gg

I am in the process of planning a trip to Cinque Terre, Umbria and Tuscany in October. I want to make it interesting and varied. What was your favorite experience, hotel(or villa), restaurant, town etc?

Pat Schulte

We have been to Italy several times but on our last visit april 2001 we were in cinque terra and stayed at Affitacamere "Edie", in Tuscany we rented an apartment on a working vineyard near Montalcino (about 45 minutes (by car)from Siena...a wonderful home base to day trip all around the area, and then we rented an apartment in a 12th century castle " Castella Cisterna" it's centrally located and we day tripped to Deruta, Todi, Perugia, Montefalco and more.<BR>If you'd like more info about any of these places, feel free to E-mail me. ciao,pat

Betsy

We found a little piece of Umbrian heaven just outside Assisi. Go to www.malvarina.it and book your reservation immediately. You won't be sorry. No, I have no financial interest whatsoever in the place.

Dale

GG:<BR>Have enjoyed Umbria dnormously for the last three or four trips to Italy. Do not miss eating lunch or dinner at Taverna del Pescatore near the little hamlet of Pigge, a "suburb" of Trevi. This romantic restaurant is just off the highway between Spoleto and Perugia. Look for the signs. You will never forget it. Ciao e buon viaggio.

RJD

Sipping Brunello de Montalciano at the Enoteca in the Castle in Montalciano and enjoying the cheese and mortadella sandwich they will make for you.

sandi

Watching the fog roll in over the tuscan hills from the tall tower in San Gimignano.

Patti

Hi,<BR>I really enjoyed Gubbio, an hour or so north of Assisi/Perugia. They have a nice little museum, some Roman ruins (an amphitheater,) a fun and scary funicular to the upper reaches of the town. The people were friendly and welcoming. <BR><BR>Also, another favorite place of mine in Umbria is the Norcia/Piano Grande area. The town is charming (known for meat and truffles!) and the scenery is amazing! <BR> <BR>Have fun!

Dayle

We particularly enjoyed a tour of the Etruscan caves under the city of Orvieto - short but interesting. We also loved an afternoon visit to Civita di Bagnoreggio, a nearby town that is also on a mesa (as we call them in the western US) and is accessible only by foot. Only about 15 people are left living in the town & they are trying to save it.

Gig

more, anyone?? These were great!

sally

I thoroughly enjoyed just driving around Tuscany and San G. at night was my favorite place. Be sure to eat lunch or an early dinner at the restaurant in La Cisterna Hotel there, if possible. I understand the view out over the Tuscan countryside is beautiful; unfortunately we ate too late in the eve. to see it. Food very good also. In Umbria, our msot memorable experience was staying in a private home ( we had entire top floor w/ separate entrance). The hosts were great and very helpful. My favorite town is Spello and try to have a meal at Il Trombone (w/ another great view off the patio). Before going to or while in Umbria/Tuscany be sure to read Cento Citta (100 Cities) and Umbria, Italy's Timeless Heart, both by Paul Hoffman, former bureau chief for NY Times based in Rome. I recently read both and realized how very much history and art we overlooked in Umbria. They are written as a guide but are so much more than any guidebook I've ever read and much more interesting and entertaining, especially the one on Umbria. If you have ques., feel free to e-mail me. Umbria is a great region, over-looked by many, but it appears to be coming into its own recently. You will like it alot. Regards, Sally PS Think the books came from Amazon.com

charlie

GG-<BR>Last March on a recommendation like this one, we (4of us)booked an all-day tour with a guide named Gianni with a small regional tour company called Toursaroundtuscany.com. The red tour.<BR>Take a look at the site. Private tour in cute little Gianni's cute little car. <BR>He is beyond fabulous. Early thirties and a Tuscan resident all his life. We saw sooo much and learned soo much we would have never otherwise experienced. He picked us up in Siena.<BR>Book at the Santa Catarina Hotel - super charming. Hotel Duomo is good too. We will never forget that day!!!

Joe

In Tuscany, our stay with our adult daughters at the 16th Century Villa, I Limoni, in the hills above Lucca. Wonderful.<BR>In Umbria, be sure to follow up on Gubbio and Civita de Bagnoregio as mentioned above. They are exceptional. But, I would have to give preference to the Etruscan Tombs and the Umbrian Wine, especially those from the winery Tanuta Le Velette. A little story on each. <BR>We had read about the 2500 year old tomb found by a farmer named Giuseppe as he tilled his fields over a hundred years ago. His farm is near Orvietto. Late in a day when we were returning from our visit to Civita de Bangoregio, we decided to look for the Tomb. There was a very little, yellow roadside sign which pointed to Tomba Etrusca, but we kept missig it even though we knew we were in the area. These were tiny, local, farm-country roads. Finally, after about the tenth criss-cross, we spotted the little sign and made for the tomb. As we approched the area, we were stopped by a small group of boot clad people carrying a variety of instruments and equipment. We rolled down the window and in my "best" Italian asked (per favore, dove Tomba Etrusca?) where might we find the tomb. They advised us that they were an archiological team that was stabilizing and restoring the Tomb. Unfortunately, the Tomb was closed for the day. Well, now I put on my best Pisano face and implored, again in my best Italian (at least sprinkled with Italian here and there), we are visitors who must leave soon and would not have another opportunity to see the Tomb on this trip. The team pondered a bit, smiled and said "va bene" and took us to the Tomb. The huge stone door was chained and about six feet below ground level. The Team removed the chains, opened the gate and led us into the dark tomb. Suddenly, one of the Team Members threw on a light and as our eyes adjusted to the light, there, on the wall were the ancient drawings left by the Etruscans. There was a sarcophigus on one side of the Tomb. The drawings (there were some on each wall) were delicate and beautiful. We had plenty of time to explore and ask questions of the Team. I was allowed to take pictures. This "private showing" was an amazing experience. There are Etruscan Tombs all over Umbria.<BR>In the interest of time and space, I'll save the winery story for another time.

Elena Graziadei

One of our most romantic memories was of our stay last June in an agritourism called Fattoria Titignano (http://www.titignano.it). It is located in a medieval borge situated high on a hill above Lago di Corbara and surrounded by a national park (lots of trails)--a most incredible view. This is halfway between Orvieto and Todi. The gourmet meals were exquisite and lasted each night from 8:30 to beyond midnight. Fantastic wines produced on the property. I highly recommend it.

dean

We took our nephews on a trip to Italy. We drove down to San Galgano. While walking up the drive to enter, we hear "whoops" and "huts". My wife heard it and spotted a man flying hawks. We went over to where he was talking to an British couple. They left after a few minutes and we began to talk to him. Hi name is Guillermo and he is Sicilian. He went to school in England which accounts for his near perfect English. His classmates could not pronounce Guillermo so he was called "Bill", and Bill the bird guy is how we fondly remember him. We took a few pictures until his pretty assistant (we never found out if she was girl friend, wife, daughter or just assistant) was not pleased. Bill told us he had a preserve where he was raising 150 birds. His aim is to reintroduce several breeds, mainly the lanier falcon, back into the wild. He does not hunt with his birds. Bill told us he had a little preserve with a number of birds right there and we could visit it. The sign asked for 7,000 lire and he would only take about 22,000 for the 4 of us claiming not to be much of a businessman. Once we forked over the money the assistannt told us we could take all the pictures we wanted. I said to Bill that we had been to San Galgano 3 times in the past and had never noticed his place before. He told us, again, that he was not much of a businessman and this was the first time he ahd opened the place for visitors in about 4 years. How can he keep it going: in the middle of nowhere, having to drive 60 miles just to buy the raw meat his brids need every 2 days because he wont serve them frozen meat etc.....

topper

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