Last Week in Italy and New Friends (Beth)

After the madness of Pompei, we decided to treat ourselves to the toll roads to make a quick getaway, the entrance to the autostrada being a mere fifty meters from the campsite exit. What a difference! The road was very nearly what you might call smooth and in less than three hours we had traversed the country (for the second time). A quick Lidl stop later and we arrived at Lido Salpi.

(I should at this point mention that due to a clerical error, we have lost a whole week's worth of photos so while reading you will have to exercise your imagination.)

On first appearance, this new campsite was not promising, but Tom and Alfie quickly found a cat with two kittens and a park, so all was well. For the first night we camped at the far end of the site, but on the first morning we managed to swoop in on a recently vacated pitch from where we were in easy reach of the 'facilities' and, more to the point, the wifi signal. So Alfie was even happier.

The site was right next to a lovely beach and during our time there we had some lovely walks (and runs - Nathanial) along the shoreline. We also collected some really unusual shells, although it is yet to be seen if they will make it back to Bournemouth with us, because despite being washed thoroughly and double-bagged, they do not enhance the aroma of the van.

Whilst at the site, we celebrated Nathanial's birthday (imagine my standard chocolate-drowned birthday cake at this point) and an un-expected present turned out to be the arrival of another British family on a long tour like us! In the morning, I noticed Tom showing the kittens to a girl who looked to be about his age, and I said 'hello' and (to Tom) 'have you got a new friend?'. The next thing was that the little girl walked over to Nathanial and I at the van and said 'Hello, how do you do?' in perfect Queen's English. Nathanial was completely taken aback by this and struggled to form an appropriate response!

We soon met Dot's Mum, Ali, and her Dad, Al, and were invited over to their caravan in the evening to share some Prosecco and cake. Whilst there, we learned that Dot has been reading Mallory Towers and that this had probably influenced her greeting. Ali seemed quite amused.

Tom and Dot quickly became firm friends, bonding over a joint love of Lego. I am so upset that we can't show you the photo we took of the two of them enjoying a picnic together on the beach but it was the sweetest thing we have ever seen.

Dot and her family have their own blog and you can see some pictures of Tom and Dot on this post.

Through the Cantlays, we discovered that we could actually camp on board the overnight ferry to Greece in our van, rather than paying another €150 or so for a cabin. As it happened, the Cantlays were off to Greece too, so we ended up leaving Lido Salpi on the same day and traveled on the same ferry camped right behind them. We are hoping our paths will cross again one day.