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30th anniversary trip - Umbria, Marche, Puglia - help wanted!

30th anniversary trip - Umbria, Marche, Puglia - help wanted!

Old Jan 3rd, 2012, 09:39 PM
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30th anniversary trip - Umbria, Marche, Puglia - help wanted!

I'm starting to put together a trip for our 30th anniversary (yes, time flies!) and could really use help. We are zeroing in on Italy but nothing is booked. We can spend around 2 weeks in early to mid-June but that's flexible. We can't leave until June 8th and would like to be somewhere lovely for our anniversary on June 11th. I had been thinking Umbria and the Marche but then I made the mistake of reading astonishing trip reports on Puglia. Yum. Thank you ekscrunchy!

In past trips we've spent time in Umbria and the Marche and LOVED the countryside and the towns. Our favorites were Spoleto, Assisi, Norcia, the Plano Grande, Castelluccia, and Urbino. We love Rome, Bologna and Ravenna but not this trip. We've been to Tuscany, including Siena and Florence, northern Italy including CT, Trento, Lago di Garda and Venice and don't want to return this year. DH is a geologist so he loves CT but will never set foot in Venice again! He's not a fan of crowds.

We love hilltowns, small and delicious restaurants, wine, finding amazing food in markets and sometimes making dinner or lunch. We go to any and all museums and most churches we see but most of our days are spent wandering around towns or hiking.

I'm roughly thinking about 4 or 5 days in a rental near Spoleto or Assisi, a night in Norcia, then a few days in a rental near Urbino. After that (or before that) I'm open. We could spend more time - longer stays - in Umbria and the Marche or we could decamp and head south to Puglia. Or vice versa, as we could fly into Brindisi.

No plane tickets yet. I'm looking at flights out of Vancouver BC as they're around 950 right now, RT to Rome in early June. That seems to be a good price for June.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on how to pull these random ideas together. And if anyone can recommend the perfect rental in Umbria or the Marche where I can sit on a terrace with a view of valleys before me, drinking wine, watching the sun set and sketching (I'm a landscape painter, I definitely need those views!) - that would be MUCH appreciated.

And of course, restaurant recommendations are welcome. I'm a little food obsessed. DH is not but he accompanies me!
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Old Jan 3rd, 2012, 09:51 PM
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We recently returned from a lovely 16 day trip to Italy, 5 days of which was spent in Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche. I can highly recommend both the hotel we stayed (Albergo Piceno) and the area itself. I believe the timing of your trip would be wonderful, weather-wise and scenery-wise. Here is my trip report :

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-marche.cfm?38

Let me know if there are any other specifics you would like to know. And happy planning!!

P.S. I have also spent about a week in Puglia 4 or 5 years ago and loved it. But seeing that you would like to be in the Umbria area, I believe Le Marche would be more appropriate in terms of next destination, as Puglia would be further away (but certainly possible).
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Old Jan 3rd, 2012, 10:13 PM
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Hi Flame -
I read your trip report earlier this evening. We stopped in Ascoli Piceno 10 years ago, but just for lunch and reading your report made me wish we'd stayed longer. The area was lovely! I remember deep and steep valleys.

Do you think 2 weeks in central Italy would be too much? I worry that if we spent a week in Umbria and a week in Le Marche we may get restless. I noticed on your trip that you tried out 3 different areas and that actually helped inspire me to think about jumping down to a very different area.

I'd love to read your trip report on Puglia too. I'll see if I can track that down. Thank you for your ideas and inspiration!
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Old Jan 4th, 2012, 12:19 AM
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Rose - for me personally, even two MONTHS in central Italy would not be too much. And I have been many many times. But I am a diehard Italy fan and I don't know if you feel the same. I think it all depends also on what you are interested in doing. For me, if I have a day of leisurely wandering around a small town or area, with no actual plans in mind, that is enough. If I have a marvelous lunch or dinner or aperitif along the way, that is better. If I am in a very pampering room with a great breakfast included, well you get the idea right? From what you write in your original post, it sounds like you have the same likes.


Here is my report on Puglia in case you have trouble finding it :

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...and-nights.cfm
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Old Jan 4th, 2012, 05:52 PM
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Hi Flame,
Thanks for the link - I just finished your 2007 trip report. It was very helpful, thanks! Much to think about.

We are generally happy just wandering around, spending 2 hours at lunch, then walking until dinnertime. DH is most excited about going to Norcia. We stopped in there briefly 10 years ago and I think he's been dreaming about all those butcher shops ever since.
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Old Jan 4th, 2012, 09:58 PM
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After reading more trip reports, and some time on google earth, we are leaning towards the entire time in central Italy. Something like this:
Spoleto, 2 or 3 nights
Assisi, 5 nights staying at an agriturismo with many day trips
Norcia or the Valnerina between Spoleto and Norcia, 2 nights
4 nights near Urbino.

We plan to do a fair amount of walking. Are there good walking guides for the area? Thoughts on really lovely/welcoming places to stay?
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Old Jan 5th, 2012, 01:49 AM
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If your husband doesn't like crowds, you should double check about the timing of the Spoleto music festival. Also, being based with Assisi as your closest town might not be optimal. If your agriturismo serves dinner and you plan to eat there every night, then it might not be an issue. But if you are thinking that you iike to join a town's passeggiata before dinnertime and eat in a local town restaurant, Assisi might not be so enjoyable, and a poor choice for food. If you are not averse to hill climbing, you might want to stay in the countryside much closer to Spello or Montefalco. If you think by dinnertime your legs will have had enough of verticality, Bevagna makes a lot of people happy. I'm sure all these towns have nice agriturismi nearby.

I was very happy staying about 3km outside of Urbino at Hotel Nene. Lovely accommodations and an absolutely delicious restaurant. To visit Urbino, you just drive to the town parking lot and take the elevator up to the Ducal palace. Very easy. My only hesitation in returning to Hotel Nene would be the possibility of weddings at the hotel on a June weekend. Mid-week, I wouldn't worry about it.

http://www.neneurbino.com/hotel.htm

My favorite town in that area is Sant'Angelo in Vado. I've also heard Urbania is quite nice.

I hope that you are planning to see the Piano Grande (in the mountains above Norcia) in June. If you are lucky, all the wildflowers will still be blooming.
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Old Jan 5th, 2012, 07:03 AM
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Zeppole - thanks for the hotel link. Looks perfect, I think we'll go with that.

We are definitely going to the Piano Grande from Norcia! We spent a day wandering there in May, 2001 and can't wait to go back. It was really a highlight. The weather was cold and cloudy that day, with a storm rolling in, but it was lovely and fun to see all the mushroom hunters out gathering!
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 11:59 AM
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I'm back to planning our trip to Italy but now we're going in late September rather than June. We're arriving in Rome on September 24th and leaving October 7th. This is now certain as I just purchased tickets!

My rough draft of a plan:
2 days in southern Tuscany. Considering Cetona, Montepulciano or Pienza. I'd really like to taste the wines and see the landscape in that area.

5 days in or near Spoleto in Umbria. We'll rent an apartment, ideally one with a sunset view. There's 2 on my shortlist.

6 days in le Marche:
2 in Urbino at Hotel Nene
2 in Sarnano/Macerata or Camerino - that area
2 in Ascoli Piceno.

My questions:
Where should we stay in southern Tuscany? My top requirement is a patio or balcony with a panoramic view, preferably a sunset view. It's hard to decide when everything looks great.

Does it make sense to spend 2 nights near Sarnano or Macerata or Camerino and then 2 nights in Ascoli? As I recall, driving in le Marche is slow and I thought moving south would make sense. But should I divide the time there differently?
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 12:41 PM
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How about a night on the seacoast, near Loreto? Traveling down the seacoast from Urbino to Ascoli Piceno would be speedier than ploughing through the mountains. Even though your husband is allergic to crowds, seeing Loreto might be a wow -- but just to dip into it and duck out. Jesi is another possibility.

That way, you could linger in Urbino without worrying you should be moving on to conquer the driving, and you could head down to Ascoli Piceno after just a walk around Loreto or Jesi. A bit of seafood might be nice -- and autumn is the best time for Adriatic seafood.

Or you could skip the mid-spot altogether if you just zoom down the coast. That way you might give 3 nights to Urbino and its sweet small town surroundings, and then just take the 2 hour coastal ride to Ascoli Piceno, with a nice seafood lunch on the way, no overnighting.

Therefore 3 nights Urbino, 3 nights Ascoli Piceno -- both with time buzzing around in your car.
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 02:44 PM
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That's a great idea zeppole. Despite DH's fear and loathing of crowds (he'll never go to Venice w/ me again) we do really enjoy seeing things like Loreto.

Have you been to Fabriano? I'm tempted to visit there on the way to see the paper making museum. Also, any recommendations for lunch on the coast?
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 03:14 PM
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For a trip like yours, I highly recommend that you invest in a copy of Osterie d'Italia, the collected recommendations of the Slow Food movement for places to eat throughout Italy. It's in Italian, but you can easily decode it. Buy a copy when you are in Italy.

If you don't already possess a copy of Fred Plotkin's Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, do so and xerox and pack the pages you think you'll need. Despite the word "Gourmet" in the title, the book is about homey places to eat that serve exquisite food at fair prices.

I've never been to Fabriano!
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 03:16 PM
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The Osterie guide looks like this

http://editore.slowfood.it/editore/i...=9788884992475

You might even be able to buy one from Amazon before you go, but you can easily find one in Rome.
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 03:35 PM
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Thanks, I'll pick up the Slow Food book. I see they have a Slow Wine book too....

Neither are on Amazon so I'll look for them in Italy.

I have Plotkin's book and the Walking and Eating in Tuscany and Umbria. We may try a couple of 1 day walks - one from Pienza to Montepulciano and one near Norcia.
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 03:41 PM
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As much as I love Plotkin's book -- and I really do -- I had a disappointing meal at the restaurant he recommends in Norcia. You might look elsewhere for lunch. One of the great treats of that part of Italy is trout from the River Nera,
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 03:42 PM
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(Also, if you like wine and have an apartment in Umbria, track down a good bottle of red Sagrantino from Montefalco to enjoy on evenings you aren't driving. (It is very strong.)
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Old Mar 11th, 2012, 03:55 PM
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Good to know. We were in Norcia before but didn't eat there. DH loved the town and is looking forward to going back. We stayed in Castellucio and had dinner at the Taverna. I had the lentils but I believe the owner talked me out of also ordering the polenta. He thought it would be too heavy. As I recall the lentils were just lentils!

I do plan to go to Montefalco and visit a winery or two - I will definitely buy some of the wine!
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