Planning

A Foodie Tour on the Umbrian/Tuscan Border

Arrival - Rome, Friday morning. Check in to your hotel and enjoy a relaxed day in

Rome. Have dinner in a local ristorante and stay overnight to awake refreshed and ready for the Umbrian countryside. (An optional three-hour afternoon tour with a bi-lingual guide can be arranged.)

Saturday - Take train from Rome Termini to Terontola, where we pick up rental cars and drive to our 200-year old stone farmhouse(s). Since check in is after 3pm, we will have time to enjoy the drive, stop for lunch and a visit to a local alimentary (grocery store) to buy our supplies. Our houses are stocked with basics but most everything is closed on Sundays so it is best to get a few days of supplies before getting to the houses.

Spend the evening in a local hill town enjoying the sunset and regional specialties like wild boar, pasta with truffles, or lamb.

Sunday - Brunch at a local market/restaurant specializing in locally-made organic products. Drive the hilltop ridges for an orientation to the area and for the beautiful vistas. Visit a local farm, either an organic farm or an alpaca farm. Evening cooking lesson.

Monday - Start the day with yoga by the pool. Then a half day trip to Cortona with its Etruscan museum, winding cobblestone streets, and the church of Santa Margherita, Stop into a local regional food specialist. Spend the evening at home for a wine or olive oil tasting. Or, take a day trip to Montefalco with a winery visit and tasting, Visit the Gozzoli frescoes and sip coffee in the piazza; as you wish.

Tuesday - Half day rip to Montepulciano, in the Tuscan wine country, with a visit to Master Cesare, coppersmith. Cooking lesson in the evening - perhaps a series of regional antipasti. Or maybe a half day trip to Anghiari with a visit to the Busatti linens factory and local basketmakers.

Wednesday - A slow day starting at our weekly outdoor market, grab a porchetta sandwich for lunch or try a little restaurant in town, then over to Umbria’s capital city, Perugia for the evening passegiata. People watch in the piazza or visit one of the many museums, churches or luxurious shops in the centro. Have a coffee or a beer at Sandri, a locally renown café on the piazza. Window shop Perugia's sophisticated Corso.

Thursday – Free day for lounging by the pool, reading in the shade or additional touring, as you wish.

Friday - Day trip to the wine and olive oil museums in Torgiano with lunch at the Lungarotti restaurant. Dinner at home with a hands on cooking demonstration. (Could be the making of olive bread, or roman bread crumb pasta, or salt encrusted whole salmon.) Or perhaps a vespa tour around Lake Trasimeno?

Saturday - A 9 am check out. Drive to Chiusi and drop off cars. Take train to Rome, have dinner, relax and stay overnight.

Sunday, - Fly out of Rome's Fiumicino airport mid-morning for an evening arrival home. Or start your tour of Rome...