For the first time of our holiday we spent two whole days by the villa doing absolutely nothing. Bliss!
We were blessed with two days of beautiful weather - blue skies and sunshine and we spent a couple of days just chilling out and relaxing by the pool.
It was Stuart's 29th Birthday on Tuesday 13th September so I made him dinner - ensalada caprese followed by chicken and mushroom risotta, washed down with a bottle of Tattinger champagne (brought from home). We spent the two days eating, reading, relaxing, drinking Chianti and Italian Beer and having long lies.
Renting a villa is in my opinion one of the best ways to enjoy your time in Italy. Interchanging lazy days by the pool with daytrips to go sightseeing in the nearby towns and villages is an ideal way to spend your time.
When planning a trip to Florence or Tuscany, a useful website regarding villa rentals in tuscany is Tuscany-Villas.it. They have a good selection of villa, farmhouse and apartment rentals throughout Tuscany. They also offer many luxury villas and apartments with pools for rent by the week.
Showing posts with label A Villa in Tuscany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Villa in Tuscany. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
A Villa in Vitolini
It didn't take long to get from Florence airport to our villa in Vitolini, near Vinci. The instructions were excellent and it took us just over an hour including a stop in the supermarket to stock up on all the essentials like food, water and of course some vino and a few beers.
The villa, called "Il Mulinetto del Lica" was gorgeous, set in a valley, surrounded by greenery with a lovely pool and sundeck. The inside of the villa was really modern and split on two levels with the kitchen and living room area on the ground floor and steps up to the bedroom area, which had a huge arched window looking out on to the countryside. There was also a door which led straight out to the pool area from the bedroom.
The caretaker of the villa, Tina was really friendly and helpful. She spoke great English (luckily, as our Italian isn't up to much) and showed us around the place, then invited us to join her, the owner and a couple of others for a glass of wine and some bread and cheese, which was nice.
On Sunday we had a lazy day by the pool, relaxing in the sun, eating pizza, pasta, bread and olives and drinking Italian wine and beer.
We both had a swim in the pool - our first and last swim of the holiday as it was absolutely freezing! I've been in cold pools before, but this one literally took your breath away.
Unfortunately we found that our location wasn't as perfect as we originally thought it was when we realised that the evening before both of us had been eaten alive by mosquitos.
For the remainder of our stay we burned mosquito coils, coated ourself in insect repellent from the late afternoon onwards and stayed inside as soon as the sun went down. At the end of the first few days I counted a total of 20 bites, including one that was almost the size of the palm of my hand on the back of my leg.
Despite the villa and the stting being absolutely lovely, this is one reason that I wouldn't come back again. I've travelled through areas in the world that have malaria, but never have I been bitten as much as I have this week. Arghhh! Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was more wet & humid in this area of Italy in September than usual and because it was in a valley surrounded by trees.
The villa, called "Il Mulinetto del Lica" was gorgeous, set in a valley, surrounded by greenery with a lovely pool and sundeck. The inside of the villa was really modern and split on two levels with the kitchen and living room area on the ground floor and steps up to the bedroom area, which had a huge arched window looking out on to the countryside. There was also a door which led straight out to the pool area from the bedroom.
The caretaker of the villa, Tina was really friendly and helpful. She spoke great English (luckily, as our Italian isn't up to much) and showed us around the place, then invited us to join her, the owner and a couple of others for a glass of wine and some bread and cheese, which was nice.
On Sunday we had a lazy day by the pool, relaxing in the sun, eating pizza, pasta, bread and olives and drinking Italian wine and beer.
We both had a swim in the pool - our first and last swim of the holiday as it was absolutely freezing! I've been in cold pools before, but this one literally took your breath away.
Unfortunately we found that our location wasn't as perfect as we originally thought it was when we realised that the evening before both of us had been eaten alive by mosquitos.
For the remainder of our stay we burned mosquito coils, coated ourself in insect repellent from the late afternoon onwards and stayed inside as soon as the sun went down. At the end of the first few days I counted a total of 20 bites, including one that was almost the size of the palm of my hand on the back of my leg.
Despite the villa and the stting being absolutely lovely, this is one reason that I wouldn't come back again. I've travelled through areas in the world that have malaria, but never have I been bitten as much as I have this week. Arghhh! Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was more wet & humid in this area of Italy in September than usual and because it was in a valley surrounded by trees.
Friday, June 17, 2005
A villa in Tuscany
I'm feeling excited today! We've booked part of our holiday - a week in villa in the Tuscan countryside.
I've been on a villa holiday before and loved it - it's a great way to combine lazy days by the pool and barbeques with day trips to towns and villages in the surrounding countryside.
A villa usually works out to be very cost effective if you're travelling in a group of 4 or more people, but if there are only two of you it can be harder to find one at a reasonable price.
If you do a search in Google on "Tuscany villas" or something similar you will be faced with hundreds of villa websites - some of them are fantastic, with great search facilities, lots of details and pictures and online availability checks. Amongst the good sites there are also lots of bad sites - some with very few pictures - why would I book a villa that I'd never seen before? Or hundreds of villas but no meaningful search facility, so you could spend hours trying to find what you want.
In the end I found a lovely 1 bedroom cottage with a huge swimming pool an hour away from Pisa and 45 minutes from Florence. The cost was pretty reasonable - £520 for 1 week. The site we used for booking was Tuscany Now
Now I just have to sort out some flights and hotels for Florence and Pisa!
I've been on a villa holiday before and loved it - it's a great way to combine lazy days by the pool and barbeques with day trips to towns and villages in the surrounding countryside.
A villa usually works out to be very cost effective if you're travelling in a group of 4 or more people, but if there are only two of you it can be harder to find one at a reasonable price.
If you do a search in Google on "Tuscany villas" or something similar you will be faced with hundreds of villa websites - some of them are fantastic, with great search facilities, lots of details and pictures and online availability checks. Amongst the good sites there are also lots of bad sites - some with very few pictures - why would I book a villa that I'd never seen before? Or hundreds of villas but no meaningful search facility, so you could spend hours trying to find what you want.
In the end I found a lovely 1 bedroom cottage with a huge swimming pool an hour away from Pisa and 45 minutes from Florence. The cost was pretty reasonable - £520 for 1 week. The site we used for booking was Tuscany Now
Now I just have to sort out some flights and hotels for Florence and Pisa!
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