| Joe |
Jun 23rd, 2001 12:29 PM |
You are wise to look early. You will have a greater chance to find what you want. Tuscany Now (tuscanynow.com) will send you a marvelous 100 page booklet of Villa after Villa in all parts of Italy with great pictures and good descriptions. We were not smart enough to start so early (thought seven months would be fine) so we had a hard time. We were six adults, my wife and I, two single daughters and my oldest daughter with her husband. In order to get the facilities we wanted at that "late date", we contacted at least 20 Villa Rental Agencies, all the ones you commonly see on this board without success. Finally, Tuscany Now got a new listing, Il Limoni, 12K from Lucca. We were forty minutes by freeway from Florence. The place was bigger than we needed and very expensive. But, (and this is the good news) it was delightful. The building had six bedrooms, four and a half baths, it was built in the 1500s and was very origninal with frescoes on the walls of the dinning room, great room, entry hall and hallways. Each of the three floors had a central great hall. It was beautifully decorated with several "escape rooms" for anyone that needed time alone. We were on a hill (what else) with a beautiful view of the Tuscan Valley toward Lucca. The lights from Lucca at night were wonderful. The kitchen was very authenticly 1500s with appliance upgrades. There was a table in the kitchen where we took breakfast. There was a large table outside with umbrella and easy access to the kitchen. And again, those lights from Lucca at night.<BR>Tuscany Now was great. Took a real personal responsibility for making everything the way we wantd. We arranged for a cook the first evening since we were arriving about six PM. We gave some basic instructions and then told them to use local ingredients to prepare an antipasti, a primi, a secondi, and then dessert. The dinner was marvelous. We asked them to layin some local wines and stock the refrigerator for the first breakfast which wss Sunday morning. The Caretaker who stayed in the caretakers house out of site from the villa was very responsive to our needs and was good for advise and directions. He spoke pretty good English. We had a marvelous time. And, while we paid for more than we neede, looking back, I wouldn't change anything. Wonderful week before we went on to two more weeks touring. Tuscany Now is a great organization. You will have a great time.
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