#rooftop view

We spent the last day of our stay in Milan visiting the magnificent Cathedral (Duomo). The building is huge and so impressive inside with its massive marble columns and stained glass windows.

Alex decided he had to go onto the roof to get a bird’s eye view of the city. Have fun with that! No way was I going to go up there onto a sloping roof and terrace hundreds of feet off the ground. Just tell me all about it and show me the photos!

We also visited the Cathedral Museum where pieces go to be restored and are kept there for visitors to see while being replaced on the church by replicas. This protects historic statues, tapestries and some of the architects’ ancient models used to create the pieces, for future generations.

We travelled back from the city in a thunderstorm and torrential rain and on the bus journey remembered we had left Big Boy’s roof open! So we spent the next few days drying out soggy rugs and carpets. Another lesson learned!

Our next stop on our trip was the west coast of beautiful Lake Garda - Italy’s largest lake which takes its green colour from its minerals. We had a brilliant lake view pitch at this site and could see across to the mountains beyond.

Alex decided the lake was too good not to take a dip. But tempting as it was to join him, the sight of a water snake swimming just feet from the shore soon changed my mind. Apparently, there are many snakes that swim in the lake, some up to 20 feet long. Yeh I’m not getting in there!

So after four days relaxing by the water and a trip to Moniga del Garda with the ruins of its castle walls dating back to the 10th Century and impressive views of the lake, we left heading for Venice.

Just as we arrived at the next stop on our adventure, the MSC Sinfonia cruise ship escorted by tug boats, passed within inches of our campsite. It was an impressive sight. The ship has a permanent mooring in Venice and it’s 2,000 mainly Italian passengers were returning home or transferring to alternative transport for the next stage of their journeys.