I had my villa for 2 already picked out in Western Tuscany, but last night's dinner with friends changed our direction. We may be going with 2 other couples, one of which happens to be in their 70's. Two of the six traveling are VERY serious Foodies (in the biz in fact) and we want a good kitchen and perhaps we will all take a cooking class. I had chosen Casina di Rosa for many reasons - one of which was the location within walking distance to a markets and shops.
So, now I'm looking for something completely different. At least 1 bedroom needs to be on ground floor with few steps for the less mobile of the group.
I've spent the afternoon searching for options online. Do any of you fine folks have particular recommendations in Tuscany - or even nearby other regions?

Hello gracieb.

I made reservations for October at the 2 Elisabette in Cortona. One of the reasons I chose it was because my father is 79 and it supposed to be suitable for mature people. Also it is near grocery supplies.

Here is one of the links (It is listed on a million sites, but this one is the owners own site.)

http://2elisabette.monsite.wanadoo.fr/

Let me know if you have any questions.

How beautiful, PLMN!!! Thanks for your response. I will forward the link to my friends. This looks perfect!

I noticed the nice ground floor bedroom. Did the owners say anything else to indicate that it's suitable for older, less mobile guests? It appears that access to the garden area is relatively flat.

Also, what did they say about "near grocery supplies". It doesn't really matter I guess since Cortona is not so far away. I just like the idea of walking to market from the other place but we'll definitely have a car.

Thanks again. I've had difficulty today finding something that looks nice that doesn't have a flight of stairs to the bedrooms! This may be a dream-come-true.

Dear gracieb,

I am going to gather my detailed email responses and post back in a bit, don't go too far.

plmn

I'll stick around. I certifiably addicted? (Not sure about the spelling - I'm on my second glass of French wine!)

(Oh, the International Rentals.com web site has a partial picture of the kitchen and very detailed description of the villa.)

Here is a quote from a response to some of my questions:

"We are in the countryside. This commercial center (forget my English)is just a small supermarket where you can buy food and other products for the house. There is also a cafe and a small restaurant. They have no link on the web about it. It is very modern, but just in front of it you have a 16th century small church. Cortona, on the contrary is fully medieval.

In my property you can stay quite and calm within five fenced hectares of olive groves, to walk ten or fifteen minutes to reach the above mentioned the supermarket, to drink a coffee, to eat a good countryside sandwich and to buy something for your stay in the villa. But I suggest you to rent a car to pay a nice visit on this Tuscan area."

"The villa is 5 kilometres from Cortona."

I really grilled the "owner" about the feasability of older people staying there because my father has bad knees. I went so far as to ask about renting one of those "hoverround" things and she said she would check for me. I haven't heard anything back on that yet. No big deal if we don't.

I just love that large living room.

Let me know if you have any more questions. When were you planning to go? Various booking sites show various availability. I know that the week before we go is now booked. We will be there in October.