CRAZY4TRAVEL

MandyD...your plan sounds good. We arrived in Orvieto quite late as a result of a delayed flight and really wish we had more time there as we only had one night booked. It is worth taking the side trip to Civita.

We were supposed to spend 3 nights in Spoleto and did not care for the town. It was much more traffic than we wanted to contend with. We ended up spending the next two nights in Spello and it was heaven to us at the end of the day. 4 nights will give you the extra time to linger or perhaps do a day trip to Gubbio.

I perfer to have a few bases than do so much driving back and forth.

You will enjoy your 7 days in the Val d'Orcia as there are so many lovely towns and the countryside is amazing.

Enjoy!!

annabelle2

Hi Mandy

Can also recommend Le Case Gialle. 5 of us stayed there in 2005 and really loved it. zoecat has posted the link, and if you type the name in the search box here, you will find lots of information (I learned about it here on Fodor's from DRJ and others, and also on www.slowtrav.com.

We, too, liked the location and the laid-back atmosphere. I would stay there again definitely. However, as I mentioned, there were 5 of us (two apts) and that was part of what made it so fun - cooking and eating dinner together, hanging out drinking wine and singing badly (Silvana and Mauro have guitars to lend), etc.

I did notice that another couple who were staying at Le Case were quite thrilled when we all arrived and spent a lot of time hanging out with us (hey, we ARE a fun group); they were getting a bit restless being in the country for too many days. So depending on you and your husband, one base in the country and one in a town might be nice.

MandyD

Again thank you for your feedback. I was still wondering if we rented a car at Rome airport - would it make sense to head for Orvieto or Spello first?? Which location is closest. After leaving Umbria we will be heading to Piensa. Just wanted to make sure I did not have to back track too much and was heading to my destinations in a logical fashion.

bobthenavigator

Orvieto first !

bellini

Mandy see my trip report at www.xanga.com/urbino

Our itinerary
Rome 1 night
Orvieto- took the train there & collected hire car
Spoleto 4 nights
Rome 1 night

Yes, we did eat dinner at Locanda Rosati- we arranged dinner when we arrived for the first evening and had such a good time that we stayed in every night and met very interesting people over dinner. The food was great tooo!!

MandyD

Thank you "bellini"- I really enjoyed your trip report - also your recommendation to eat dinner in while staying @ Locanda Rosanti. After reading your report - I am considering staying another night. Originally I was planning on spending two nights @ Locanda Rosanti in Orvieto and then another 4 nights in Bevagna @ Le Case gialle before heading to Southern Tuscany for 6 nights?? Any feedback on whether to stay another night in Orvieto and then only 3 nights in Bevagna??? Again - would appreciate any feedback

bellini

Bevagna is very pretty but much quieter than Orvieto which has much more to see in the vicinity. I'd recommend another night at Locanda Rosati- I am sure you won't be disappointed. See www.tripadvisor.com for reviews by other travellers.

annabelle2

Since unfortunately I haven't visited Orvieto yet, I can't chime in on that, but as far as the Bevagna area-
Keep in mind that Le Case Gialle is not IN Bevagna; you need to drive down from the hills to it (it is a walled town, but not a hill town).

We went there to buy food (especially the wonderful fresh pasta), eat in restaurants and just wander around.

Places you can visit that are near (near being a relative term) to Le Case Gialle in Umbria include Montefalco, Spello, Assisi, Perugia, Gubbio and more little lovely places.

MandyD

Thank you for your feedback. Can you tell me about how long a drive from LeCase Gialle to Bevagna. We were thinking we would eat dinner in Bevagna after a day of sightseeing -- not sure if I'd want to be driving backroads up into the hills?? Perhaps we need to find a place closer to a town in that vacinity??

Mimar

MandyD, a lot of your questions about how long to drive from point A to point B can be answered by plotting the route on one of the mapping sites, like www.mappy.com or www.viamichelin.com. These sites are also very useful for detailed instructions in how to get to a hotel or a sight. For a driving trip, I print the driving instructions/map on the back of my printed hotel reservation confirmation.

Lexma90

Mandy -

Using mappy.com, it looks like Le Case Gialle is only an 8-minute drive (7 km) from Bevagna. It looks like there are some hamlets in between, but I'm not sure you'd find restaurants closer than Bevagna!

We usually try to avoid driving after dinner, so both DH and I can drink during dinner, but that's not always possible, especially if, as in your case, your lodging is up in the hills. It's up to you and your driving, but if the driver is careful about alcohol, and you drive carefully, I don't think you'll have a problem with that short drive. When we stayed in Spello (also in the hills, about 10 minutes from Bevagna to the east), we drove to Montefalco (also in the hills, so we drove from Spello, down into the valley, kind of past Bevagna, then up into Montefalco) and, while I was nervous about driving up the hills in the dark, it turned out to be an easy, short drive.

Also consider dinner - or lunch - in Montefalco. We had a fantastic dinner at Il Coccorone, in Montefalco. We had lunch in Bevagna, at Ottavius, which we also loved.

Enjoy!

tcreath

We stayed in le Case Gialle last year and absolutely loved it so I too would recommend it.

It's only about a 10 minute drive from le Case Gialle down to Bevagne and maybe 15-20 minutes to Montefalco. We usually ate dinner in one of those town towns during our five nights spent in the area.

We picked up the car at FCO, as we found the convenience worth the added price. We drove to le Case Gialle, stopping along the way at Bracciano, on lake Bracciano, for lunch and to view the castle. Driving in Umbria was pretty easy, although the Italians are not the best drivers!

My trip report is around here somewhere; if you click on my name or type in "tcreath umbria" you should find it.

Best wishes,
Tracy

tcreath

Here is a link to my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...tcreath+umbria

Tracy

MandyD

Thanks for the great feedback. I feel confident it will be a good choice to stay at Le Case Gialle. Great trip report of the area Tcreath.

annabelle2

For dinner, in Bevagna, we liked Osteria Podesta and in Montefalco I still can taste the pasta with saffron cheese at l'Alchimista. We tried to make the same dish back at Le Case Gialle but it wasn't as good.

Silvana (owner of LCG) showed us how to dip fresh sage leaves from the garden into prosecco and a light batter and quickly fry them. Delicious!

As far as places to eat that are closer, Tracy, I know we shared some online information about the kind of spooky little castle-topped town up the hill (Gualdo Catteneo??) but I never ate there, did you?

tcreath

annabelle, we never ate there either. One evening we did go up there and walked around but there didn't appear to be too many options, with the exception of a bar or tavern that was quite the happening place with older gentlemen. Depending on which direction you come in from, you drive through Gualdo Cuttaneo on a large ring road of sorts...I do recall there being a few osteria's, I believe, as we approached Gualdo Cuttaneo but they were in more of a residential area. I don't recall a listing for any Gualdo Cuttaneo restaurants in the information that Silvana and Franco (I think that is the owner's names) left in our apartment but they may be able to give a recommendation.

The town is indeed rather spooky but kinda cool because its a true hill town and is too small to be turned into a tourist attraction. There were lots of cats roaming around, which I rather enjoyed being the cat person that I am!

Our favorite meals were at Hotel Ristorante Righera Umbra in Montefalco and Ottavius (I believe that is the name) in Bevagna, both of which we drove to from our apartment. I'm getting hungry just thinking about the food and wine!

Tracy

annabelle2

Yes, those cats were out in full force. They seemed to be taking turns leading us up the narrow streets; one would disappear and another take its place.

Between the mysterious cats, the almost full moon, the light that went on in the tower right when we walked by, and the stone faced men sitting in the one open cafe, we felt as if we were in some kind of Italian Steven King story. Fun-spooky!

tcreath

LOL Annabelle....and combine all that with the drizzling rain and the haze of our chilly March nights gave Gualdo Cuttaneo a "Sleepy Hollow"esque look and feel. Interesting to say the least!

Tracy