rome and tuscany in the summer!
 

ciao per tutti! ( i hope i said this correctly!) i am plannng on going to italy in late july for 2 weeks. my husband and i are flying in and out of rome. we would like to stay in rome for 2 days and rent a car and spend a couple of days in assisi, spoleto, etc., drive some more (day trips) and possibly stay in san gimingnano and see siena, florence, pisa, lucca... this is becoming a MONUMENTAL (and thrilling!), task! does anyone out there in internetland recommend any hotels, routes,great hidden destinations,cooking classes, wineries.... and of course restaurants for me?
grazi un mille! :D

Yes, it is huge, but take your time and enjoy the planning. I can recommend Locanda di San Francisco in Montepulciano. It is a lovely bed and breakfast hotel at the top of the town. The sunsets from the wine bar are amazing. We loved it. I would recommend day trips other than spending a different night in each location. Two weeks in not a huge amount of time so plan on limiting yourself to Rome and either Tuscany or Umbria. From Montepulciano you can drive to Siena, Pienza, etc. You can find cooking classes in this area and also wineries that specialize in Vino Nobile (?) and Brunello. We visited the winery called Castello Banfi and loved it. Have fun!

thanks rbn. i intended to write that i wanted day trips and to use rome and either tuscany or umbria as the hubs. i will look up your suggestions. thanks again!

i looked at the locanda di san francisco website! wow rbn! i love it - thanks for the recc. we prefer small boutique hotels,so it fits the bill. what room did you stay in?

calgontakemeaway,

I spent 4 days in Rome this past May and found the Hotel Adler
www.bellesuiterome.com, a good base of opperations. It is near Piazza della Republica and an easy walk from Termini station in Rome, for good access to all the sites. It is small resonably priced, quite and clean. The staff is very helpful. The price includes breakfast.

Calgon - glad you like Locanda di San Francesco! We stayed in the orange room. I forget the room number but you can identify it on their site. It was lovely with a fabulous bathroom and the view out the three windows was absolutely beautiful. The owners spend the day running the wine bar and I have to say that their food is totally yummy. We watched the sun set every evening from the deck with a glass of Prosecco and bruscetta that was delicious. I highly recommend recommend staying in the Val D'Orcia as a base. It is so beautiful.

At that time of year you can expect it to be VERY hot a d humid. If you don;t mind that sort of weather you will have tons of good choices. But if you do - you will need to focus on finding places with AC (most B&B and agriturismos don;t have any). this is why we try to do Italy in May whenever possible - Oct for second choice.

As to where to stay - we prefer to stay in Florence to see the sight there and then tour to various towns by car (many are also possible be train). We esp enjoyed Siena, San Gim, Perugia, Assissi and Orvieto between Rome and Florence. (Pisa was fine - but not n the same class as the others.)

got the tix. already so we are going despite the HEAT and HUMIDITY! we will drink plenty of H20... i am currently looking into hotels that have air conditioning so that my husband doesn't succumb to my wrath when i become "uncomfortable" in the humidity! lol!!!

Just so you undesrtand the temp/humidity at that time of year is typically high 90's up to and over 100 and it can be very humid. Many shops and restaurants do NOT have ac - so you can be out in the heat all day. I reco not only carrying your own water, a hat for shade - and assuming you either find a nice chilly restaurant for lunch or go back to your hotel for a cool rest (or perhaps a swim if you can find a hotel with pool).

a car with a/c too!