Luxury . . . at last

Camper with awning attached.

Our form of touring is a combination of vanning and camping. Our van is small and lacks the storage capacity to hold all our everyday needs; so we bring a tent awning that attaches to the side of the van.  This has proved a practical solution and we store much of our stuff in the awning once we've arrived at the camp site. Inevitably, there is an element of roughing it however, since we are open to the elements.
And of course because our van is too small to contain a private loo and/or shower, we use the public facilities of the camp site. So our experience of camp living is closely dependent on the quality of the camp site's public facilities. In general, we have found these to be satisfactory, although one must be prepared to share many activities in public that normally one would undertake in the privacy of the home.

The entrance to Hotel Kursaal lined with tall pine trees.

We thought that knew what to expect of these facilities until we arrived at the Kursaal Hotel by Lake Trasimeno in Tuscany. But here we were introduced to camping quality of a truly astonishing kind; everything was not just good - it was fabulous! The grounds, the loos, the pool - everything was kept scrupulously clean and well presented. The customer service was of a level rarely encountered anywhere - and it was given cheerfully and generously; we were enraptured with the spot.

Marilena soaks up the sun beside the pool.

John smiles at the prospect of tackling a dish of
grilled lake perch in the hotel restaurant.
As you might expect they  tasted delicious.
John used to fish a lot as a boy and caught
lots of perch but this was the first time
he got round to eating one.