annabelle2

Carol

I am getting excited about your trip myself!

I think il Sartino was the apt. right next to the one our friends stayed in. It is on the upper level of the building (4 apts are all in one large building) so higher ceilings and a good view but I don't think it has a terrace. I recall that it has a little eating area right outside its front door.

Your other apartment is the one next to the one we girls shared, and probably similar -- lower ceilings but better access to the grounds and probably some type of outdoor area overlooking the olive grove.

If you click on my name and find a query I made requesting information on Le Case Gialle, DRJ is one of the tremendously helpful people who replied.

Thank you, DRJ, for all your advice! I can't think of when I spent my birthday in a more lovely setting. I felt like it was home.

Can't wait for a return trip in the future!

Brahmama

Such wonderful responses! I have printed out pertinent details and have read your trip reports and I do have a pretty good idea of where we are going to go.

(Ian, I had already found Thayer's masterpiece. Wow!)

We are going to try to do one long day trip which will take in Sant' Antimo and hopefully Montalcino.

We haven't been to Orvieto - and was hoping we might work it in - but that might make it too long of a day trip.

Ok, my big question now! We are renting a car and picking it up in Foligno. Now I have been reading posts about the terrible traffic around Foligno and advise NOT to go there. Oops!

Any advise about driving OUT of Foligno as fast as possible on the way to LCG (Bevagna)? Or should I try to change our pick up to another town? We are training in from Rome.

I bought a Signpost Guide, "Tuscany and Umbria, Your guide to great drives". What other maps/guide would you suggest for us?

On a happier note, we visited the World Market yesterday and found some Umbrian wines, which of course we had to buy to do some research with! (convoluted sentence but you get the gist!) And, Eloise, it is a Sagrantino!

And, another question, where is a site that might tell us if there is a festival/food fair in the middle of October?

Wish you were all going at the same time! What fun we would have comparing notes. (and wines!)

Carol

annabelle2

Hi Carol

I think you will be fine getting your car in Foligno; just make sure you get good directions out of town before you leave. For some reason, the 5 of us seemingly intelligent people had trouble there, but I still don't know why! There is a loop road around the town and that seemed to mess us up.

The map from the rental car company was fine, but one of our group bought a map before we went; I will try and find the map name for you. On a previous trip to Italy we bought maps there from a bookstore and they were very good.

If you email Silvana, she will give you detailed driving directions as well.

What day of the week are you arriving? If you are arriving on the weekend, email Silvana and ask her what stores in what towns are open. You will want to buy some groceries for the first days (coffee, tea, fresh bread, small jars of honey & jam and a bottle of wine -- and a little olive oil, of course -- are provided, I recall). We were glad we had some salami, prosciutto, cheese, fruit, and yogurt for our first day. Since you are getting your car in Foligno, go to the Coop there, if you want, and then you can go into Bevagna, a lovely little walled town, for fresh pasta, pastry, fruit, meat & cheese, etc as I mentioned in an earlier response.

Since I was with a group of friends we shared guidebooks (I usually tear mine apart and just bring the relevant pages, or photocopy before I go); I like the little Top Ten guides very much, and used the Tuscany and Rome ones on this trip. They don't have an Umbria book. We did have an Umbria book with us, I will have to ask which one it was - (Insight, possibly...)

We also had photcopied pages from Lonely Planet Italy; I like their details. I find Rick Steves helpful for places like Florence, Rome and Assisi, but he does not have much on Umbria in general.

We had a copy of Walking and Eating in Tuscany and Umbria, which we didn't use as much, but it did have good information about the Sant' Antimo abbey.

I think you will really enjoy LCG --I was a little apprehensive about 7 nights there, but we were glad to have the whole week. It was fun to be there with friends, but I am sure that the two of you will enjoy it!

Brahmama

Dear Annabelle,
Thanks for the reassurance and also for the reply.
Since I had piggy-backed on my own thread, I thought I might have to start a new thread for my new questions!

Yes, I would appreciate the name of the map. I have Googled trying to find more info on Umbria - particularly a map - very hard to find in that tiny bit of Italy where we are staying.

I did find one festival (only one so far.....) It's the Chocolate Festival in Perugia. But we've talked about that and decided if we go there we will just train in. We are both a little nervous about the car - well, *I* am nervous; he says that he is looking forward to it.

Also the maps that I have found show lots of squggily roads from Bevagno west to Tuscany. Do you remember your route?

Thanks for the heads-up about getting some groceries in advance. As we are staying only 1 night in one apartment and then moving to another, we will probably wait until we get in our final apartment to buy much of anything - so we won't have a lot to move. I figured we wouldn't unpack anymore than we had to - and just go out to dinner the first night! )Any suggestions for our first night out?) But I hate to drive back to Foligno if you think we can get what we want from Bevagna.

We will come in on a Friday - I imagine everything closes down tight on Sunday, right?

Guidebooks for Umbria are hard. I always tear out the pertinent parts and then I copy files from everywhere I can find info and cut and paste like crazy. But there are just tiny bits about Umbria in Guidebooks, at least the ones that I've looked in. I'll check Insight for their Umbrian book.

I think this part of our trip is the most exciting - having a car to explore the little towns is especially a bonus for us.

Thank you SO MUCH for all the info you have shared with us!

Carol

carolll

If nothing else is open on a Sunday, COOP usually is. Most of the smaller shops are closed Sundays and Mondays.

Regarding driving in Italy, bear in mind many Italian drivers resent anything in front of them! The lefthand lane is off limits unless you intend to pass. Any vehicle in the rear view mirror in the lefthand lane will be on your tail immediately, so make sure you have ample time to pass and then return to the middle or left lane.
Carol L

Dayle

Hi Carol,

I will be picking up my rental car in Foligno too in a couple of weeks and am a bit concerned about finding my way out of town. Oh well, I've been a bit lost before....Siena, Tours.

Thanks for the advice Eloise and all, I'll be sure to ask for good directions. Hopefully, that will do it.

In Umbria, I'll be staying in Gubbio and Spello, visiting Assisi, Bevegna, Montefalco. I'll do a trip report when I return - first week in October - if that will be in time to help you.

Buon viaggio!

annabelle2

Carol

The map we took was a Michelin map, but I think the map from the rental car company actually had Gualdo Cattaneo(the closest tiny town to Le Case Gialle) on it; the local map I used on a previous trip (not Umbria) was a TCI (touring club italiano) map and quite good.

One of our group had emailed Silvana and had brought along a copy of her detailed directions and between that info and the maps, we were fine.

To get into Tuscany and to the Sant' Antimo abbey, I believe we took the main road (S75?) back towards Perugia, past Lake Trasimeno, onto the A1 and then west past Montepulciano, Pienza and into Montalcino. Admittedly, with 5 of us in the car which unavoidably equaled 4 backseat drivers, we had several wrong turns, so I can't really tell you the exact route we took. From Montalcino there were signs to the Abbey; you could ask in town if you can't find the route, it is only about 10km.

Re:guidebooks...I am thinking now that the Umbria book we had was an Eyewitness (DK) book, not Insight; sorry, it was not one I brought/have.

After the abbey we went to Siena and then took the most "main" route back east towards Perugia and on to LCG. This was a crazy long day, but we all wanted to see Siena and this was how it fit in.

As for a dinner in Bevagna, we went to Osteria Podesta one night, which was fun (only low point was that the lamb two of us ordered was incredibly over-salted). Silvana and Mauro know the owners, so they could tell you if they are closed on Sunday.

As for festivals, I did lots of searches online before our trip. This is kind of an odd site (it is the site of an American or British family living in Italy) but they had a section on Italian holidays/festivals that was useful:
hostetler.net (I think it is their last name?).
Hope this helps...

DRJ

You shouldn't have much trouble leaving Foligno and IMO you can easily find all your provisions in Bevagna.