as the children are both melting and satisfied that we’ve seen hundreds of flamingos already. As we turn around to make our way out, we cross a little bridge where a couple are stopped looking at something. A really friendly, tame otter looking species - we are not convinced it’s an otter, though it’s definitely not a beaver. He gives us a wonderful show ducking and diving, Coen shouting ‘doggie’ at it (we can tell it definitely isn’t one of those!), and then swims under the bridge that we are stood on and stops the other side and finds the greenery from the bottom of the river bed to eat (which is vey cute with his little hands holding the clumps of algae) before swimming off to take cover amongst some branches. On the way out we see some info boards and find it was a Koypu, which we’ve never seen before, let alone so close up.

    As we’ve made good time getting down here and seeing the flamingos, we decide to crack on and get to the beach where we will stop for a few days, so stock up on more snacks and head to Marseillian plage - where the campsites all line up along the beach. Time to relax (again!)...

    We drive through this tourist hot spot past a long row of campsites lining both sides of the road.

    We are lucky to find a non sandy space at the campsite, almost all the free spots we see would be sinking territory for us - weekends are getting busier as the high season is almost in full swing and each week is now holiday time for a different region in Germany - will we have to leave our ‘where the wind blows’ ways and start booking or can we wing it for a little longer?!

    Our pitch is opposite the big, tall play park/outdoor wooden soft play-type structure, Nic describes this one as a bit like caving after he goes in to help Coen get up to the top to go down the slides, we both have a go but it tests our flexibility (and claustrophobia), so we leave it to Amelia to help him from there on.

    We check out the beach with beautiful, calm sea and the big pool area with slides and splash parks, and spend the next couple of days enjoying this: mornings at the beach, afternoons at the pool. The sea is nice and shallow and calm so the children can wander in safely. The pool has some great slides for us to play on and a sloping pool which is great for Coen’s confidence! There is a pool that is not heated which is fun to dip in like a plunge pool and then back into the warmth of the other pool!

    There is lots going on at this site, a full entertainment programme, which although we avoid as nights are already late enough - we still hear from our spot late into the night as the DJ sets boom through the campsite. Amelia does enjoy watching rehearsals and dance lessons on the big stage in the daytime and joins in when it gets to Greatest Showman, but it does make it all a little noisy for us.

    As there is a little town, we have a walk to the shops and cafes, but either it’s siesta time or limited Sunday hours as the shops seem to all be closed. Apart from one that has the feet eating fish...Sarah gives it a go and after the initial shock that it might actually be a form of torture as the nibbling tickles her so much, they seem pleased with their new food but only really go for the easy morsels rather than the really tough bits that she wants them to eat...so she comes out with feet looking pretty much the same.

    After a few days, we decide to head a bit further down this coast to find a quieter site, it’s set to be pretty warm so we need to be as close to the sea as possible!    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Ardeche waterpark fun!

    19 juin 2019, France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We are literally in the middle of nowhere here in beautiful, hilly green countryside deep in the heart of France, and would not have found this stop except it is a sister site to where we stayed in Verdon, and our main and only reason to visit it is that is has a huge waterpark within it (actually France’s only residential aquapark) and, as it was so close to the Ardeche stopover, we couldn’t resist.

    After a brief panic thinking we’re going to have to pay 100e to get into the waterpark (no, it’s all included in the 20e camping price) we get set up and in no time we find the waterpark.

    This is an outdoor version of one we went to in Austria with many identical slides and pools, so the children enjoy the huge pirate ship, the normal size flumes and jets and Nic and I try out the ‘big’ ones, to see which ones Amelia (and Coen) can handle.

    The only downside (well literally the upside) is that our pitch is at the top of a huge hill and the waterpark is at the bottom so after expelling a lot of energy in the pool, it is a real struggle to get Amelia up the hill back to our van in the 6pm 30 degree heat.

    We take Coen and Amelia on two of the big slides as you ride them on rubber rings and they are not too crazy, they both love them and want to go again, again, again...’luckily’ the lifeguards at this pool are very laissez-faire as neither of them reaches the 1m20 height restriction!
    We get a little thunderstorm over lunch, and when we head back to the pool, we wonder if it will be open with the lightning going on, but no problem - until the storm is literally above our head and they close by which time we’ve done all the slides and pools quite a few times!

    We stop over for two nights so that we get a full day at the waterpark and can leave refreshed ready for the trip south to be beach (and hopefully some beautiful pink wildlife!), and we’re definitely fitter than when we arrived after a few times walking up and down the hillside to the pool!    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Ardeche and the amazing Chauvet cave

    18 juin 2019, France ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We decide to blast the whole way to the Ardeche region rather than making another overnight stop, so after a long drive with just a stop off for a food shop (fast becoming the best entertainment for the children as they blast round and round the aisles, and the most stressful part of our week!) we pull into the car park of a lovely site on the river - obviously the children head straight to the park, then we get a quick dip in the pools. After kids bedtime, we both get chance to see the sunset over the river - a beautiful treat!

    As Nic and I had both seen the beautiful river at our campsite, we head straight off in the morning to Pont D’Arc and find a parking spot (where we actually could’ve camped for free...darn!).

    We head straight down towards the river rather than taking the high path over the road, and wade through the small but strong rapids to reach the arc. We find frogs, lizards and more beautiful moths and butterflies, and watch as the kayakers paddle by. The Arc is amazing to see...to think how it has been eroded over the years to make the archway, but is still strong enough to hold up.

    Next up, some art. It’s getting hot but we’re making good time to reach the amazing caves at Chauvet. These are actually a replica of those at Pont D’Arc, which were only discovered in 1994 and are closed to the public to preserve what lies within.

    We get our tickets and make our way to the ‘cavern’ - they are very clear that is a replica, they are not trying to pull the wool over your eyes with this.

    Inside we get an audio tour in a very quiet cave system (cue begging the children not to make loud noises and finally giving in and illegally feeding them crisps to keep them quiet as the tour comes towards the end of its hour!), and at each point of the tour we are shown what is so spectacular. The oldest paintings by man on earth. When these caves were chanced upon by 3 explorers in 1994, they came across a huge cave full of magnificent artwork that changed the understanding of how modern man lived 36000 years ago. The cave drawings are so fine and detailed, so well drawn, with such skill and so few tools that this discovery was collosal in terms of how ‘modern art’ was thought of.

    The drawings are so well preserved, along with bear bones and other prehistoric animals and tools used to create the artwork, and the discovery of this site was so significant that the cave quickly became a protected UNESCO world heritage site and it was decided that other than scientists, no one would ever visit them. The replica took almost 3 years, 35 companies and many people to create, it is half the size of the actual cave system, a condensed version of what actually exists.

    Each piece of artwork was created from photos and scans of the originals in a studio and then fixed to the ‘cavern’ as the build was complete, and it opened its doors in 2015.

    We wondered through trying to make sure our audio was in time with what we were seeing while keeping Coen from climbing/jumping/shouting at the cave, and it was fascinating to hear and see a tiny insight into the lives of the people that roamed our earth so many years before us. The drawings of woolly mammoths, reindeers, horses and lions were so lifelike, but these were drawn 36000 years ago, it’s hard to imagine these animals back then. The caves were visited again 6000 years after the drawings were made and footprints of prehistoric children holding torches still remained when the caves were discovered. No one found the caves again until 30000 years later, this made us wander how much more on earth we (as humans in our modern day) have not yet found.

    We also visit the little museum with the huge life size animals that feature on the artwork and lots of interactive info which is great, Amelia enjoys pressing ALL the buttons and asking why they aren’t speaking English, but by the time this is done we are starving and it’s pretty baking outside, so we hotfoot back to the van, get some snacks and head up the road to our next stop.    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Boating up the Verdon Gorge

    15 juin 2019, France ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    The family we’d met in Olbetrello had raved about this campsite around the Verdon Gorges, and although we didn’t know we would visit here, from their description we knew we had to go.

    We arrive, after a wiggly journey into the hills, at a peaceful campsite in the trees, set beside a lovely lake.

    The children immediately find the park (anyone noticing a trend?!) and we manage to get camped up right next to it so that they can go back and forth to their hearts content.

    There’s also a bouncy castle and a lovely pool with a toddler pool for Coen...so that’s the kids sorted for a few days! We manage to drag them away briefly to see the lake (the bit that nature created, though they love the man made stuff more), and Amelia and I (Sarah) get a real life game of stuck in the mud as we realise too late that the low lake bed has left some very sinky mud behind, and we don’t quite hear Nic shouting across the lake that ‘that mud is really squelchy!’, but we manage to find a rocky spot to wash off (although Amelia does take another fall caking herself from top to toe in the thick squelchy stuff)! We even manage a post-dinner swim on our first night after coaxing the children off the bouncy castle to eat.

    As it’s Father’s Day and Nics birthday coming up we decide to stay and relax.

    As we’ve been in France for a few days now we have found more and more English travellers. We also meet another young family who are doing an 18 month trip which makes us very envious!

    We decide to hire one of the electric boats to see the gorge, one of the most beautiful canyons in Europe apparently, so not to be missed and a nice treat for Father’s Day.

    The first day we try, the water is too low to get the boats out, as they rely on the dam up the river opening to rise the waters, but they don’t have control or know when this will happen. Luckily the campsite let’s you borrow equipment for every fun activity under the sun, so our day is filled with mini golf (impossible golf as we renamed it!), pétanque (note if you ask for a platonk set as I did, the french will not know what you’re talking about and likely give you a pencil!), bouncy castle, and then ‘we’ (ahem, Nic) decide that when Coen was asleep in his pushchair we should go and jump off the rocks of the gorge into the river. The problem was that this involved taking the pushchair around the lake (through that sinking mud), into a tiny, rocky horse track and down into the rocks. At which point another child started screaming and Coen woke up and got out of the pushchair. But never-the-less, jumping into the river was fun, a little chillier than expected, and more juggling with two children awake when on the edge of a ‘mini-cliff’, we both managed a swim across to the other side, and Amelia was happy paddling up to her waist in the chilly water, while Nic convinced Coen to have a piggy-back ride swim, which lasted half a second before Coen realised the temperature and was desperately trying to get back to mummy on the nice, dry, warm land!

    Another swim and we pack ready for our boat ride (as it’s Nics birthday on boat day, packing means making sure beers are cold and there’s room in the dry bag for them).

    The boat is a little electric one, so the top speed is abt 7 km/hr, there’s two rivers to explore - one in each direction and we’ve checked with the boatman on which ones best, so we head down towards the first dam (I am hoping there is a really clear sign of when to turn around as have visions of us casually floating over the dam down a huge drop). The first part of the gorge is wide, low and pleasant, but as it opens out onto and lake and then under a road bridge, it turns to amazing. Narrow, high walls of rocky cliffs shoot straight down into the water, there are tiny little caves under parts, the water is icy cold now and the sun is high, water drains from the sides of parts of the canyon walls making little waterfalls which Amelia and Coen want to touch, and we see little birds nested in holes in the sides. It’s beautiful scenery, and the quiet little electric boat makes the whole thing very peaceful, with just the odd kayak paddling around, or electric boat passing by. Amelia enjoys lounging about, Coen between snacks enjoys driving, throwing a rope over the edge and testing the kill cord. And luckily at the end there are huge, inflatable barriers meaning we don’t fall over the edge.

    We power back up the first gorge to the start and then make our way down the second river, this one still lovely, but wider and lower. We aim to stop for lunch, but realise when we get to the end of the 2nd river that the campsite have the timings bang on, we have a 4hr hire, and they said each river was 2hrs, we have reached the end of each exactly to the minute an hour after starting, so we ‘eat on the road’, Nic gets a quick jump from the higher gorge rocks and we make it back on time.

    More pool, park, bouncy castle, pétanque, making friends with German older girls, and lots of beer later, we’ve had a fab stay here, it’s a wonderful place for families, and considering it wasn’t in our to do list, as has always been the way, we’re glad to have found it.

    Now for a long journey across to the Ardeche...snacks are packed!    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    St Tropez in summertime

    13 juin 2019, France ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We hit some traffic as we come into the stretch of coast leading to St Tropez, and the first campsite we reach, which looks highly recommended, is full - with the exasperated campsite owner telling me off for not being here at 8.30am to get a pitch (err, does he actually think we can get off of a pitch by 8.30, let alone drive over an hour to our next stop?! It’s now 1pm. Maybe in the pre-children days). He tells us there’s another site a few hundred metres down the road, and we’re pleased they have space - although they still tell us to be quick to choose our pitch before they get booked up...people are pulling in one after one by now.

    We pull in to our space and check out the beach, just a few metres from most pitches on this beach-side site, and see the same huge yacht in the bay from yesterday; apparently owned by a Russian worth £10 billion!

    We were expecting the bay to be smaller and even possibly to SUP over to St Tropez (we are on the opposite side of the bay), but it was way bigger than expected. We have a play/swim on the beach, Amelia gets told off by the campsite people for being naked (she’s been naked for 4.5 yrs so this is a big shock for her) and the next day get a taxi boat over to Saint Tropez. It’s a windy day and as we baorf he taxi boat, the captain tells us he’s not sure if they will be coming back because of the winds, here’s quite a swell - I’m not sure if he’s joking at first, but we get on anyway. On the way over we decide which super yacht we would have (when we figure out how to afford one) and then check out the town. It’s funny, there is not a staggering harbour or buildings in comparison to what we have seen on our travels, but a lot of designer shops! Cute little streets. It’s a really hot day and the children are starting to melt, we decide it’s not our cup of tea but have a nice walk around and buy an amazing chorizo loaf - thank you France!

    Ice cream for the children and 2 hours is enough, back onto the boat, we get a lovely view of Grimaud (named mini-Venice) and head back to the van. Amelia gets to fly her kite as the wind is so strong, and we bbq at the van. We meet a lovely German family next door with a young girl and Amelia makes friends, and the children find they have an amazing toy collevtioonwth them which entertains them for hours. We also go over to see the park where there are deers which the children can feed (pretty tame!).

    This was one of the more expensive stops (a big shock when we check out!) so two nights was enough. Next inland (to water!)...    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Cannes - turquoise bays

    12 juin 2019, France ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    As we drive through Cannes it gives us a good chance to see all the boutique designer shops, luckily we don’t stop!
    We head along just on the outskirts where there is a small campsite close enough to the beach. The site is great, we’re right by a river that leads to the ocean and lots of boats are moored up. We grab our beach gear and walk down to a cove. There are a few kite surfers out, and riding on hydrofoil boards, making going upwind seems like a downwinder!
    We swim and play then head back for a swim in the pool and wash the sand off!
    A couple of English motorhomes on the site love it and head into the glamour of Cannes but that’s not for us, on this trip anyway.
    The next day we head west.    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Cote D'Azur - Antibes

    10 juin 2019, France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    On to Nice, which seemed Nice but there wasn’t any campsites really close by so we drove on through stopping just before the town of Antibes.

    The campsite is cool with a giraffe bouncy castle, little park, table tennis, petanque and a pool so the children are immediately happy.

    We decide to head to the beach the next day, just across the road, however you have to cross a train track, Nic has a run in the morning to check it out but it is a bit pebbly too so we hop on the bikes and Croozer and head to a lovely sandy beach. Haven't quite checked the route, and thinking we were going the most direct route, we end up ata dual carriageway, think we'll just skirt underneath it but a few wrong turns, steep hills and check the map - we finally make it to the beach, pretty sweaty. Realise we should have come straight through the town. It is a beautiful beach though, perfect white sand and bright turqouise sea, with more amazing yachts off the coast, one huge, the biggest we’ve ever seen.

    We have a great time on the beach and sea, the children love testing out their new ‘bodyboards’ and the sea is perfect for them (although Coen does find the little ledge where it goes a bit deeper and needs a quick rescue!). We spend the day in the sun and sea, a lovely unwind. The cycle home this time through beautiful Antibes, a mixture of posh casinos, high end designer boutiques and the old city - churches, city walls, harbour walls and many tiny, sandy coves dotting the little peninsula, before it opens to a grand harbour full of more expensive yachts; the coastal route is much more scenic than the journey in, and soon the long stretch of pebbly beach leads us back to our campsite. We are definitely glad we made the effort to get to the beautiful beach!

    A quick swim in the lovely covered pool the morning, Amelia is really building confidence now to swim further on her own, and they are both loving their new inflatable boards (Decathlon, of course!) and onwards we go...    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Hitting the Med - Pietra to Monaco

    9 juin 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We make a little stop before reaching Monaco as the journey is long (and very winding along the beautiful coast, it’s also a windy drive in and out of tunnels that cut through the cliffs; every time we come out of a tunnel we get blown a little towards the edge of bridge that takes us to the next tunnel.

    We pull up to a tiny campsite, the weather is warm so luckily there’s a pool and the beach is just down the road.

    Quick dip in the sea, dinner, bed and a swim in the morning and we’re off to find Monaco. We also get bitten to pieces by the mosquitoes on this overnight stop!

    We head to Monaco and wow the roads are crazy, tunnels under and over other tunnels, sharp corners, confusing roundabouts make this an interesting drive! After a few wrong turns (even the sat nav couldn’t work out the road system) taking us up some steep single tracks with little option to turn, we eventually (and after some strong language from Nic which the children ‘can never hear’!) figure out which road to get on. We find a place to park right by the harbour thanks to our “Park4night” app (motorhomes are pretty limited here!!) and go to check out the amazing yachts! The path takes us around the cliff edge which has beautiful views of the sea and tiny coves below and a lovely viewing area for sailing races at the hard our entrance where teenagers are playing and jumping into the huge waves.

    As we round the corner we are met by a view of millions of pounds of amazing yachts!! We find it amazing how every harbour you go to is always pretty full and have to think “there is a lot of money about” - just to figure out how to create it to buy one of these beauties (nic writing - Sarahs not sure about owning one!). The Grand Prix has just finished so there are still barriers up from the course, amazing to think the speed to cars would have been driving around this town, we get a pic on the starting line up, wave to some Ferrari’s, Bentley’s, and Lambos and get out of this tax haven playground.

    Onto be next one, Nice...    En savoir plus

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    Lake Garda

    6 juin 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    There are so many campsites around the lake to choose so we have to just pick the one with nice pictures, this one looks pretty cool with a nice pool for the children. We get one of the last pitches (uh-oh, that means our days of not having to think about whte were going ahead of time are ninbered!) and all the pitches are a little squashed but it’s perfect, right but the lake. We realise that it is a bank holiday for Italians and Germans so are lucky to have come without a reservation!

    We were going to do two nights here but stay three in the end as it was so good.

    We take a walk along the shore, and find in the shallows of the lake a little cray fish struggling against the little waves of the windy lake, it’s pretty cool for us all to see, we had literally just eaten some crayfish from the supermarket earlier in the week, which feels a bit weird but we pick it up and help it on it’s way back out deep!

    We decide this is a good place to hire a peddelo (especially as they have flamingo ones which Amelia is determined that we get - the children are really excited thinking they are ‘parks’ on the water as they have slides) but see you can hire speed boats too, proper ones! Fast ones! Nic vs Amelia on the pedalo vs speed boat argument - who wins?! Both, we get the bright pink flamingo first and then hire a speed boat and check out the lake a bit further afield. Coen barely come up for air from stuffing his face with biscuits and Amelia is living a life of luxury sunbathing on the bow of the boat. That was good fun!

    In Italy most swimming pools have an odd rule about everyone wearing swim hats, and this is one of those pools that really enforce it - so much so that the lifeguard even sells swim hats to those that don’t have them. Although when we ask he doesn’t really know why the rule is in force - is it hygiene, safety, fashion??! It’s a very odd rule. We pop a normal cap on which does the trick. The pool is great with a splash park with water cannons and very shallow water for Coen to run wild in too. Even a water see-saw! We spend the days between the parks, lake and pool and enjoy the sun. There is a jetty that we can swim off the end of, where he water is beautiful and clear, with lots of patches warmer by the sun - the children are never convinced with getting straight into deep water though and Amelia is adamant she wants to swim in the shallows (merky Algae water), so she’s on her own for that one!

    On the last night, Amelia finds another girl that speaks English and immediately they hit if off and she begs us to stay longer at the site - but alas, adventure beckons, there’s more to see ahead. So many friends, so little time!

    On a morning walk down to the lake, I (Sarah) see some fish much bigger than the ones we’ve seen before in the lake, so go out onto a rock jetty to have a look, excited to tell the others....and suddenly a fish at least the size of a whale swims up to me...I don’t know whether to run back and get my camera or just stand and stare and try to figure out what it is. I decide to stand and stare, then quickly head back to get the family, but by the time we get back, this fish is long gone. In hindsight it may have been more the size of a big fish than than a whale but it was definitely a few feet long and wide! And needless to say no one believed that it existed! Luckily, I ask another couple if they’ve seen it, they’ve been coming for years and show me a picture they took a few years back of it, so I can show the others!

    The lake has been beautiful, and has a real holiday feel, which means we’ve had time to unwind and relax, of course there’s a huge park for the children to play in at every opportunity, and we’ve enjoyed our time here. Definitely one to recommend. We decide as it’s been good and we’ve already done so many beautiful lakes that rather than driving out of our way to more lakes, we’ll head for the med and see what awaits...    En savoir plus

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    Cinque Terra National Marine Park

    4 juin 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Cinque Terra

    We’ve had lots of recommendations to come to this world heritage site, but have been wanted the camping is going to be expensive - so we were not too surprised to find that it’s more than double what we have been paying so far, even with our discount card, but it’s a cute little campsite set amongst a vineyard just a short walk from the beach. Amelia and coen obviously find the lake within minutes of us being here, and we get the bbq on and prepare for a day out on the train.

    The weather is really heating up now, after a pretty cold and wet May in most of Europe, so we know it’s going to be a hot one, and we are told to take the back pack rather than pushchair - Coen’s going to have a nice relaxing day while Nic sweats it out!!

    The only way to access the Cinque Terra NP is on foot (hiking - although they are very strict that you wear walking shoes or boots - you will actually get fined and asked to leave the trail if not in appropriate footwear!), or by train, which is what we do. Again the children are excited by another form of transport, and this train is even a double decker to add to this. There are 5 stops within the Cinque Terra - each only a 5 minute train journey from the next. Each is accessed through a little tunnel in the cliffs and really, it is the most amazing thing that these towns even exist, surrounded - and blocked off - by mountains, perched on top of or at the bottom of cliffs, with such limited access, and they are each tiny (and bustling with tourists!).

    We head to the furthest one first, Riomaggiore. Each town also has a long foot tunnel to walk through to get to the town from the train station. Amelia loves the pretty mosaics in the first one, Coen loves testing the ‘echo’ again! We meander through the little path and find a little port, tiny shops, and lovely views of the colourful buildings set aside the cliff, the ocean stretching out in front of us, and the cliffside walks that hikers are bravely taking in the heat. We then check the train time table and realise we have 7 minutes until the next train - cue a sprint back through the tunnel and under the track to reach the platform with a minute to spare.

    The next town, Manarola, has a similar tunnel and has another bustling street lined with seafood restaurants, gelataria and cute beach shops leading down to a big harbour wall. We have to wait for a photo here as there is a few Chinese tourists perfecting their poses and apparently we are in their shot. Another quick sprint back to the train platform - this time at least 5 minutes to spare, and we head to the third stop - we must be getting quicker!

    As we get off the train at Corniglia, and ponder which way we have to go, we watch people walking up a little path that takes them to the top of the cliff in the baking heat - before realising that isn’t the hiking trail, that’s the path to the town. Wondering how Amelia is going to make it up without melting, we get started; the first part is mainly in the shade, but gradually the path gets steeper and the shade disappears. Amelia’s little legs do a fantastic job, as we overtake adults that have had to stop and rest and she dodges from bits of shade at each end of the winding path. At the top we find a tour guide buying rehydration sachets for his tour group who are struggling below us!

    We find a lovely part of the town with tiny, narrow streets dotted with more restaurants, Italian take aways (where we sample some more lovely local cuisine), and geletarias, and we get to some beautiful panaoramic view points looking out to the wide ocean lining the park - before heading back to sample the ice cream. And it is amazing ice-cream. Now full of energy, Amelia makes the walk back down the cliff side look easy whilst Coen takes a nap.

    We head to the 4th (and our final) stop, Vernazza. We wander down through a lively street towards the little port and there is a sandy bay where Amelia can cool off on the sea, while Nic walks a bit further around with Coen still sleeping, and on our way back up we find another rocky bay where we watch as the waves crash in and Amelia enjoys building rock stacks.

    We board the train for the final time and head back to Levanto, where he children convince us to stop for a play in the park before we make t to the beach. A lovely sandy bay with a beautiful backdrop of the town set in front of the mountains. The sea is lovely and calm and the children enjoy swimming and splashing to cool off from the hot day of walking.

    Next stop, north to the lakes...a windy drive back up where we get overtaken by another bus...    En savoir plus

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    More Tuscan culture - Florence/Pisa

    3 juin 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We find Florence pretty easily, but have a bit more trouble finding the parking space we are looking for. First one has no water or electricity, so we programme the next one into sat nav, but it cuts us through some crazy, tiny, private roads...we reach a point (on single track with cars coming the other way) where an Italian lady in a car asks where we’re trying to get to and tells us there’s no way we’ll fit our van down there, so we have to try and wiggle out a different way...I even measure the road width to see if we’ll fit, we can just about make it and we finally ignore the sat nav and find the camp spot, basically a big field full on vans, but a really nice man shows us how to get to the city and they have electricity so we’re all good. We hop on the bus just outside the site and get off at what we think is the centre (limited maps again!), and have a wander through the beautiful city.

    We come out in a big pasta with the most beautiful church - palace like in its beauty. We head to more of the attractions, and at his post we decide we’ve probably seen enough of the beauty of Italian cities - there are only so many churches, statues and artwork, however wonderful the architecture and construction, that we can take in such a short space of time. We see the beautiful statues in the outdoor museum and then chance across the highlight of this trip. A big queue and crowd has formed outside two little take away sandwich shops. We ask what’s going on and some Americans tell us that these are he best sandwiches in Florence. Well, you don’t have to tell Nic twice, we are straight in the queue, no idea what we’re ordering (due to my hideous Italian!) and come away with two of the most amazing ‘sandwiches’ we have ever eaten! I say sandwich, but this is definitely an Italian take on the classic, amazing focaccia, meats, cheese, truffle, and who knows what else, totally delicious, and worth the extra walk. We grab some take-away pasta (again, amazing) for the children and head back to the camp spot. We need to make an early start the next day to make it to Pisa, and we’re already late back...

    We hit the road early and decide to park in the big supermarket in Pisa (this is closer than anywhere else we’re allowed to park in the motorhome. It’s a hot walk into the centre, and as we’re ‘cultured out’, we’ve decided we are just going to see the leaning tower and get back on the road. Sometimes there is just too much to try and see everything.

    As we round the corner, Amelia’s reaction is brilliant, ‘oh my word, that really IS leaning, it might fall over!!’ It really is a beautiful piazza, with the tower, beautiful statue and large church too. Obviously the crowds here are pretty crazy, but we get the obligatory ‘holding the tower up’ pics, and then grab a (very bad and very slow) pizza on the way out and try not to melt as we get back to the car park. Luckily we are at a supermarket so can restock on the essentials - ice-cream and cold drinks! We hit the road to reach the Cinque Terra region before dinner...a long, tiring day!!    En savoir plus

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    Beautiful Tuscany - Siena/San Gimignano

    2 juin 2019, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We wind north through the beautiful Tuscan countryside - lovely rolling, green hills as far as the eye can see. The sat nav does its usual trick of taking us up some roads too narrow for our van, down some dead ends and off the main road for a few miles of country lanes for no apparent reason.

    We arrive in Sienna and after a few trips around the roundabouts on the outskirts, we find a stopover where we can walk into town from. Summer is in full swing now, so it’s a hot walk up a short road to reach the city walls. This place is unique in that there are escalators in the edge of the walls that you can hop on to ge up to the top of the city - we go up 4 elevators which is a great treat for the children (although we almost take the stairs for one set as we think it’s broken, and then realise it’s just stopped while no one is on it). We enter the top of the city and walk down through some small streets to a beautiful church in a piazza.

    We grab a map and find a little snack shop, where the children choose a sweet treat, and carry on down the narrow streets. We have promised them ice cream so we find a little place on the corner, queue order and then get a big surprise when the lady asks for 13euros for the 2 single scoop comes we’ve just ordered! Ok children - DO NOT DROP THAT ICE-CREAM! We even have to take it back when we find they’ve left the paper cone wrapper inside Coen’s ice cream - for 6.50, we feel within our rights to get a new one! It is amazing ice-cream, second only to our first gelato in Rovinj, Croatia.

    We turn the corner and find the big Piazza Del Campo and realise this is why the ice-cream was so expensive. This is the set of a Bond scene. A beautiful sloping open Piazza, set in a circle with shops, restaurants and cafes around the edge and a big church as it’s centre piece. People watching people, tourists and locals side by side, every nationality can be found in these tiny tourist draws, which always amazes us! We hear some music and see a marching band from one of the churches are marching through the narrow streets dressed in their church gowns. Amelia loves this and watches until the very last one has gone past. We then wander through to find some other beautiful buildings and then look for restaurants that have been recommended to us. We order pizza and pasta from a very nice waiter who the children are quite taken with (especially Coen who keeps asking for ‘man’ to all the others), and enjoy food (and Prosecco) with a lovely panoramic view of the city.

    The next morning we head over to San Gimignano, another beautiful city contained within its old city walls. We find a place to park which has a bus that takes us to town, and head into the old city. The city is perched on top of a Tuscan hillside so that you get amazing panoramic views the whole way around. Inside there is a central piazza with a large well, we find out this was a very important place, during war time when the city walls would have been closed, there was no other way of inhabitants getting water (we learn this as we are sat next to a group of American students who have a tour guide with them...Nic decided to follow them for a while to learn a bit!!). Amelia has her scooter so enjoys the open space, Coen chases pigeons and then argues with Amelia to have a go on her scooter. We get to a beautiful viewpoint to see beautiful Tuscany, and decide it’s too hot to be here, get back down to the bus and head out to Florence...    En savoir plus

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    Nature's wonderful Terme Di Saturnia

    1 juin 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So we hear about this place from an Aussie family we met on the ferry from Croatia, we find it on instagram on their recommendation, but there is hardly anything about it on the internet! So we’re not sure exactly what to expect but as we bear around a corner, just over a couple of fields is a turquoise steaming set of pools with many little waterfalls bubbling over the edges of the semi-circular pools. Even though seemingly not well publicised, there are many people and even tour buses, clearly attracted by this mini paradise.

    Luckily there is a camp spot 1k up the road. Basic camping but there is a park (which we park right next to to keep the children happy!).

    We head down to the thermals with the children in the Croozer, it’s hot again today, and we look forward to a dip.

    The pools give off a slight sulphuric “eggy” small and remind us of our travels in New Zealand and the thermals around Rotarua. It’s a weekend and it seems this is a place where people come to relax, sunbathe and chill out in the pools, mainly locals but there are many tourists also that have found this little gem.

    We are prepared with our water shoes which are good idea as you can see a few with bear feet struggling a little.
    There are so many pools and waterfalls to explore! There is a huge waterfall at the top which is like a hot shower. The water in the pools is 37 degrees celsius...including the huge waterfall!

    The edges of the many pools have deposits of lime and sulphur which create beautiful edges that the water trickles over like infinity pools. Apparently many years ago the walls were built with bug blocks to make the separate pools, but it hasn’t taken long for them to be covered in the sulphur deposits and they now look as though nature put them there. We actually thought it was completely natural but it seems humans have helped a little. This place is completely free and we think in most other places there would definitely be a charge for this experience.

    We have our dinner on a blanket in the park and an early night, the pools were very relaxing and have made us all totally sleepy, especially in this heat.

    We have another dip the next morning and hit the road heading for Sienna...    En savoir plus

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    Orbetello - the spit

    30 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We arrive at a lovely campsite after driving through some pretty little towns on the way onto the spit. The children are immediately impressed by the park - I am impressed by the safe-ness of the park!

    There’s a lovely pool area with lots of very cold pools to test out on this very hot couple of days! Coen excited by the site of them goes running off through the entrance not realising there is footbath - tumbles straight into it head first and fully clothed is now soaking wet.

    The beach is just across a little road so we go to have a look and it is a beautiful sandy beach, with lovely, warm sea. We are not quite prepared though and Coen in his new dry outfit goes straight in the sea, followed closely by Amelia who has at least managed to take her t-shirt off! We have a lovely play in the sand, before a big black cloud starts to loom. We head back to camp just in case, but it’s a false alarm, so the children get a quick dip in the pool (wetsuits on!) and play in another park.

    Nighttime brings the one downside of this place - the campsite is next to a little B road that leads to the small island connected by the 3 spits jutting our from mainland. This island must be full of industry and/or nightlife as the road noise made it sound like the m25 the whole night through!

    Amelia has spotted that there were two young girls speaking English when we arrive so was very excited to learn that they were English.

    We chatted to their parents and found that they were also on a big adventure coming the exact opposite route to us. We had planned to only stop one night here, but as Amelia was excited to have made friends, we spent the next full day at the beach, the weather was so lovely, the sea was perfect for the children as it stayed shallow for a way out, Amelia tested out her bodyboarding skills, while Coen tested his jumping skills in the shallows. We finished with a lovely (cooling) swim in the pools, then pizza and wine with our new friends - sharing travel stories, highs and lows - and also getting some great recommendations of places to go! The children fully test out the safe-ness of the new park, with a few face plants, we leave with a few extra grazes and bruises, but happy!    En savoir plus

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    When in Rome

    27 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We arrive in Rome with drizzle still coming down but find the very central campsite to be pretty good with a little tourist info booth on site, and a REALLY helpful lady who guides us on where to go and how to get there...anything to make the big cities easier is hugely appreciated by us!!

    Our first full day and we get the train as instructed into Rome. The walk to the station is a little hairy, as we are bacaly walkin on a dual carriageway, often with no pavement, sometimes pavement too narrow for the buggy, but we make it in one piece after a quick snack stock up meaning we can fill the children up on strawberries on the train ride. The only downside here’s is that he stations don’t have lifts we we have to carry the pushchair up and down the stairs each time (on a badly sprained ankle...ouch!).

    We are aiming to cover west of the river today so head to St. Peter’s piazza. I am trying to avoid all the people trying to sell queue jump tickets that the lady warned us about, but Nic apparently didn’t hear her give this warning and, what with his love of chatting to people, we get stuck a few times before I explain that we have to politely say no!

    We find a lovely little piazza to have a pit stop snack in and luckily there are pigeons so obviously Coen is entertained with chasing them, which makes Amelia chase them and consequently most of the piazza is entertained as well.

    Next we make our way to St Peters piazza. Our first look at what Rome is about and we are pretty impressed!! We decided that we can’t do the tours, it’s going to be two long days and a lot of miles for little legs so adding in any extra 2 hr tours that will not be entertaining for the children is not fair and will consequently not be much fun or informative for us. Luckily the campsite tourist lady lent us a book that fills us in on a bit of history!

    As rain was forecast we take our ‘big’ umbrella - which Amelia is now using for shade as it gets hotter, however being Rome, most streets were packed with people and this meant most people were having to do so crazy manouvres to keep their eyeballs as she strolled past them oblivious to the spikes being at everyone else’s eye level. Luckily we quickly manage to find a brand new pink umbrella which was much more Amelia’s size and she wanders the streets happily shaded and everyone else gets to keep their faces!

    We had seen a little lookout highlighted on the map so head towards it; the map was a little vague though so we spend a good half an hour trying to find the highest point that would give us the view...luckily a local points us in the direction and we get a great panoramic of Rome and it’s wonderful buildings, statues and the old city within the Roman Forum. We wander back along the river, taking in the amazing buildings, castles and bridges. It’s quite breathtaking to see the beauty of this place, we are not ‘city’ people but it’s hard not to be in awe of these Roman creators. After haggling with a lookie-lookie for a new selfie stick, and a quick go on the merry-go-round for Amelia and Coen, we find the pizza place that was recommended by the campsite (more amazing pizza?!) and head out into a beautiful piazza to let the children run around, chase the bubble man and pigeons, and then figure out which train to catch home.

    The total perk of this stop was that taking Coen to check in at reception meant they gave a us a key to the ‘nursery’ - we didn’t know what this was but turned out it was a little baby room with a FREE washer/dry - cue 7 loads of washing - 1st machine wash in 8 weeks and we did not leave a single thing unwashed! The showers also have classical music on loop 24/7 so we always felt quite relaxed after using them!

    The next day we take the train again to cover the other side of the city. Another slightly risky walk to the station, and we head towards the mighty Colosseum - testing our map reading skills on a very dodgy map with only half the streets on, luckily we end up in a tiny piazza with an amazing church with the most beautiful paintings on the ceilings, angel statues all around the place and beautiful gold figures high up in the ceilings - a real treat to see this art as we were not going to the Sistine due to the queues! Also, as there is a sign asking to keep noise down as there are services going on...Coen wants to test the acoustics of the building by shouting ‘ECHO’ ‘ECHO’! Aargh.

    Eventually we see the mammoth structure of the Colosseum towering above the crowds. Definitely the busiest place we’ve been, we realise that Amelia has been able to wander fairly freely until this point - cue a quick talk about ‘getting lost in a city’!! The sights are really quite amazing, we stand and wander how these huge structures were built in an age before machines.

    It gets pretty warm so we bargain with Amelia for an ice-cream in return to walk a little further while Coen has a kip. More amazing statues, more palaces, church’s, the Trevi fountain (how many others mistake it for the tiny one around the corner?! Lucky we carried on looking!), and finally the Spanish steps, where we see a beautiful Italian bride and groom celebrating just as the rain starts. We then decide as we’re passing, that we should get another pizza from the same place as the first was so good...just a quick snack to give the children the energy to get home!!

    We are all pretty physically drained from two days walking around Rome, but have really enjoyed the wonder of this place.

    Another highlight for the children was the little golf buggy on the campsite that picked up us and took us to and from our pitch, waving at Nic as we drove past (who walked with the pushchair).

    Onwards and upwards literally now as we leave Rome, dubiously following Nic’s suggestion of a campsite on a very narrow spit...    En savoir plus

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    Abruzzi NP with friends

    24 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Time with friends
    Kat and (Italian husband) Fabio have travelled over from the UK and we’ve arranged to meet in Abruzzo with their children (and about 30 of their family members on their annual family reunion!) where they both used to live (Fabio is from Sulmona).

    We arrive a little earlier than planned so gatecrash their Friday night family meal at one of their favourite local pizzerias. We get our first taste of truffles (which Coen LOVES!) and some other delicious pasta, and a medicinal shot of some italian liquor (to help the anklle pain!). Add some rain and I’m now hobbling around the slippery cobbles in flip flops (my trainers wouldn’t fit comfortably).

    As the hotel they are staying at belongs to their friend, they’ve let us stay in the car park for the weekend.

    The children are so excited to be in the company of so many other English children for a whole weekend!

    Kat has arranged a full itinerary for her family and we are invited to join in while we are there. We head back to the centre of Sulmona in the morning for market day, have a drink in their favourite ‘pub’ (which we would not have even noticed was there without them), and the children all enjoyed ice cream (#1) in the sun.

    We then head out to Kats favourite restaurant for a pre-arranged meal (we are loving not having to think about where we’re going, what we’re eating, and how to get there - as we manage to squeeze into their convoy of cars with children on our laps!). We would DEFINITELY never have found this place on our own, I’m not even sure I know where it was, but it was a beautiful place set amongst the hills, surrounded by poppy fields with a grand back drop of mountains. The food starts to arrive, and we get more truffle pasta and some other delicious local dishes, including a speciality pink trout.

    Next up we visit an old castle set on top of the hillsides with beautiful views all around, and the children have a giant game of hide and seek inside the castle walls and we relax/hobble up to the top to see how far we can see.

    We then have to split as the convoy of cars are going in two directions and there is not enough space for all of us to go in one direction!! So Nic and Coen head back to the hotel to explore the grounds, find the ponds and tractors, have a little rest and some food, whilst Amelia and I tag along to visit Fabio’s family. Amelia is in her absolute element when she sees their little cousin’s beautiful bedroom, and box full of dolls with shoes and everything!! The children play in the garden while we sit and relax with a drink, and then get fed more amazing Italian food prepared by Fabio’s brother. It’s so good that I have to ask if I can take a doggy bag back for Nic as I feel bad eating delicious food with him!

    The next day is the wine festival - the reason for visiting at this time of year, La Cantina. Unfortunately it is possibly Italy’s wettest day of the year so far! Still hopeful, we board the coach at 9am, flip flops on, and head out to the first stop. At this point we realise, having got on the coach so early, this is going to be early wine drinking, even by Italian standards!

    The first stop gives us a wine glass and necklace carrier to hang it in and a grand tour of the wine ‘factory’ with huge cylinders and barrels on wine in the basement as far as the eye can see. We get a glass of red and white at each stop - however, we’ve quickly realised at this first stop that the sommelier at the white wine table is not taking our tickets, so naturally we go back for a few more glasses...and now a little less sober than when we arrived, and with soaking wet children who have been rolling about in the fountains, we board the coach for the next stop.

    Another wine tour to show us how the wine is made and more wine and hog roast, this stop also has a DJ playing in a beautiful yard and we all imagine how beautiful it would be if we were stood in glorious sunshine instead of muddy puddles! Still the foods good, the wines good, the kids are happy....

    We take a vote on the bus and decide to do a slightly shorter tour due to the weather.

    We stop at two more stops, one where we get some tasty Italian food, but have to fight the crowds to get some wine, and another set on top of beautiful rolling hills, vineyards spreading below and a beautiful slate deck where the festival area sits. Unfortunately, rain, slate and flip flops aren’t a good combo, so it feels a bit like an hour of drinking wine on an ice rink to me, but the children find some big colourful blocks to have some dance offs on, and we get unlimited wine to finish the tour.

    Back to the bus, and we head back to the hotel where our children get their first bath in 7 weeks and we eat A LOT of pizza for our final night with Kat and her wonderful family.

    It’s fair to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed our weekend here, a place we would not have visited had it not been to meet friends, but also for the normal English chat we got (of course, Nic loves to talk, so definitely made the most of having no language barriers), the children to be able play so nicely with other children, and we left the hotel so thankful for the weekend’s hospitality, a break from the norm, and time with friends xx    En savoir plus

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    The city lives on...Pompeii

    23 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We’ve decided that Naples isn’t for us, and that climbing Mt Vesuvius on a hot day is unfair on Amelia, we can see it really well and wrk is Pompeii will be really interesting.

    We can park right next to the entrance and decide to take the pushchair for Coen...about 3 minutes in we realise this is not going to work with the huge cobble stone streets - the deepest gaps between each large cobble stone meaning you can get 5 metres in about 30 minutes! Nic runs back to get the back pack and we roam through the old city.

    It’s busy but we imagine a place like this is busy EVERY day. With the tickets we got a really good guide book telling us about each area of th town and what here is to see in each place. The full city tour would take about 8hrs, so we highlight the bits we really want to see and wander through. It really is amazing to see this place, preserved so well, with some really recent discoveries too. To see exactly how people used to live almost 2000 years ago, the buildings they used to live, work and play in, the stunning amphitheatre (famous for its Pink Floyd concert/film), and the casts of the people who died trying to escape is beyond amazing.

    All is going well and Amelia is just about finding enough shade down the long straight cobbled streets, we’ve bought enough snacks to get them back, but as I (Sarah) turn a corner my foot wedges down one of the cobble holes and I twist my ankle pretty badly. Some lovely English men stop to help and offer to half carry me back to the entrance, but I decide (through embarrassment) that I can hobble. When we get to be main square we see some paramedics and decide to ask for some ice to help the pain, they speak no English but more embarrassingly decide to half carry (half drag!) me through the busy main square to their first aid room, where they wrap my ankle in a compression and offer me an injection in my bum (I decline due to the lack of translation available, but accept the single paracetamol they offer instead).

    We get back to the van (a little slower than planned) grabbing a take away pizza on the way, and head off to do a (painful) food shop before deciding to see if we can make our next stop in one go. We plan to visit friends (Kat an Fabio) who are in Italy, so if the children make it through this long journey, we’ll get a few days of not much driving and they can see the other English children for an extra day.

    By the time we arrive, my ankle has fattened up, and the rain has set in, but luckily we are in good hands now and meet are friends at a lovely, most importantly, local pizza restaurant, where we order our first sample of truffles (which Coen LOVES!) and some other delish pasta, washed down with some kind of Italian liquor (to help the ankle of course!), and we meet some of Kat’s family and Amelia enjoys joining in with the children (English children at last, for real 4yr old conversation!)

    Kat and Fabio have also kindly arranged for us to stay in the hotel car park for as long as we stay with them, so we head back and find out their plans for the weekend...    En savoir plus

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    The Amalfi Coast

    21 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After the longest drive ever which to our total amazement went relatively smoothly (only minor meltdowns) we hit the Amalfi coast.

    We arrive in Sorrento and hit rush hour (after a few days here we realise every hour is rush hour!), after a while in a tunnel (not great for my claustrophobia) we eventually find our campsite on the edge of town.

    Obviously the first thing the children spot is the park! A pretty safe one too thank goodness!
    We get a place in a little shady spot and the whole site is set on the cliff side so there’s lots of climbing up and down to get anywhere.

    We heck out the swimming pool and follow the sign for beach. It’s more of a rock outcrop at the bottom of the cliff but the sea looks good and Nic obvsioualy jumps straight in (even though he has no dry clothes with him!). After a lovely bbq dinner, the children just about make t to sleep in time for some amazing fireworks to start over Sorrento. Luckily neither of them wakes and we both get to see the display...but wonder if this will happen every night?!

    We decide to get the bus to Sorrento on our first day. A lovely town set on top of the cliffs, great views of Vesuvious, Naples and beyond but very busy and touristy. We find a beautiful rose garden, and the views down from the sheer edges of the cliffs are brilliant - coen still likes to test us though, threading his foot through the rails to see if his sandal might fall off and fall 100m down never to be seen again.

    It’s only 10.30 but we’ve been in Italy long enough to want a pizza for a snack, the only place to get one at this time of morning is an English pub and we find some ice cream to top it off. We find a piazza to eat while the children take up their favourite pastimem of chasing pigeons which always entertains the locals.

    It is getting pretty hot so we want to get out of the town before Amelia melts, after a brief sprint we make it to the bus in time and head back through the Sorrento traffic to the campsite.

    We get back in tome for another sea swim (children couldn’t be tempted in even after us donning their wetsuits and life jackets and lugging a hold-all (?!?!) full of Amelia’s soft toys down to see the sea) but they enjoy a splash in he swimming oool instead.

    The following day we catch the local bus from Sorrento around the coast to Positano and Amalfi. We get tickets and wait in a very hot queue, the first bus has standing rolom only so the driver suggests we get the next. The next we get seats but can’t believe how many people are packed into the coaches, the aisles and steps all full of people. This is the coast we’d been warned not to drive along in the Moho. And it doesn’t take long for us to see why. The roads are fairly narrow, extremely bendy and so busy. Mainly with buses. Carrying tourists back and forth. There’s a lot of horn beeping much to Coen’s delight, although the heat and windy roads soon send him to sleep. It doesn’t seem we have to go for but it does take a long time on these roads, having to stop at every bend to check what’s coming.

    We arrive in Positano (where there is no parking at all, thank goodness we took the bus) and get some amazing views over the town and coast, although with Coen still asleep in my arms, I’m thinking this could get a bit hot, but luckily he wakes at the top of the hill. We wind down the tiny paths lined with little boutique shops and art galleries and come out at the bottom on a beach. This is one of the hottest days we’ve had so far and the dark sand is making it feel hotter. We roam around the town tucked so tightly against the cliff that it’s hard to imagine why people settled here originally. The buildings climb up the cliffs, and are coloured different shades, with some beautiful churches and temple like buildings set amongst them, it’s very picturesque. We want to make it across to Amalfi as well so make our way back up the narrow paths (with Amelia hunting out every bit of shade...thank goodness it hasn’t been so hot so far in our trip, she melts at the first sight if there isn’t a pool or sea to jump into).

    We wait for what seems ages in the piping heat, luckily we squeeze the children into shade under the busy bus shelter and after watching the dramatic driving close up for a while, finally the bus pulls up, and we shimmy along the windy, narrow, crazy roads to reach Amalfi - witnessing a City Sightseeing bus crash into the protruding cliff along the way.

    Amalfi seems slightly larger, still set in the cliffs, but with a larger port, little streets shooting back into the cliffs, and along the beach front and we find food - the children’s favourite squid rings (although Coen has a paddy as he wants to hold them - at 8euros for a tiny cone full, that’s not happening), some good pasta and amazing italian cream cake.

    We get some great views back over the town and cliffs, as well as the beautiful yachts that’s have docked here as we walk around the port walls and then head back to a very long queue for the bus. The first one eventually fills, but again there is only standing room so we wait for the next one and head back. It is busy and warm and windy on the hour and a half journey back, and Coen thinks it’s time for another nap. We manage to get off a stop early to reach our campsite sooner but this does involve a rather hair-raising walk back along the road narrow, windy road.

    After another lovely bbq, we pack up ready to reach Pompei in the morning...    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Viesta

    20 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ☀️ 0 °C

    We’ve heard this part of the coast is worth a stop, but it’s another hairy drive to reach it as we head into the national park. The scenery is stunning along the coast with little beaches, and rocky outcrops. This is another very windy road with hair pin bends but luckily not as narrow as we have experienced - still a lot of concentration needed from the driver!!

    We arrive in the coastal town of Vieste, it seems half holiday town, half historic village, but were not convinced it was worth the loooong journey. The old town is picturesque with rugged coast of the town dropping straight down into the ocean; we watch some interesting fisherman pulling their huge nets on winches for their catch - seems like a really traditional practice and we wonder how far out the nets go. We carry on down narrow streets and cobbles, Amelia hones her scooter skills, and Coen chases after, but all of a sudden we see a huge storm coming. We are a fair way from the campsite, luckily we have a pushchair and scooter - we peg it back to the campsites as quickly as possible.

    Back at the site we head to the park (which leaves a little H&S to the imagination - the double swing being held up by a hosepipe around a nearby tree and a sea saw with a nice spike that would put a hole right through your foot) - needless to say the kids love it and want to spend hours there...luckily we’ve also stocked up on wine and Prosecco. Nic gets some olive oil advice from some Italian holiday makers too.

    We leave the next day for a long drive, coast to coast, east to west at its widest point, and head for Sorrento and the infamous Amalfi Coast...    En savoir plus

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    Monopoli, Polignano al Mare & Gargano

    19 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After realising we’ve missed a couple of beautiful spots, we head back out to the coast (that we’ve already driven past!)...

    First stop is Monopoli and Nic is thrilled (!) to find ourselves in the middle of another busy town centre with tiny streets, crazy drivers, huge potholes and no clue where to park!

    We find a spot though, and wander through the old town, find some delish local food, get a look at the old city walls and beautiful church’s hidden within...before an ominous looking cloud threatens a downpour. We finish our tour of the lovely town just in time, as we get in the Moho as the rain begins. The coast of Monopoli is surrounded by tiny little turquoise coves, some with white sand, some rocky.

    We make the quickest visit ever to the next stop, Polignano Al Mare as the rain sets in above our heads. We pop up the croozer to pack the children into and run along the coast a couple of kilometres to find the beautiful view of the coastal town with buildings perched on the cliff edge, dropping straight down to the turquoise seas.

    We head north and find a little campsite on a long stretch of sandy beach, at the end of some more very hole-y roads. We park next to the play park, Coen takes a few more tumbles and bumps (we decide we should swap the ice cream tally for a ‘Coen’s accidents’ tally - he definitely gets his mum’s clumsiness!!).

    The power once more is not quite enough to cook a full meal so we grab a pizza (any excuse!) and enjoy a sunny morning at the beach the next morning.    En savoir plus

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    Alberobello - beautiful tree (& houses!)

    18 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    After a ‘tense’ drive into the town centre (hungry children/policeman moving us on when we stop to look at the map!), we find a spot to camp right next to the famous Trulli site. There’s definitely a Saturday buzz in the little town, we wander through the world heritage site, these buildings are amazing.

    Built with little cone roofs in the 15th century - so that the poorer people that lived in these parts could find out when the tax men were coming, remove the top stone meaning the roofs collapsed and avoid the house taxes - with no roof, they weren’t houses after all. They could then rebuild the ‘mushroom roofs’ as Amelia called them, in just one day.

    Many of the little buildings are now shops, ice cream shops and cafes, as you go into each, you can still see where bedrooms, kitchen stoves and living areas would have been. We find a souvenir shop in what was the smallest house in the area..a tiny corner building where a family of 7 once lived.

    We enjoy a pizza (although Nic managed to order one with iceberg lettuce on?!) and wine (lots...in case is noisy where we’re staying!) and get a good nights sleep before we visit again the next morning for breakfast ice cream!

    Many of the tiny shops are full of good quality items, and everything we’ve found in this town has been so reasonably priced for world heritage. It’s been a lovely visit!    En savoir plus

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    Gallipoli

    17 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    There was no real reason for us to choose this place but it was on our way and looked like it had some decent sites to stay.

    Amelia was overjoyed when she saw the size of the park, which is now her default question when we arrive at a new site “has it got a park?” We check out pitches and for some odd reason they have wires strung all over the place above the pitches, for no real reason but to stop really tall Mohos in maybe. Someone who had clearly been before helped us in by holding up the wire with a well-worn broom made for the job.

    Once settled (right opposite the park), a few goes on the park and a very slow dinner (trying to cook way too much on the lowest ampage ever...more salads we decide!), we head to the beach. No sand here, but a wooden veranda sitting over the shore line, so Nic takes the children and climbs over and look for crabs in the rock pools.

    The swimming pool is solar heated and still a bit chilly, Coen isn’t keen even with their wetsuits on but Amelia enjoys bouncing off and sliding down the half balloon inflatables in the pool and has the ginormous pool totally to herself - joy of off season travel!!

    Next day we get a shuttle into the old town to have a look around. We get our first italian coffee and pastries and wander through the tiny streets with old buildings. Very similar to some of the old towns in Croatia, with many little churches cropping up right in the middle of the narrow streets as we also go in a little nativity museum which feels weird at this time of year!

    We make it back to the campsite on the shuttle after a few wrong turns on the southern heat and we head up the coast and stop at some lovely sandy coves where lakes have been formed by land cutting off the water, which is interesting. There a lot of kite surfers out in the perfect cove lagoons, with perfect conditions....Nic reminisces about the last kite surfing session he had and wishes there had been space for his kit. We enjoy watching for a while and then decide to head on to Alberobello - a bit of a detour and we are zig zagging back on ourselves but had not planned this bit very well. This place was on our list but not quite spelt correctly, we check with our friend, Kat back home who has an Italian husband and this place is on her “visit before I die list”. So we better not miss it!

    We arrive quite late after a very stressful drive, with hangry children going wild in the back and police moving us on when we stop to look at the map - but amazingly for a world heritage site they have a Moho car park 150 meters from the Trulli...    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Otranto and down to Italys heel

    16 mai 2019, Italie ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After a smooth sailing, we have decided to head south from Bari to find a little farm stop on the coast and are grateful to see sunshine, though the rain does still threaten to follow us. We find a Lidl (supermarket of choice for this whole trip due to purchases at other unnamed supermarkets such as 4euro punnets of tomatoes, 3euro loaves of bread and bottles of wine costing more than 4euros!!) and pick up some new italian snacks and after taking 3 fuel stations to figure out how to actually get fuel out of the pump, the rest of the journey is without drama.

    We arrive to a very quiet field with a few other campers and as the sun is still out (!) we decide to find the tiny cove beach that the campsite points us to. For some reason we decide to take the pushchair to the beach (?) and so obviously find that the path is totally impassable due to a huge muddy puddle! After some more crystal maze-style attempts by me and Amelia, with me falling in the very gross-looking puddle, we make some planks of wood into bridges and find the lovely little cove.

    The sea is warm, but the rain still looms so we do some den building, I make a tiny dent in clearing the absolute ton of plastic that is covering this little cove, and we head back for some dinner.

    Our first experience of Italian camping and we are reminded what we’ve read about the electricity ampage in Italy (Croatia’s campsites were all pretty modern so we’d forgotten what low ampage meant) - it takes us about 2 hours to cook a really simple meal and we have two very hungry (bit luckily distracted by other children with balls and frisbees)!

    We decide to head straight on the next morning, Amelia is now sporting a big swollen eye, we guess that pile of ants that they kept playing in might have liked the taste of them both as they both now have a fair few new bites - a few doses of piriton in case it’s a reaction!

    On recommendation of the campsite lady we take the long route around the coast to get to the east side of Italy’s heel (and luckily there’s only one ‘can we make it through that road?’ incident) - it is a beautiful coastline with tiny coves, lots of rugged cliffs - we are amazed at how some of the buildings and houses are built on the very edges as though they will fall in at any minute, with stunning views over the Adriatic Sea, we make some stops on the way around to find caves where bears live(!!) and views of beautiful ports!    En savoir plus

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  • Scudamores On Tour

    Dubrovnik

    13 mai 2019, Croatie ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    So as we’ve arrived in good time, and found a parking spot, we get straight on with a walk into the old city. Our first error is taking the pushchair not realising how many hundreds or steps and cobbled streets there will be in an ‘old city’ (!!!). Second error is not bringing the rain cover for said pushchair, as the heavens open.

    It really is an amazing place, teaming with history, as we walk through the old streets, now filled with cafes, gelaterias, the odd Irish pub and fancy shops. We get some great views on day one, but decide to head on to find a place to stay. We see a sign for the ‘best view of the town’ so decide it would be a good idea to carry the pushchair up another hundred or so steps, to find what is definitely not the best view in town (error 3).

    It is only on return to our motorhome that our fourth and final error is revealed. Thinking we’ve bagged a bargain 10euro parking space, we find those couple of hours have just cost us 38euro, about 2 nights accommodation in other words! Obviously following some choice words from Nic, some begging from me to the parking man, we pay and get on our way.

    Luckily we find a lovely campsite, set just on the hillside south of Dubrovnik with a lovely walk down to a beach, and a little boat that takes you straight to the city walls and back throughout the day.

    We jump on the boat the following day, which in itself is excitement enough for the children (and luckily, as they don’t find the amazing buildings steeped with history quite as enthralling), and we pass by war torn resorts, before entering Dubrovnik with a great panoramic view.

    At this point, if either of us had ever watched Game or Thrones, we’d be writing about all the sets and locations that we saw, but as we’ve never seen an episode, we can just say that it is very beautiful, the views are amazing from all around the city walls, and with the backpack this time, we enjoy Dubrovnik in glorious sunshine (with only a few threats of rain!). We definitely see the Kings Landing, and must look the age of GOT fans as get asked where a few other locations are, but cannot help.

    We do stop and wait in the centre for slightly too long as a large group of school children gather and are arranged, for what we thought might be a concert or at least a little sing-song, we understand they are here to celebrate 600 years of Orlando, but after much faffing and gearing up by who we thought was the choir master, they all just disperse and we are left wondering why we stood there so long.

    We also get some stunning views down into the city walls from above as we climb a little further, and Amelia finds a wall she can use as a slide (and put holes in her best trousers!).

    We head back to site on the boat, find some orange and lime trees to collect some fruit from and on our final night in Croatia experience the gustiest and noisiest night in the van yet with wind and rain lashing down until the early hours.

    As it is now our final day, we had hoped to do three island tour on a bigger boat, but the weather didn’t look great for being on an island or a boat, so the friendly campsite owner recommended a lovely restaurant down the coast where they cook food under ashes so we head out for our last Croatian meal, and we’re not disappointed. The little place in the middle of nowhere has surprisingly more English customers than anywhere else we’d been, and as well as amazing food, a whole lot of meat and a delish chocolate soufflé, we are also treated to a car show as 50 Tesla’s arrive for lunch as part of their organised Tesla tour. They do however block the motorhome into the car park, so we kill time with a little walk while we wait for them to finish lunch and let us out! We had to wait about an hour and a half, which was fine as we were not in a massive hurry for the ferry. But Nic did not want to get stuck behind all 50 of them and as we usually had some sort of tail back (as a lot of Moho’s do) he decides he wants a “Tesla Tail”. We get out pretty much in the middle of the pack, much to Nic’s delight and the Tesla’s horror! They have plenty of horse power to overtake, but some pretty bad driving from some of them it must be said!

    We head back to the ferry, grab a takeaway pizza and board for our overnight sailing to Bari, Italy. Amelia made a little nest in her bed with her soft toys and helped Coen make his too, and was extremely excited to sleep in a cabin. The sailing, luckily, was smooth and the only disturbance was when Coen fell out of bed in the middle of the night with a big bangs and a yell!! Nic barely stirs, I jump out of my top bunk and try to find a screaming child in total pitch blackness like some kind of crystal maze challenge.

    So now, viva Italia....    En savoir plus

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