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Where to go with friends for the first week of May?

Pauline

Pauline

Forums Admin
Old friends of mine from Vancouver Island are taking a cruise from Florida to Rome, then another from Rome to Greece and Turkey and back to Rome, and after that want to spend a week with us in a vacation rental in Tuscany. They have traveled in Europe but are not slow travelers (mostly sea and river cruises). They spent a week in Strasbourg last year in an apartment - their first vacation rental.

They are my age (we all went to university together in Ontario), D is a retired IBMer and B is an artist.

A couple of years ago they did a bus tour (20 people) of Italy starting in Rome and going north, including Florence and Venice. It was a one night here, two nights there thing. I tried to talk them out of it then, but they wanted the taste of Italy to see what parts they liked. (I asked them what parts they liked. No answer.)

I think they have in mind a villa (but not too expensive) in the Tuscan countryside. It will be the first week of May (starting April 30) - so no need for a pool. Something with lovely views, not too far from a town.

B may be an artist but she gets bored with historic churches. I think they would enjoy a visit to a winery (I wouldn't). I toured them around the Cotswolds a few years ago and they liked seeing the countryside and villages.

We spent a week at Sant'Antonio last summer, so I probably don't want to go to the Val d'Orcia area - although that is my favorite part of Tuscany.

Here are the ideas I am batting around. Please post with suggestions. I am looking for an area that they will enjoy, but that we want to visit/revisit too.

> Something near Lucca. It won't be such a zoo the first week of May. We have not explored the mountains north of Lucca.

> Near Arezzo? I would like to see the Piero della Francesca frescoes again. We could get into Chianti from there.

> Umbria since we had such a fab time in Spoleto? Maybe the area south of Lake Trasimeno because we stayed in Panicale many years ago and loved it.

Just writing this post has helped me. It is difficult sometimes to understand what your friends will find interesting on a trip.

So, suggestions? Links to 2 to 3 bedroom houses (villas)? Thanks!
 
How about Chianti? I went on Kathy's tour of the area & really enjoyed it. I didn't know much about Chianti wine (beyond the stereotypes of cheap Italian reds) but really enjoyed them. The scenery was lovely & the food excellent as well. We stayed in a hotel in Castellina called Palazzo Squarcialupi which I loved. I'd recommend having a drink on their terrace, which has amazing views out over the hills. The town has a fun 'tunnel' under the walls surrounding one side of town with some good shops.
 
I've cruised in and out of Civeccehia(sp) a few times, and picked up a rental car close to the port at Hertz booked through the Auto Europe click thru on this site.
My fav base from here was Orvieto. It is close enough to do day trips to Assissi, Deruta, Perugina and even Tuscany. Poppies are out in May.
 
They have a few days before we meet and I was thinking of sending them to Orvieto. We spent two nights there last year and loved it, but I want something further north for staying with my friends.

We have stayed several places in Chianti, but it was years ago. It is on my short list now.

Chianti, Lucca area, Arezzo area, western Umbria. It might depend on what type of vacation rental I can find.
 
I really liked Greve area, but cannot recommend the places I've stayed there. The area was great for day trips. Loved Panzano, Radda, etc. Lucca was also a choice for me but I couldn't find a place available that I wanted. Book early.
 
What about Asciano? It's convenient to Siena, Arezzo, Lake Trasimeno, northern Umbria, hot springs, yet in a different landscape for variety. We stayed there quite a few years ago and loved the town (friendly) and area, and was probably the coolest rental we've ever stayed in (a 15th century watch tower, alas only 1 bedroom so that won't work for your group). Arezzo is beautiful, as well, though. :D
 
I am still trying to figure this out. I would like to find a 2 - 3 bedroom house, but there are not many of them. Probably an apartment on an estate is more practical. I remember now what I don't like about the area near Arezzo - the autostrada runs through that valley. So I am looking in Chianti as @SusanSeattle suggested. @Valerie that is a good suggestion to. We know that area a bit.
 
How about renting an apartment inside the walls in Lucca? It gives you lots of options not all of which involve getting in the car. There are some wonderful historic places with plenty of room.
 
I inquired about a lovely sounding place in a town near Pienza and got the price today - €4,500 per week for 2bed/2bath main floor of a villa with beautiful views. And another suggestion from an agent of a 3bed/2bath house in Chianti near Panzano for $4,500 per week. !!! Who stays in these places?

Our 2bed/2bath apartment in Spoleto that we shared with a friend last September was €850. A very good price.

I found a 2bed/2bath apartment in Lucca for €1700/week. Al Battistero (not sure if it is available). It is looking cheaper now that I see the other prices.

I now realize that I can't look at any luxury places - too expensive in Tuscany. I was hoping for under €2,000 for a very nice place. I have several other more moderately prices places on my short list - back to work!
 
Thanks @ellen ! I have been looking at InTuscany's properties and I like San Quirico.

Another thought is that we are doing this the first week of May. Maybe we are better off in a town or city like Lucca since it may not be warm weather.
 
It's so hard to know with the weather but I think that by the first week of May it's going to be pretty warm. We spent two weeks in that part of Tuscany a few years ago, the last week of March and the first week of April, and it was cool but certainly not cold.

I like to check accuweather and wunderground for perspective, each allows you to look at history and see any anomalies. This year it was in the high 70's and low 80's the first week of May with evenings in the 50's, that sounds just about perfect to me!
 
Pauline, those prices are crazy! We've rented an apt. in Lucca several times overlooking the walls, 2 bedroom/1 bath for 1200 euro for 3 weeks. I think you could do better charm wise, but still. I found ours on homelidays.com. On the other hand, the val d'Orcia is the most beautiful place on earth in my opinion.
 
I have had a breakthrough! The Amalfi Coast!

I had picked Lucca but it turns out that my friends spent 2 nights there on their bus tour of northern Italy a couple of years ago. So they have seen Lucca, the Cinque Terre and Pisa, plus Siena, Florence, San Gimignano - the greatest hits of Tuscany. Plus I was not feeling good about what I was finding in the Chianti area - very expensive, not close to town. And Steve and I are not wine drinkers, so it feels odd to be going to a wine region.

Then I looked at southern Tuscany, but we were there last year when we stayed at Sant'Antonio (which we loved). And I think it would be a lot of driving around and visiting towns - which started to feel boring.

My friends have not been south of Rome. Their cruise end near Rome (Cittavecchia). They can take the train to Naples, we can fly there. Maybe a few nights in Naples and then get a car and go to the Amalfi Coast. I am looking at rentals on Summer in Italy now. I have always wanted to rent from Luca because he twice gave the grand prize in the old ST contests, and that was so nice of him.

I had rejected the Amalfi Coast because we were near there (Sorrento) in 2001 for two weeks, and Steve does not like the area. But I got all my arguments in favor lined up and it only took 10 minutes to convince him.

It is a good time of year to go - first week of May. It will be sunny and warm, most likely, but not packed with summer tourists.
We will have a car but there is good public transportation if we want to do different things (my friend likes shopping).
We can rent something with a view of the sea.
We can do 2 - 3 days of hiking on those trails above the towns that I read so much about. If our friends don't want to hike, they can take a bus and see the towns.
We can visit Pompeii! I would love to see it again. Maybe Herculaneum too.
Same with Capri.

Finally I am excited about this trip!
 
Hooray! Only 10 minutes to convince him, good job! :D

It will be a great time, with the ferries and buses it's pretty easy to see things. And the views are definitely worth the trip. We've wanted to so some of the trails in that area; you'll love the hiking.

Luca's staff is great about recommendations for properties, too, if you need help deciding. You can tell them what type of house you're looking for, preferred town, view, etc and they'll give you the best options in your price range.
 
I emailed Luca and asked him for advice. Meanwhile I am going through the properties. They look great! And I will ask Gail Hecko for advice (she does tours there).

Maybe we can see you on this trip @Valerie ? You come to the Amalfi Coast or we come down there. I will email you with dates.

I will start a new thread for the Amalfi Coast trip.
 
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