I left Cortona as it was starting to get really busy, with tour buses coming up the narrow roads and people were filling up the narrow passageways of the village. My next stop was Anghiari, just under an hour away. For somewhere that was on the official Visit Tuscany website as one of the most beautiful villages in Tuscany, the parking area was surprisingly empty. I parked up and walked to the village, which is situated on a hilltop and overlooks the valleys below.
The first thing I did when I got to Anghiari town was look for somewhere to eat, as it was lunchtime and I'd been up early and was hungry. I stumbled upon a restaurant called Cantina del Granduca for a delicious lunch... turns out its quite highly rated online!
Then it was time for a wander... what a lovely place it was - all walking paths, no cars in the village because the roads were too narrow. So it was perfect for just walking around exploring!
I went back to the car and worked out a campsite for the night - I knew vaguely the direction I wanted to go in but campsites in Italy can be a bit few and far between. I eventually settled on one called Camping il Cippo, as it was billed as somewhere for people who like mountains, nature and quiet places. Sounds like me! I started the camper and drove off, then realised I was going the wrong way, did a very big detour, then got back on the correct road (also sounds like me).
The drive to il Cippo was AH-MAZING!! The campsite was actually located in a forest on the very top of a big hill, so the views on the drive were just incredible. I really love mountains, and especially these big, imposing Italian ones!
The road to the campsite was very steep and winding. There also must have been a cycling race on recently, as there were chalk names written on the asphalt that I drove up. After many hairpin turns, I pulled up to the campsite, paid the very polite and helpful young man at the hut, then picked a spot. There weren't too many other campers, and the campsite was in a forest of pine trees that reminded me of Casuarina trees in the way their needles made whooshing sounds when the wind blew through. It was so peaceful. The site even had a little rec-room, with a stove and tv and some other creature comforts - I had to borrow a barbeque lighter for the night as the ignition on my stove had stopped working. It was one of my most favourite campsites I stayed in in Italy.
Campsite: Campeggio il Cippo
Rating: 10/10. Quite, shady, cool campsite surrounded by nature. It was also cheap for Italy and had great facilities. Would have been a good spot to stay a few nights to go walking, as there were plenty of trails around.