roadtrip

Tuesday 6th October 2026 – a day in Rome….

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Wow what a day! We are out in good time today and by 9.30 we are heading for the nearby station Due Ponti. Just 5 stops (which is just as well as the train was full and Tilly insisted on being picked up) and we arrive at our stop Flaminio and exit the station right onto Piazza del Popolo where amongst the construction works it looks as though they are preparing for a large event…..

From here we make our way up to Terrazza Del Pincio to enjoy breathtaking views across the city….

Continuing through the gardens with busts at every corner and some seemingly forgotten old buildings alongside others still cherished….

We make our way to Villa Borghese which I spend a while going around in circles looking for until I realise it is the name of the parkland rather than an actual building and there we happen upon the Temple of Aesculapius, a young woman is singing and playing the harp as a beautiful accompaniment to the boats floating by the Temple….

All the way are elevated views of the city carrying on its normal day….

We are grateful for this relatively peaceful hour of so wandering around the parks as we join the madness of the city below and approach the Spanish Steps….

Next up and equally as congested, without a chance of getting close is Trevi Fountain – in both cases Tilly has needed carrying through the crowds to prevent her getting squashed and from completely freaking out…

For a bit of a break from the crowds we walked to the nearest Hop on Hop off Big Bus stop (having purchased a 24hr ticket – which actually was a bit of a waste as we only did one small trip, choosing to walk the rest) and managed to secure the last seat upstairs in time to get an almost birds eye view of the amazing Colosseum….

Palatine Hill and Circus Maximus….

Before we alighted at the next stop to get a closer view of the remains of the Theatre de Marcellus and from there we walked up to Piazza del Campidoglio to look down on the reclamation site of the Roman Forum….

Passing by the Altare Della Patria, we started our walk through a series of cobbled alleyways winding our way through the city as a few minutes of light rain added a shine to the cobbles….

Arriving at the Pont Sant Angelo crossing the Tiber to Castel Sant Angelo….

And ultimately into the incredibly busy St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City…..

Crowds of people hoping for a Papal Address were queuing to get into the paid area, cheapskate that I am I took some photos and we left the crowds to it, enough business for us for one day, as we crossed the Tiber and made our way back to station and home….

An amazing day and experience and luckily the wet weather forecast stayed away. One tired pup put herself straight to bed when we got back!!!…

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 10
  • Train – £2.98
  • Bus Tour – £24.67
  • O/N – £25.00

Sunday 4th October 2026 – a lovely afternoon stroll along the lake….

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Another beautiful day and in the morning we followed the footpath along the lakeside, away from Bolsena, only to discover it didn’t really lead anywhere, just a few private cabins and a large (closed) campsite.

After lunch we headed out towards Bolsena and instead of going into the town we continued along the promenade as far as it went. Passing the busy central hub where many were enjoying walking, eating, drinking or just passing a sunny Sunday afternoon in a very European way….

Passed a few more art installations….

Got a great view of the Old Town….

And then enjoying a gelato by the lake before heading back to site….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 5
  • Gelato – £2.50
  • O/N – £14.14

Saturday 3rd October 2026 – a wander into the old town of Bolsena….

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A very peaceful night last night, not that we have been bothered by the business of the previous two large campsites or indeed the murmur of the waves but it was noticeably quieter here. A beautiful day dawned and a little cooler or fresher here, not sure which but temps around mid twenties so quite doable.

We took the footpath along the lakeside about a mile or so into Bolsena and soon joined the promenade with lake front bars and hotels and a rather random art installations….

A wide tree lined avenue led us to the old town with its narrow cobbled streets and many narrow alleyways adorned with bars, greenery and of course washing!….

The Castle Quarter towering overhead and once we had wandered around the lower town we made our way up the steep but mercifully relatively short distance up to the much quieter and even older part of town….

The castle taking the high point, overlooking the surrounding countryside and Lake Bolsena, the largest Volcanic lake in Europe….

Here too we wandered around the cobbled streets, with just a few bars and restaurants….

Making our way back down with eyes to the ground a necessity as cobbled streets lead to random cobbled steps and back into the main lower old town the street cafes and bars busier now with late lunches and afternoon drinkies…..

Enough for us as we head back along the lakeside to site, a quick change then down to the beach for a refreshing swim in the cool still waters of the lake returning a little later to see the tail of the sunset…..

Not a bad life.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beach – 1
  • O/N – £14.14

Friday 2nd October 2026 – moving inland to Lake Bolsena…

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An early start for us as we have an appointment in nearby Grosseto to get the windscreen replaced. This was slightly endangered as I needed to wait until 9 to check out (my bad for not checking at reception until about 6.45 last night and the cashiers finish at 6 and don’t start until 9am) but it was only a short journey and we just made it on time.

Leaving the van in the garage we strolled into Grosseto, a busy but mostly light industrial town in search of an old town centre. It wasn’t the nicest place we have visited but we did find the old bit with a rather impressive church and bell tower at the head of a central plaza….

We sat for a while just people watching and killing time before collecting the van and heading on our way. As a by the whole process was quite straight forward after making contact with my insurance company, Autoglass made contact with their Italian counterpart – Carglass 🤣🤣 who made all the arrangements with a garage along my route and Voila it was done. The only casualty being the French Crit Air sticker which was not going to come off in one piece, let alone in any reusable state! According to google I should be fine as long as I can produce the original email confirmation (which I can) until I get back to the UK and order a new one.

Our journey took us down the coast a bit on the SS1 and then inland through some lush countryside and hills until we reached our destination of Bolsena, or more accurately Blu Camping Holiday Garden (ACSI) on the outskirts and lakeside. Here again I opted for shade to keep the van (and us) cool as temps reached 29 today just 50m from the lake…

We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing in the shade before taking an evening stroll along the shores of the lake and watching the sun go down…..

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 102
  • Miles walked – 7
  • O/N – £14.14

Thursday 1st October 2026 – staying local and just being….

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Lovely hot day again, I say lovely as we have no plans and can just alternate between the cool shaded van / outside and wandering along the track to the dog friendly beach for refreshing dips in the sea – what is not to like?

I have also taken some time to do a bit of planning ahead and tried to decide exactly where I want to visit. This coastline has been trickier to access /find places to stay than the Ligurian Coastline from back in May, compounded by the extremely hot temperatures we are having. I have been looking at the Italian Aires (Sostas) to give me a few more options but have found them nearly all to be in unshaded areas which in this heat will be unbearable. As such I have also found that we have had some lengthy drives through not very interesting landscapes – so am feeling more focus is required. A plan always helps.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 0
  • Miles walked –
  • O/N – £18.75