Eglu Cube Coop For Sale

[Cinnamon]

I have never been anywhere vaguely Italian,& as I am not a great traveller unless its to somewhere I have been before,I wondered if anyone had ever been to this region & what they think,before I book it up.

 

The self catering place I have found is near 24k from Florence,a village called Artimino,& unlike our usual resort type place,seems pretty remote (finances dictate - this is very cheap compared to other holidays)

It has rave reviews,& we always hire a car anyhow.

Hubby & smaller daughter like to see historical things like castles & so forth.

Bigger daughter & I like to lounge & drink wine (the village is a hilltop wine producing place)

We are all into food too,with the youngest being veggie.

 

Any comments welcomed

[Snowy]

Have never been but this sounds idyllic! Hubby has been to Italy and raves about it! I've read a couple of novels set in Tuscany and have wanted to go ever since

[Cinnamon]

'Under the Tuscan Sun' by any chance?

Been trying to get that for my Kindle

[Snowy]

No not that one. Am kicking myself, can't remember. May have to go and google (it was a while ago though so may be difficult to find )

[Willow]

Sounds lovely Sarah, I've never done the all in resorts so don't know how they compare but I love the sort of place you've just described. I would have thought it would be perfect now your girls are quite grownup and don't need the amusing younger children need.

 

We tend to spend most of our money on renovating the house (7.5 years so far ) so sailing last year was the first 'proper' holiday we'd done since moving here

[Snowy]

Nope, can't find them. Frances Mayes descriptions look good though don't they? Hm, giving me ideas about our next holiday now

[Sageandonion]

We drove to Tuscany this summer from Hampshire (yes we are mad!) but it was well worth it. We stayed on the coast but ventured inland as well. The region is just as you'd imagine it would be, rolling hills, vineyards, cypress trees and hill top towns with amazing views. A car is essential and it can take a while to travel around the region as the roads are quite winding and the region is not served by major roads - certainly not where we were anyway though you do get to see the real Tuscany. Take travel sickness pills even if your family aren't normally car sick - my kids were - it was the up and down driving that made them queasy.

 

Florence would be a must - especially as you would be so close, the cathedral is beautiful, the architecture fantastic and there is loads to see. Go to Piazzale Michelangelo for breathtaking views of the City. If your daughter likes historical places Pisa is one she won't want to miss but you only go there for one thing. Entrance to the Tower is by timed ticket and you can pre-book before you go I think. One of the nicest places we visited was San Gimignano, not too far from Siena, an old medieval hill top town out in the country, known as the medieval Manhattan, as it has a number of (skys"Ooops, word censored!"er) towers. Very pretty, lovely square, nice shops and great gelato! We also went to Volterra (think Twilight saga - Volturi - though apparently New Moon was filmed elsewhere and unfortunately we didn't bump into Mr Pattinson ), again a pretty hill top town with spectacular views over the surrounding countryside and plenty of places to eat. We were really lucky with the weather too. If you do decide to go, you'll probably be spoilt for choice for places to visit, though bear in mind it's a big region and the cities/towns are spread out. Italy ticks all the boxes for us, on the food front, weather wise and the culture, oh and him indoors loves the Vespas ! Hope this helps.

[Cinnamon]

That helps greatly,thanks

Isn't The David in Florence too......I have always wanted to see that.

It is sure starting to sound like a great option for us

[bellekatz]

We went to tuscany in that really hot summer of 2003. It is a beautiful part of Italy! We flew to Rome and then hired a car and drove up. Stayed at a villa complex near Sinalunga which wasnt an exciting town but the views were lovely. All the hillltop towns are sooo pretty - Montlecino and Montipulciano were our favourites until we went to Siena during Palio week and had the most amazing experience of Siena as a medieval town. We didnt get to florence or to see family in pisa but we did also go to Perugia and Chiusi. Chiusi was amazing as we went on the catacombe tour do see th etruscan tombs to find out there were only us. The guide came and we went in our car with him to a remote farmhouse and down a hill to the entrance to the tombs. It was so wonderful, and even though we had to translate everything for the kids they still remember it. Seeing stuff 2000 years old was incredible. I think tuscany was the most memorable family holiday we have ever had so I am sure you will love it, whatever you go and see!!

 

Chiusi etruscan tomb

 

 

Palio in Siena

 

 

Montelcino

 

 

Food and ice cream was fab everywhere though they do eat late and pasta is only a mid meal snack, (starters, pasta ,meat and pudding!!)

 

Siena central square

 

[Lewis]

Well I'm convinced!!

[Paola]

All this talk of Tuscany has got me looking back at our old holiday snaps

 

DD1 in Florence

 

 

 

The view from our "Agriturismo" in Vinci

[Cinnamon]

Right,I am hooked.

Just got to confirm the time off work now

[The Dogmother]

Only that it is wonderful, but then I am biased... it's where my family comes from.