vicki2201

I have a sketchy outline of what we are going to do after our cruise that ends in Civitavecchia. I'm not too familiar with all the places around Umbria, but would love to experience the agriturismos and also visit the highlights of the area.

From the morning we leave the cruise ship on Nov. 10, we hope rent a vehicle (from whom haven't started researching, but I know we can get a minivan for 6 of us) and head towards:

Orvieto- stay 2 nights in Agriturismo Frallarenza
or one hour away at Case Gialle. Visit towns nearby.

Another 2 nights in another Agriturismo in the eastern part of Umbria (Want to experience another wonderful place), and visit the areas nearby again.

Rome- for the last night and before we take our flight out.

As I mentioned in another thread, we are 3 couples, including one senior couple who can't do too much walking. Any thoughts on this? Also, the Agriturismos I've contacted keep referring to getting the place heated before we arrive. Will it not be fall when we are there? (November 10 to 16). Will it be freezing? let me google the weather now, but thanks for anything you might share about Agriturismos and places to visit from each.

zeppole

You probably should not shift bases in Umbria unless you are interested is seeing something that isn't within the are defined roughly by Orvieto, Spoleto, Assisi and Perugia. Case Gialle would be central and not involve a lot of driving to see the sights.

Your comment that one set of seniors cannot do a lot of walking makes Umbria a difficult destination, as consists mainly of very steep hilltowns. People with mobility issues can't easily visit "the highlights of the area" without a lot of assistance. Italians built almost all of their settlements in that area on top of high rock formations that tower of the landscape. Some have elevators, buses and escalators inside to help people go up them, but even inside the town, there can be many inclines.

November is Italy's rainiest month, and Umbria gets crosswinds and has highly variable weather. You won't experience an American winter, but you'll be glad somebody is willing to turn on the heat at night.

I understand that Rick Steves has published a lot about what parts of Italy are accessible to people with mobility limitations. You might want to track down that information, because Italy is a particularly challenging place for sightseeing in that regard.

vincenzod

A good agritourism in Spello, and Spello is very cute in fall, is AGRITURISMO LE DUE TORRI (www.agriturismoleduetorri.com) and a very good agriturismo in San Venanzo is AGRITURISMO OLIVASTRELLA. I was there two weeks ago because of a meeting and I enjoyed it very much.

Vincenzo

vicki2201

Zeppole, your suggestions are right on the mark! Thanks so much for responding with so much information. My father-in-law wants to be in the countryside instead of in Rome, that's why I thought of Umbria.

On the other hand (in this is doing a 180-degree change) we could head towards somewhere else for the 5 days we have between end of cruise and flying out. Perhaps south? Any suggestions?

Vincenzo, thanks for those links! I will check them out.

lovisa

Lucca is a lovely city in Tuscany that is flat. The historical center of Perugia is also on a mesa-like ridge, and pretty flat. Bevagna in Umbria is a lovely small town in a valley and quite flat.

zeppole

vicki,

I also wondered if you might do better heading south, or in other parts of Lazio. Umbria is called the "green heart" of Italy because, like the Emerald Isle of Ireland, or the Green Coast of Spain, it gets more rain.

The truth is that Italia is not a big place, there are many stunning villas with fantastic views and restaurnts that anybody would be content to enjoy without doing a lot of sightseeing, and with 5 days to play with, and a car available, you ought to be able to find just the right spot.

My suggestion to you is to go to the Slow Travel website and post your question there because there is a woman who regularly posts there who has some mobility limitations, yet she has traveled all around the areas outside of Roma. (I think the last place she stayed was Lago Bracciano, a lake near Roma.)

At first, everybody will probably tell you stay in Roma, but just insist you need a beautiful location or small town in the countryside for your father-in-law, and some places within reasonable reach of it for the rest of your party to enjoy as day trips. Make sure you tell them this is November.

It may be someone will suggest the perfect spot in Umbria, or Lazio or Toscana or some place south of Roma that is easy to walk and access by car.

Good luck!

www.slowtalk.com

www.slowtravel.com

Nonconformist

You could look at Bolsena in Lazio, near Orvieto. We stayed there a year ago, and loved it. It's on a very pretty lake (also called Bolsena), and although the old part of the town itself is a bit hilly and might be difficult if you have major mobility problems, most of the hotels are along the flat waterfront. It's a good place to base yourself with a car for Lazio and southern Umbria. But I'm not sure what the weather would be like in Movember - possibly not great. They definitely get snow there later in the winter.

Vonk17

While in Umbria you must go eat at Ristorante L'Ulivo. www.borgoulivo.it. It was the best meal I ate in Italy. 24 plates for 27.50 euros. It also has a nice hotel with virtually no steps, and is in the country, but it really isn't a agriturismo. They took us into the main village of Trevi, where we had the 2nd best food of our trip. www.protrevi.com

vicki2201

Thank you so much for all the input you have given. As our trip is getting near, I've already booked the Villa Pambuffetti in Montefalco for our group. We will be arriving in two cars, and also driving around the area to visit the other hill towns. We figured the hills won't matter to much for our elderly couple since they have us to drive them around and drop them off wherever they want.

I am now zero-ing in on a Rome hotel for our last 3 nights before flying out of Italy. I'll creat another post for that one.

Thanks again and I look forward to posting a report on our experience.

DRJ

Mauro and Silvana at Le Case Gialle are, by now, good friends and we will be there again for a week at the end of this month. Bevagna is totally flat and there are lots of good parking spaces in town. Try Osteria Piazza Onofri in the center of town.

Foligno is also quite flat and is the location of Salvadore Denali's Il Becco Felice, a restaurant that was featured in Food and Wine mag a year or so ago.

There is probably more info on Umbria than you need is you click on my initials above.

sac

Just to emphasize what DRJ just said, Bevagna is totally flat, very charming and easy to navigate.

Another possibility to consider for an interesting day trip is the very historic centre of Perugia. Now, Perugia would be impossible to drive in and can be extraordinarily hilly for walking. However, the historic centre of the city and its oldest section is flat (the very hilltop)and can now be easily reached by the minimetro system. This little rail line runs from the train station up to the historic centre, tunneling through some of the hill.

If you were to visit Perugia, you could possibly take the train in from a town like Foligno (I think the nearest train station from Montefalco) then take the minimetro up and see Perugia's gorgeous medieval centre which is quite flat (especially along the wide pedestrian Corso Vannucci.)

Umbria so beautiful, it really would be a shame for you to miss it.

charnees

I also have mobility problems (getting a knee replacement in Nov.) and I find Orvieto just fine for walking. It's not all that hilly up on top of the hill, and it's small. The only problem was that the underground orvieto tour had too many big steps for me. I look forward to going back after my knee is fixed!

Jean

The historical center of Todi is fairly flat, and there is a funicular from a large parking lot up to the town. It's at the northwest edge of the town.