HI kaustin,
The house we rented had the heat on a timer. It would come on at about 6am, run for a couple of hours, then shut off. The house would be toasty by the time we got up. Then it would come on again in the evening about 7 and run til about 10.
My understanding is that there are strict, government-sanctioned rules about when heat can be turned on and off for the season.
An FYI--we rented from www.rentvillas.com, and March was a great time because it was off season and rents were cheap. I think we paid about $600 for the week for a whole house. Granted this was in Umbria in the countryside near Assisi--I think southern Tuscany rents would be higher.
I can't remember, but I don't recall the car rental being a whole lot more expensive because we picked up our car in one place and dropped off in another.
Patti
The house we rented had the heat on a timer. It would come on at about 6am, run for a couple of hours, then shut off. The house would be toasty by the time we got up. Then it would come on again in the evening about 7 and run til about 10.
My understanding is that there are strict, government-sanctioned rules about when heat can be turned on and off for the season.
An FYI--we rented from www.rentvillas.com, and March was a great time because it was off season and rents were cheap. I think we paid about $600 for the week for a whole house. Granted this was in Umbria in the countryside near Assisi--I think southern Tuscany rents would be higher.
I can't remember, but I don't recall the car rental being a whole lot more expensive because we picked up our car in one place and dropped off in another.
Patti
Hi, Kaustin:
My husband and I are just back from three weeks in Italy which included six days in Montepulciano--which were wonderful. We are in our mid-50's and had also wondered about driving conditions but found that the Tuscan roads as well as the Autostrade were fine. (We live in Vancouver, Canada and found Italian drivers to be more "even" and less angry than we are here.) We stayed in Apt. #3 at Al Poggiolo and it was terrific! (Site is: www.appartamentialpoggiolo.it) I used www.mappy.com for detailed maps of towns and specific routes along with the Touring Club of Italy maps and we did well (aside from a couple of turn-arounds and a hard time finding our way around Siena...) You will have a great time!
Mary Jean
My husband and I are just back from three weeks in Italy which included six days in Montepulciano--which were wonderful. We are in our mid-50's and had also wondered about driving conditions but found that the Tuscan roads as well as the Autostrade were fine. (We live in Vancouver, Canada and found Italian drivers to be more "even" and less angry than we are here.) We stayed in Apt. #3 at Al Poggiolo and it was terrific! (Site is: www.appartamentialpoggiolo.it) I used www.mappy.com for detailed maps of towns and specific routes along with the Touring Club of Italy maps and we did well (aside from a couple of turn-arounds and a hard time finding our way around Siena...) You will have a great time!
Mary Jean
Hi, Patrick:
Yes, we did love #3!! We thought about you and also about Barb -- whom I think will be in #3 in October...No, we didn't use the outdoor fireplace -- it was still very warm while we were there in September and we made salads and had cool meals...I will remember those views especially during Vancouver's rainy winter - what a joy that apartment is! Perhaps we'll be able to return sometime and use that fireplace. I thought that the fireplace in the living room would also be lovely on cool evenings.
Mary Jean
Yes, we did love #3!! We thought about you and also about Barb -- whom I think will be in #3 in October...No, we didn't use the outdoor fireplace -- it was still very warm while we were there in September and we made salads and had cool meals...I will remember those views especially during Vancouver's rainy winter - what a joy that apartment is! Perhaps we'll be able to return sometime and use that fireplace. I thought that the fireplace in the living room would also be lovely on cool evenings.
Mary Jean
Hi, Maitaitom:
We weren't quoted any "minimum stay". The house is owned by Elena and Marguerite Bracci and their families. They are wonderful - warm, welcoming, helpful...(We found their home very difficult to locate but we persevered with help from someone in a bar...and arrived at their door tired and frustrated...They said that we were the first people ever to be able to find them without calling for directions en route...and then one of their husbands accomplanied us to the grocery store and back to be sure that we found the way). Their English is great - so if you are interested I would encourage you to write to them and see if they will accomodate you for however long you wish. (I could have stayed for a month!)
Mary Jean
We weren't quoted any "minimum stay". The house is owned by Elena and Marguerite Bracci and their families. They are wonderful - warm, welcoming, helpful...(We found their home very difficult to locate but we persevered with help from someone in a bar...and arrived at their door tired and frustrated...They said that we were the first people ever to be able to find them without calling for directions en route...and then one of their husbands accomplanied us to the grocery store and back to be sure that we found the way). Their English is great - so if you are interested I would encourage you to write to them and see if they will accomodate you for however long you wish. (I could have stayed for a month!)
Mary Jean
Accomodating doesn't begin to describe the two sisters. We were without car and called them when we arrived at the local bus station. Marguerite's husband came in a car to pick us up (but he introduced himself to us as "Margarite's errand boy" -- it took us two days to find out that was supposed to be a joke). For the day we were to leave, Margarite apologized that her husband had to go to Siena to pick up their son so she would arrange a taxi to pick us up. Another couple were leaving at the same time, so she arranged for the car to come and pick up two of us, take them to the station, then come back for the other two. There would be plenty of time. When we went outside that morning with our luggage about 10 minutes early, we saw the car pulling away with the other couple and thought "good, they're early, they'll be back shortly for us." But when they didn't return we rang Margarite's bell. She got on the phone and got hold of the guy who said that he only saw two people when he was there the first time, so he didn't come back and he was now on his way to Siena also. Margarite screamed at him in Italian and told us to wait. She then pulled a car around to the front and drove us herself. This seemed odd since she had told us that she couldn't drive. Halfway down the hill in the car she told us that she had no license -- I think it was taken away after an accident and she wasn't allowed to drive -- but there was no way she was going to let us miss our bus. That was some ride.
Regarding a minimum stay, I was thinking that they only quote by the week, but I could be wrong.
Regarding a minimum stay, I was thinking that they only quote by the week, but I could be wrong.
Dear Jean,
I had read a glowing review about these appartments and Montepulciano in a trip report, and had immediately told Gail that that had to be my personal top pick, and the way everybody chimes in just confirms it. The sisters sound fantastic. And I'm definitely going to ask for #3, it sounds like the pick of the litter (not to mention that in March I suspect we'll be able to really enjoy that outside fireplace!).
I had read a glowing review about these appartments and Montepulciano in a trip report, and had immediately told Gail that that had to be my personal top pick, and the way everybody chimes in just confirms it. The sisters sound fantastic. And I'm definitely going to ask for #3, it sounds like the pick of the litter (not to mention that in March I suspect we'll be able to really enjoy that outside fireplace!).
We just got back from Tuscany. We hired Alessandro Cammilli to pick us up at the Florence airport and drive us to our hotel (Palazzo Ravizza) in Siena. We then spent 2 days touring with him in Tuscany before he drove us back to Florence. I know we would never have seen as much without him. We spoke to other guests at the hotel that were having difficulty finding their way around the countryside.
