Buona sera dall'Italia! We moved on across the border today to Italy & are now in the mountainous region of the Dolomites.

After passing the local radio station HQ, apparently named after my husband, autocestas became autostradas & as soon as we turned off into the mountains we realised we were surrounded by vines - it was the Strada di Prosecco  Shame we couldn't stop but its hard parking a 12m outfit in amongst the hairpin bends.

The further we got, the darker the sky got and the colder it turned - in fact it was so dark at 3pm that the satnav put itself into night mode! 30degC as we crossed the border to 16.5 within an hour - and then the thunder, lightning and rain started. Surrounded by wonderful mountain scenery....just a shame we couldn't see it. Unfortunately on our arrival at the campsite, the lack of visibility meant that the van’s wheel arch had a small altercation with a concrete light protector – cue gritted teeth & silent swearing!

We're at Camping Spiaggia on the shores of Lake Caldonazzo and once again we are the sole representatives of Her Britannic Majesty, but surrounded by Dutch not Germans this time. Its a very nice site (now that we've come to terms with the damage!) and has its own private sunbathing beach - a grass one. Apparently our lake is the warmest in the Alps/Dolomites but having felt it at the edge, that doesn't say much for the others!

Unusually for Italy, the pitches here are large with plenty of room for our caravan, awning and car. The facilities are very well kept, with plenty of shower & toilet cubicles and a whole room full of washing up sinks – to have an inside facility is very different to the majority of sites we’ve stayed at. The people at Reception are lovely, & Signora has excellent English, thankfully.

We had a drive round the lake & decided the views will be stunning when the sun's out - it was still pretty good, with layers of mist suspended at different levels.