tedgale

Booked flights last Friday, on impulse. Arriving Milan on Sat. October 16, departing Rome Monday Nov. 1. NOTHING is booked yet.

The 2nd half of the trip (Sat. October 23 onward, we expect to rent an apartment in Montepulciano, a town and a region we know pretty well. If we leave the apartment on Sat. October 30, we could take the final 2 nights in Rome before flying out Monday morning November 1. We'd rent a car during this period.

The first week of the trip is a GAPING hole, however, as plans with a Milanese friend have fallen through. I'm hoping to get some recommendations here.

If we have about a week and our bookends are Milan (Malpensa) and Montepulciano, we could "do" any of the following:

1. Piedmont and Liguria
2. Lombardy (I enjoyed the Cremona area and would happily return) and Emilia Romagna
3. Ravenna and Umbria (we know Perugia but have not been to Gubbio or other smaller centres -- and BTW, Urbino in the Marches is someplace I have always wanted to see)

Priorities are:
1. Decent weather, if possible -- which argues against Lombardy and perhaps Emilia Romagna too. I presume it's too late to visit the L. Como area, for example
2. Moderate amounts of car travel, though we do like roaming on smaller roads to charming villages
3. Good food and accommodation, preferably in a B&B or agriturismo

I am quite comfortable dealing in Italian, so remote untouristed places hold no terrors.

If you had a week between those spots, what would YOU do???

tedgale

Hoping for some advice....Thx

jgg

We have stayed in both the Piedmont and Liguria region and absolutely loved both. We stayed at Baur B&B (www.baurbb.com) in Acqui Terme (in Piedmont) and it is still our favorite place in Europe. Lots of smaller roads and charming villages to explore and not at all touristy like Tuscany. You can also do daytrips to Turin or Milan (I know you have been to Italy several time - have you stayed in Milan before - might consider staying one or two nights there when you first arrive to have time to see the Duomo, Last Supper and shop!!)

We stayed in Lerici in Liguria which we really loved - very few American tourists though lots of Italian tourists on the beach in the summer - from there we did Cinque Terre, Portovenere, and the marble mines in Carrara - a must if you've read Agony and the Ecstasy - which is a must read if you're going to Italy=)

You also might want to consider Bologna. Just returned from a trip there in July and it is a fabulous city!!

Jean

We've had "decent" weather in all of the mentioned places during the last two weeks of October, including Lombardia and Piemonte, but I'd be inclined to skip the coast and perhaps stay a little farther south.

Have you seen much of Umbria beyond Perugia? We have loved every town we've visited, and Gubbio remains a favorite although I can't put my finger on why. Todi's also high on our list. On our last trip to Umbria, we based in Spoleto (Hotel San Luca*) and really enjoyed exploring/wandering the area between the two north-south highways (SS3, E45).

Urbino is just far enough that you might want to spend a night or two there.

* We usually choose a hotel in a town for the non-driving dinner options, and the San Luca's location is perfect for exploring most of Umbria because of the easy access to roads in all directions. The same owners operate a villa hotel in Montefalco.

http://www.hotelsanluca.com/index_eng.php

http://www.villazuccari.com/index_eng.php

tedgale

Great advice from both of you -- thanks.

I have seen Gubbio but not since ...umm... 1974.

I have always wanted to visit Urbino.

But Piemonte has its appeal too. Maybe we'd spend the first weekend there, then make a cross-country trip to the E part of Umbria.

I love hitting places where there are no NA tourists and Italian is the only working language.

I know Perugia fairly well, because I lived there for a few months in 1974. But I haven't really explored beyond it, other than Assisi...