An Italian weston-super-mare

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Just a quick mention. My last visit here was 33 years ago when I was at Primary school with my parents and their friends! It’s a beach resort about 30km from Venice.

We stayed this time at Camping Miramare in Sottomarina where we had a lovely welcome from the owner and chose a pitch on the quiet side of the road (ie the one farthest from the beach and pool) but right opposite the playground.

For those who haven’t tried it yet, beach holidays in Italy are quite different as most of the beaches are privately owned (and you have to pay to use them) luckily this campsite had its own beachside plot.

The campsites are also a little different as they allow long term semi-static use. The result is that there are parts of the site that look much like the shanti towns of developing countries where the weekenders set up camps and fit them out with televisions, fridge freezers, comfy chairs etc. Being Italian the extended family descend at the weekend (see picture) and chaos ensues. Mind you, given where we are they probably live in Venice so this is the only terra firma they have!

We took a drive out to the Eugenie mountains just behind Venice. They are extinct volcanoes which enthralled the boys who I am sure expected to be thrown into a chasm of lava at any moment.

We had a beautiful afternoon without rain in the hilltop villages (this is what Tuscany was supposed to be like!). We stopped at an Enoteca - local food deli- and had the most exquisite proscuittio ham, wafer thin and salty with some local cheeses and wines. The boys were on their best behaviour (rare) and for a brief half an hour we relaxed and took in the moment.

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