October Newsletter
Welcome and buongiorno to the October edition, which has a decidedly Italian feel about it. September has been a very busy month with three tours out and back. In this month's edition we have a full tour report on our two Italian tours - Tuscany & Rome (pictured above) and Lake Garda & Venice. We will cover Croatia & Slovenia next month.
Just a reminder that we will not be attending the NEC Motorhome Show in a couple of weeks time. We both have big birthdays coming up and have decided to take a year off. Regular readers will know that we are big fans of the show so would encourage you to go along (even though you won't get a free cupcake or cookie this time)!
As usual we have another “cut out and keep” (Italian) recipe and this month’s motorhome tips are on speed limits.
Tuscany & Rome Tour Report
Thanks to Gwyn and Debbie for running the tour and for providing the following tour report...
After an early evening introduction to each other on a pleasant, blustery evening in Kent and a good night’s sleep, we hopped onboard the early morning ferry to Calais on a windy day but surprisingly calm sea crossing, for our first overnight stop on French soil in the Champagne region.
The next day’s drive was to the beautiful city of Strasbourg with some of our guests taking a detour to see the city of Nancy while others took the opportunity to take the tram ride into Strasbourg for the afternoon, some staying to sample their wines and food into the evening.
Another day, another road trip, this time crossing the Alps into Switzerland where our guests were able to unwind for a couple of days at the foot of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Not a bad view to wake up to, especially with temperatures in the 30s.
Suitably refreshed we made our way out of Switzerland as we travelled to Lake Iseo in Italy in hot, sunny conditions and a chance to discover this wonderful part of Italy. The journey to Lake Iseo took us through some road passes with spectacular views of the Alps. Once at Iseo our guests were again able to relax with two beaches to choose from on site, two restaurants, a large swimming pool (also a family pool and children’s pool) and an endless supply of water activities for our stay.
Our next break was at the beautiful city of Florence, the capital of Tuscany (pictured above). And as we arrived there was a monsoon but by the time our guests began appearing the sun had come out, enough for some of them to make an early venture into the city. Others made use of our extended stay here to relax on the first day and explore the area.
The beautiful hilltop village of San Gimignano was our next destination and everyone took
advantage of the short driving distance to take the opportunity of visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Siena on the way. While at San Gimignano we also enjoyed each other’s company at the group meal, courtesy of Crossings Motorhome Tours. An excellent four-course dinner provided by the site chef.
Our next journey took us to our ultimate outbound destination at Rome for four glorious days in the capital of the Roman Empire where our guests were able to soak up the atmosphere of this wonderful city. Our stay included an evening coach trip and guided tour of Rome by dark to see everything in a different perspective to the normal tourist outlook. The picture shows the group at the Trevi Fountain during the night tour.
It was time to head north now with with another four-night stop, this time at Pisa where we began with a cheese wine "street party", courtesy of Crossings Motorhome
Tours, taking over the avenue where we were all pitched.
Everyone then made full use of their time to visit the iconic Leaning Tower, Cathedral, Baptistry and Camposanto and wander around the old town. There
was also time to visit the quaint town of Lucca, famous for its intact 16 th century surrounding wall. Others spent some time at the many beaches along the Tuscany coast.
As we continued our tour we had an enjoyable overnight stop in the lovely, quiet, rural spot in Asti where some had a relaxing bathe in the hot tubs on site while others had a relaxing drink at the onsite bar. The view from the campsite is pictured above.
We were now travelling deep into the Italian Alps where we spent a couple of nights close to Aosta (evening shot from the campsite below). This is another destination heaped in Roman history close to the Mont Blanc Tunnel. This feat of engineering is 7.2 miles (11.6 Km) long taking us from Italy and back into France on our way to the Burgundy region for a stop off.
Our final destination took us back to the Champagne region, with a full turnout at the site restaurant for a final meal and goodbyes. Our concluding drive brought us back to the ferry port at Calais the next day and an early afternoon channel crossing in calm conditions back into Dover after a very successful and enjoyable tour with a wonderful group of people.
Debbie and I want to thank everyone for joining us on this tour, it was a pleasure meeting every one of you and we hope to see you in the future with Crossings Motorhome Tours.
Our Tuscany & Ronme Tour is taking a break next year. If you fancy a trip to Italy, you might consider Lake Garda & Rome. Read on...
Lake Garda & Venice Tour Report
With one tour out and about in Tuscany, we had another group a little further north in Italy, ably run by Rob and Chrissie.
All of our tours start in the UK and it was a lovely evening that greeted the group in Kent the night before. Rob & Chrissie live in Cornwall so it made sense that the tour started with a cream tea! Cream and then jam on the scone or jam and then cream? "Scone" as in "Cone" or "scone" as in "gone"? Discuss.
The first order of the day is to make some progress south. After a quiet crossing, the first night on the continent is near Reims famed for its Champagne (pictured above). The next day the group head further south down the "Sunshine Motorway" (it goes all the way to the south coast) stopping for an overnighter in heart of Burgundy (or Bourgogne as the French would say). Here the site overlooks the mighty Saone River.
Next big stop for the group was in Annecy in the heart of the French Alps (pictured above). This make for a very pleasant break en route to northern Italy. Annecy old town is picture postcard stuff and the lake (with the mountains as a backdrop) is stunning from any angle. There are various options for taking boats out and you can walk and cycle on the lakeside directly from our campsite gates.
Another reason to take this route is that it allows us to go over the Alps (rather than under them) on the Mont Cenis Pass (pictured above). This is a relatively unknown route for British tourists and provides absolutely stunning views over the mountain ranges. It also saves 70 euros in tunnel tolls!
Once over the Alps you enter Italy and specifically the region of Asti. Our rural terraced campsite overlooks the vineyards, famed for its fizzy white wines. Guests took advantage of the quiet bar area or went for a wander among the vines.
It was now time to head for Lake Garda, Italy's largest and (in my opinion) prettiest lake. First stop was south of the lake where we create "Crossings Avenue", pitched up just a few metres from the shore close to Peschiera Del Garda, one of the areas most popular destinations (pictured above). Here, Rob & Chrissie took advantage of having the whole row to themselves with am enjoyable cheese and wine evening.
The town itself is an ancient port and still has the fortifications intact. As well as the attractions in the town you can jump on a train, bus or boat to lots of other interesting places. The town is packed with bars, restaurants and artisan shops and looks stunning in the evening when all of the lights come on.
Locally, Sirmione always proves popular with it massive sandstone castle jutting into the lake. You can catch the water taxi from Peschiera making for a great day out with a trip across the lake in addition to the town.
Further afield, guests ventured by train to Verona, Vicenza and Venice (pictured). Any one of these makes for a brilliant day out. A favourite of ours is Verona, best known for its intact amphitheatre and for Juliet's balcony and statue. Even in these woke times, it is apparently still OK to run Juliet's statue for good luck! Venice remains a firm favourite and is just 90 minutes by train from the campsite.
It was time for a change of scene now was we headed for the northern-most part of the lake at Riva Del Garda. It is a wonderful, scenic drive up the eastern side of the lake with the mountains as a backdrop. Riva is a wonderful little town surrounded on three sides by mountains.
The town is perhaps a little less touristy than the southern towns with a lovely "corniche" running along the lake. There are lots of little cobbled streets, a few squares and dozens of shops and restaurants. You can also take a glass lift up to the Bastione with great view across the lake. Quite a few guests took advantage of the bar/restaurant up top.
Riva also has a boat stop with links all the way across the lake and right to the bottom. Pick of the local stops are Limone and Malcesine, both of which are your quintessential Italian lakeside towns. Malcesine has the added attraction of the Monte Baldo cable car, which takes you up 1760m in less than 15 minutes for absolutely stunning views across to the Dolomites and for miles over the lake back up to Riva. There is a cracking restaurant up top and also plenty of way-marked walks if you are feeling energetic.
After eights days on Lake Garda, it was time to make the return journey back this time heading through the Aosta Valley. Here we had an extended stay to allow time to visit Aosta, a pretty Alpine town with close links to the Roman Empire (pictured above).
It was now time to go through the Mont Blanc Tunnel before heading back up through France. There was time for a stop-over in the medieval "wine town" of Beaune, and another near Reims, which made for a great destination for everyone to go out for one last meal on the Continent.
Our Lake Garda & Venice Tour is running in September 2027 and as I write we have two spaces left on it. Please note that the route is slightly different next year. Full details are on the website here: https://www.crossingsmotorhometours.com/lake-garda-venice-2027
Coq au Van (the amusingly titled recipe feature)
It had to be Italian...
One-pot sausage and mushroom pasta
Ingredients
250g / 9oz sliced mushrooms
400g / 14oz Pork Sausages, casings removed
4 large cloves of Garlic, finely diced
60ml / 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
800ml / 3 1/3 cups Chicken Stock, or as needed
240ml / 1 cup Double/Heavy Cream, at room temp
350g / 12.3oz uncooked Penne, or other short-cut pasta
50g / 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve
2 heaped tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley, plus more to serve
100g / 3.5oz Baby Spinach Leaves
Olive Oil, as needed
Salt & Pepper, as needed
Method
Add ~1.5 tbsp olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and fry until they build up a golden crust. Try and keep them spread out as best you can so they can maintain direct contact with the pan (helps them caramelise and prevents them from steaming). Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper towards the end, then remove and place to one side.
Top the pan up with oil if needed, then add in the sausage meat. Break it up with your wooden spoon (I like small chunks but you can crumble it up if you wish) and fry until it builds up a nice golden crust (important to develop flavour). Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds or so, then pour in the wine. Rapidly simmer for a couple of minutes until it almost completely evaporates and the pungent smell of alcohol disappears, using your wooden spoon to deglaze the pan as needed.
Pour in the stock then stir in the cream, pasta and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat slightly and cook until the sauce reduces and thickens and the pasta is al dente. If the sauce dries up before the pasta cooks, just add in a splash of hot water or stock.
Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan and parsley, then stir in the spinach until it begins to wilt. Check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper (season well to bring out the best in this simple sauce), then serve up with more parmesan and parsley if desired.
Motorhoming Tips
Quick one this month. Did you know that motorhomes are subject to different speed limits on UK roads depending on the weight? The cut off point is 3.05 tons maximum unladen weight.
Motorhomes Under 3.05 Tonnes:
Built-up areas: 30 mph
Single carriageways: 60 mph
Dual carriageways: 70 mph
Motorways: 70 mph
Motorhomes Over 3.05 Tonnes
Built-up areas: 30 mph
Single carriageways: 50 mph
Dual carriageways: 60 mph
Motorways: 70 mph
For more information see: https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/speed-limits/
Keep in touch
Facebook: crossingsmotorhometours
Instagram: CrossingsMotorhome
Please feel free to contact us at any time. When we are away, calls will bounce to our mobiles at no expense to yourself.
Comments