The next place I wanted to visit after Montalcino was Chapel Vitaleta. I took the white gravel roads from Montalcino and across to the chapel. You had to then park and walk for a little while. The landscape was just so beautiful though, and then I got to the little chapel! You couldn't go in unfortunately, but it was just so perfect, with its flanks of trees and white marble facade.
I got back to the camper and decided to continue down the gravel road, because it caught up to the main road that I had come from, and it was better than doubling back. It was such a lovely drive. I got back on the main road and made for a campsite nearby. But not without stopping on the side of the road to take one last shot of the church!
So, I mentioned in previous posts that I not having a great day touring-wise, but it had become better by this point - I enjoyed the experience of driving down these beautiful roads and spending time surrounded by countryside.
My day took a turn here though - I pulled into the campsite that I'd found nearby and it was for motorhomes only, that is, campers with toilets, as they weren't provided on site. I only found this out after driving all the way down a long driveway and then another driveway to the site, then I had to turn around and go back again. There was NOTHING nearby either! I didn't know what to do! I'd planned on going to Montepulciano and a few other places nearby but I couldn't find somewhere to stay the night. So instead I drove a long way and skipped all these places, ending up at Lake Trasimeno. That was one of the problems in Italy - not enough campsites. Never have that problem in France!
The campsite I stayed in at Lake Trasimeno was definitely not one that I would choose normally, but they had a spot free right near the lake and it was 7:30pm already so I quickly made dinner, showered and went to bed. It is one of my regrets that I didn't spend more time in Val d'Orcia but I think EVERYTHING was against me today! At least the sunset was nice...
Campsite: Camping Village Punta Navaccia
Rating: 7/10. Not my usual kind of site, this was super touristy and there must have been hundreds of people there, if not a thousand. But they gave me a pitch right by the water, and the facilities were good. It was fairly noisy in the night with all those people, however. It wasn't cheap but nowhere in Italy really was, about €20 for me and my camper for one night!