Italy
We spent x days (including transition days not included below) in Italy in September / October 2024. Weather at this time of year was .....
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We loved that over our stay we had a mixture of cities / culture, hiking along coast as well as in the mountains, beautiful beaches and one of the most stunning wine regions we have visited to date.
Locals were ......
It was easy and inexpensive to get around on the public transportation system. We traveled primarily by bus, train and foot.
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Food was f....
Budget: We spent $10,000 not including food/drink and international airfare). On average our lodging was $x a night. ​
​​​Breakdown of 45 visit days:
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Guimarães (2 days)
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VENICE
We have been to Venice several times but it never gets old. The canals, narrow alleys, outdoor cafes are mesmerizing. We could just walk around with no real plans for a couple of days getting lost in the maze and be very happy.
Larry did a run and sort of found his way over four Grand Canal bridges. Go early to minimize crowds and heat. The large yellow markings for major landmark directions are helpful, but definitely bring your phone to find your way back.
We stayed in the Saint Croce area and were very happy with this location. Half way between train/bus stations and San Marco area. Way less crowded and touristy.
Unfortunately we had a cancelled flight so we lost a full day and our opportunity to visit Murano and Burano, so next time.
Rolling luggage works, but be prepared to carry it up the steps of the MANY unavoidable small bridges. With good route selection, you can minimize the times you need to go over the larger Grand Canal bridges with your luggage. Later, when strolling around, those bigger bridges do make for nice photo opps, as does almost everywhere else in Venice.
DAY 1 - Venice
Arrived around 11:30am. No lines at passport control. We purchased our ticket in advance online for ATVO bus, but could have easily bought it at the airport. Machines at baggage claim. ATVO has a direct bus to Piazza Roma which was a 17 minute walk to our Airbnb. ACTV is another bus company or you can also take a boat.
After checking in to our Airbnb, we wandered around the corner and had a late lunch at Il Retolo. Sat outside overlooking a canal and enjoyed our pizza, salad and house wine.
We walked to Doge's Palace. We had tickets to the Secret Tour, which we missed due to our flight issues, but we were able to use our ticket to do a self guided tour before it closed. There were informative signs in every room. Interesting visit, but not a must do.
We saw the Four Seasons Concert at Vivaldi. Bought our tickets in advance at Get your Guide. Beautiful setting in a church. Small quartet that was very good and obviously loved what they did. Show of 50 minutes was perfect. After 40 hours stressful delay travel with little sleep, there was a bit of dozing, but all good.
On way home bought gelato at Suso. Not to be missed and don’t let the line intimidate you.
Note: we had reserved in advance free tickets at Fondaco dei Tedeschi rooftop terrace. Another miss from our delayed travel, but heard the view is wonderful. Nothing to lose so make sure you book it in advance. It’s popular.
Key learning was to avoid booking things you really want to do on the first day to avoid misses.
DAY 2 - Venice Film Festival
Rainy day so we took advantage of the Venice Film Festival that just happened to be during the week we were there. Didn’t see Brad and George around, but saw many nicely dressed attendees in various areas. We selected tickets (in the morning) for an afternoon movie in Lido “Happy Holidays”. Lido is a short boat ride from just north of San Marco. Boats run every 20 minutes. Buy tickets at Ticket Office or machine at the waterfront. Be sure to validate your tickets at the machine.
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Fun highlight of day was wading through San Marco square during acqua alta. Fortunately we wore waterproof sandals that day, but merchants were selling over the calf waterproof outer boots that seemed to do the trick. High tides flood this low lying area, mostly in winter months, but anytime the high tide is above about one meter. Used to happen less, but with Venice sinking a fraction of an inch per year, it is now happening more frequently, flooding up to 12% of Venice.
Dinner Barco Quebrado - rainy outside so had to eat inside. Only 4 tables (3 tables for 2, 1 for 4). Got there at 6pm had a short wait. friendly staff and good value. Tiramisu amazing. Loved a complementary limoncello.
DAY 3 - Verona day trip
Bought train tickets the night before online. Train had comfortable seats with access to a charger for your phone. Verona is about 1.5 hours from Venice by train.
Verona is a cute town. Very walkable, lots of shops and restaurant options and historical sites. Train station is a 15 minute walk from the start of the downtown area.
Did an audio guided walking tour via Walking Cap. Our internet service (T-Mobile) isn’t the best so some sights we could listen to, others had to read the text. Quick info, not a lot of content. Love the concept of the audio walking tours as they provide structure to your day with enough information as you walk, so you get a bit more out of your visit.
Enjoyed seeing many of the bridges.
Did a Small Group Guided Walking tour of the Arena (Get your Guide). 30 minutes and then you can stay in the arena as long as you want. Interesting info and comparisons to the Colosseum. If you visit Verona during opera season it would be a MUST to catch a show. No mics needed, just natural acoustics.
Also saw Juliette’s balcony with hordes of other tourists.
Lunch at Il Ciottolo. Enjoyed some local favorites.
Bought train tickets back to Venice online about 60 minutes before the train departure.
Back in Venice had dinner around the corner from our Airbnb at Al Bagolo - sat outside on the square. Very friendly service, good house red wine as well as seabass, fresh homemade pasta and tiramisu.
Dolomites
Dolomites
Sept 7 - 13, 2024 (7 days)
Self Guided / Guided
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We booked our self guided trip Alta Via 1 North via Mac Adventuresabout 9 months in advance.
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We choose to work with an agency as we were told it was difficult to get a spot in the Refugios (limited space, very competitive, difficult to know when they open their books for the time we want, and if a Refugio isn’t available, need to know how to pivot and adjust itinerary).
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Note: We did meet some folks that didn’t did book it themselves so it is possible, cheaper, and definitely time intensive.
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We met lots of other people on trail with different agencies - both self guided and guided (Mount Trek, Trek trails, …) so look around if you are going to use an agency, and find one that is best for your needs.
Overall
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Tougher hiking than we anticipated due to some technical sections (e.g., cables, rock scramble), decent ascents and descents and rocky terrain. There are some exposed sections but in general path was wide enough so not super scary
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We trained so we’re able to comfortably complete each day
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Views were fantastic
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Trails took us through valleys, mountain passes,
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In general trail markings very good but there were occasions where we were glad we had our digital map from Mac Adventures
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Crowded at times with some very large groups of 10 or more to pass (more in the earlier part of day) as well as a few hikers coming opposite direction
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Started most days 8am - 9am we’re at our next Refugio by 1pm - 3pm
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Weather is a factor and changes constantly as you look at the mountain forecast. On the second to last day of our hike (Sept 12) we got 6 inches of snow ….
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Highly recommend this experience. Truly enjoyed the hiking, views, Refugio’s, all the friendly hikers we met
Clothes​
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Need layers it can get very cold when you are not moving and very warm if sun is shining doing a long ascent
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Be prepared for rain - rain jacket and rain pants
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Comfortable (warm) Lounge outfit to change into after hiking
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Pack light it’s okay to wear a pair of hiking pants and bring only one other pair to change into. Same with shirts. Wash your underwear and socks at night ensuring they are dry wick so they are dry by the next day ~wring out, then dry with a towel, then hang in the sun or breeze, if possible.
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Shoes / Socks
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We hiked in trail running shoes and they worked well for us up to the last day when we anticipated snow / heavy rains. Highly recommend if you are going to use trail shoes they are fairl new so you have good traction.
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If you are concerned about wet weather or the rocky trails hiking boots may be perferred.
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We wore "Wright socks" and had no blisters.
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​​Need to pack house shoes for Rufugios as you can’t wear your hiking shoes inside
Lodging - Refugio
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All had charm, were clean, warm and welcoming
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Most had a separate bar, restaurant and outdoor decks
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Very limited number of private rooms. Mostly dorm rooms with up to 10 people with shared toilets and showers
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All had hot water for showers . Towels and soap/shampoo were provided
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Some have standup toilets
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Bring ear plugs, eye mask for dorm rooms
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Sleep sack for all accommodations as there are no sheets. Warm comforters provided
Food / Beverages
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All Refugio’s provided delicious and plentiful meals
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Our breakfast and dinners were included
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Sometimes we bought lunch at a Refugio on the way to our Refugio or we discreetly took some fixings from our breakfast for lunch
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Breakfast: hard or soft boiled eggs, a large assortment of different rolls/breads, meats, cheeses, baked goods, yogurt and granola. Some were buffets others food was on your particular table
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Dinners 4 courses: choice of a soup or pasta type dish, salad, meat entree, dessert. Vegetarian options available
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We were always assigned a particular table for our meals
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If there was not a Refugio along the way the next day to purchase your lunch at … bag lunches were available for purchase the night before
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House wine was reasonable and good. Beer, spritz’s widely available
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Starting on day 3 water was no longer drinkable so needed to buy water
DAY 1 - Arrive in Cortina
ATVO runs 3 buses daily to Cortina D’Ampezzo. We booked our tickets online weeks in advance (assigned seats). Caught the 10:20am bus from Piazza Roma (was not full). Transfer at Marco Polo Airport to Cortina 11:05am bus. Bus stop Bay A - two bays down from where we arrived. No chargers or toilets on bus, so prepare for the 2 hour 20 min scenic ride.
Cortina is a very picturesque alpine town- buildings with flowers overflowing from their window sill planters. Town surrounded by large sharp majestic mountains with a clean glacier fed river flowing by. Pedestrian street with lots of shops and restaurants. Town is bigger than we thought with lots of construction in preparation for the winter 2026 Olympics.
2 hours walking around followed by a spritz at one of the outdoor cafes and then dinner at X was perfect. Not sure there is much more to do if you aren’t joining the throngs of day trippers both hiking and biking, mostly ebike mountain bikes, but some non-electric and road bikes. Given the tight windy roads with no shoulders and lots of traffic, including big busses, it seemed like you’d want to get off the road ASAP. Saw some gravel trails next to the road. Someone we met took the cable car up and said the views were spectacular.
We stayed at Hotel Ponteschi. It was a short walk into town center and an even shorter walk to our bus for the morning of day 2. Staff was friendly and helpful, and happily stored our luggage until we returned from hiking five days later. Room was clean, decent size and had a nice sized balcony. Breakfast was bountiful. We brought some ziplock bags down with a small string backpack and discreetly made our lunch for later on the trail side.
DAY 2 - Bus to Lago Di Braies; Walk to Refugio Fodara Vedla
Hike: ~8 miles, 3200 feet
Moderate to Strenuous
Caught the 445 Bus, a 5 minute walk from our hotel to the hockey stadium. Bus left seconds before on-time at 8:05am. Cash only - 10 euros for both of us. Arrived at 8:50.
Transferred to 442 Bus at Dobbiaco. Also ran on time at 9:01am. YOU MUST BUY YOUR TICKET ONLINE. Saw many people without online ticket turned away with cash and credit card in hand.
Got to Lake Lago du Bries by 9:30am. Lake is lovely water, super clear and a beautiful blue. Saw several rental canoes paddling around.
After a short hike south along the west shore of the lake past small rock towers and several cows, up we went on trail 1 toward Refugio Biella. Pretty much up and up for the next 5 hours.
Views were beautiful. Scenery changed. Trail itself started out moderate but over time had some challenging rock sections, some rocky staircases as well as a section that required a cable hand railing. Without the railing Amy would probably still be on the mountain. hiking poles were very helpful.
At the top, where you can see Refugio Biella down the trail to the left, there was an optional offshoot hike up another 1000+ feet climb to the right. Clouds were rolling in by then threatening rain, and certainly impacting any potential views, so we didn’t take the option it looked to be quite steep along a ridge line. We got down to the nice deck views of Refugio Biella, where you could order a hot lunch, beer and use the WC (although squatters only certainly tested the quads). From there it was a much easier 3.5 miles as some of the trail was gradual down or flat gravel road, followed by more up and down trails, but not super steep.
Made it to our place around 3pm, an extra mile past Refugio Sennes, which also looked nice, and seemed very popular. Our place, Refugio Fodara Velda , was lovely with a large outside deck (that we couldn’t use as it is began raining cats and dogs shortly after we arrived), a bar and a restaurant where they provide a fixed menu dinner at 7pm which was very good - choice of barley soup or vegetarian strudel, salad, meat and vegetables followed by homemade ice cream and fruit.
Bonus we were able to upgrade ($25pp) from our dorm sleeping / shared bathroom booked accommodation to the last available private room with bathroom. Room felt new. They also provided towels and shampoo/soap. Very luxurious, compared to what we were expecting.
DAY 3 - Walk to Rifugio Lavarella
Hike: 5 miles, 1600 ft
Moderate
Breakfast was good and typical. Cheese, meats, rolls, hard / soft boiled eggs, yogurt, sweets. Buffet, so we loaded up, including cheese sandwiches to go. And good coffee.
Today was much easier than yesterday even though we had a steep downhill and another 1500 ft to climb. Trails/roads were small gravel and only a handful of sections with some bigger rocks.
We were so lucky with the weather as it rained all night and miraculously stopped at 10am when we started our walk.
Scenery was pine trees on the way down into a valley surrounded by high rock mountains that we climbed back through and up. Amazing views on the way down and walking up the valley.
We passed 2 other refugios on our way. The second one, Fanes, we had lunch.
Our Refugio Lavarella makes their own beer. Ends up it is the highest brewery in Europe. So, naturally, we had to try it - not bad. Wonderful to sit on their deck in the sun drinking our beers and talking to others. Lots of other Americans, large Norwegian group and a large German group. Everyone very friendly.
Our room was twin beds, one low one high, and shared bathrooms down one level. Worked out fine.
Dinner was very good and lots of food - ravioli or soup, polenta - vege or meat, salad, ice cream.
DAY 4 - Walk to Rigugio Valparola
Hike: 8 miles, 3600 ft
Strenuous
Breakfast was a nice buffet with typical hard boiled eggs, rolls, cheese, meats, yogurt, muesli. Knew it would be a tough day, so we tried to get going early. Everyone else had the same idea. Hit the trail at 8:00. Beautiful 360 degree of the surrounding mountains. Cowbells dinging continuously.
Began with first couple miles across open meadow, before reaching the decision point to climb up 1000 feet to a pass, followed by steep down tight switchbacks; versus a longer around the mountain route. We opted for the steep route after a guide advised it wasn’t that scary with stunning views, which proved very true. A tough climb up to a pass, where we saw the start of our long descent between two huge rock slabs. Further down, the steep got steeper and we were rewarded with a view all the way down to a lake, and then in the distance the long climb up the other side. (The climb that never ended) At the top of the other side we got another even more magnificent panoramic view, where we ate our lunch. From there we took a cable car down (runs every 15 minutes, 18 euro pp pay on the cable car) to Falzarego Pass, and then walked 1.5 miles parallel to the road, past rock climbers, to reach our Refugio Valparola.
We were pleasantly surprised to find we had our own large private top floor room with a private bath.
Shared drinks with others on the deck before dinner. Dinner was at 6:45pm. Choice of pasta, followed by salad, entree choice - meat or polenta, local dessert
Water was not drinkable at the hotel so we had to buy bottled water. Found out that was the story at all Refugios in the area. Supposedly we are in a more touristy area than where we came from.
DAY 5 - Walk to Rifugio Averau
Hike: 5 miles
Moderate
Today after a lighter breakfast we walked back to the cable car base at Falzarego Pass to continue our hike.
Bathroom available at the cable car. There is also a shop across the street that sells trinkets, hiking gear, and snacks. With bad weather forecast, we bought gloves and a head warmer at not too unreasonable prices.
The day’s hike wasn’t too bad. Of course gorgeous views, even with a little fog here and there.
We hiked up to a small lake with nice reflection of the mountain face we would climb. We went straight up a quite steep hike to the top of a chairlift coming from the other side. Up to this point the Mac App worked well with respect to directions, but somehow we were off track. We saw a sign to Averau, but it looked like a small path across a rock face, so we backtracked to where we saw several people below us go a different direction so we went back down the steepest section to where they were.
There was a sign to our Refugio Averau, so up we went through a rock scramble before hitting the top, which was on the other side of a huge rock outcropping from the chairlift. Our narrow path continued across the mountain face on an exposed trail with dramatic views. Fortunately the trail was wide enough so Amy wasn’t fully freaking out.
Wasn’t a long day, we only hiked for about 3 hours. Had lunch in our Refugio Averau. Food was good.
Larry did some additional hiking after lunch up to nearby Refugio Nuvolau perched on top of a huge sloping rock slab, while Amy hung out at the Refugio Averau. Views out were totally clouded, but nice views looking back at Cinque Torri (five towers).
After hiking and running into the same groups, and having the same experiences, people become like old friends, so we shared a couple of drinks in the bar area before dinner.
Dinner was at 7pm. Multi course, some choices and lots of good food.
We asked for, but were denied a private room, so we slept in our planned dorm room with 10 beds (warm, cramped, and dead quiet, so each sound, like a squeaky bed, seemed magnified -not great sleep). Shared co-ed bathroom and showers.
DAY 6 - Bad Weather back to Cortina a day early
Hike: 3.5 miles
Easy (with our alternate bailout route)
Severe weather forecast with 2” of rain or 17” snow as temperatures would be falling throughout the day, so we made the tough decision to change plans. We ended up bailing and headed back to Cortina via Falzarego Pass.
Down we went, the rain and wind soaking us by the time we hit the bottom, and worked our way back to Falzarego Pass. Due to a switch from high to low season, we were told that the bus wasn’t running toward Cortina, so we caught a bus going the opposite direction. Turned out several of our new hiking friends were on board doing the same thing.
Saw snow falling and blanketing trees, shortly after boarding our rescue bus at the pass.
We ended up circling around via 3 buses and 1 train (and one train station cowboy bar) to make it to Cortina.
Good news was we were able to problem solve with others to figure out what to do. A fun bonding experience (in hindsight).
We started the day at 8am at 6500’, and arrived back in Cortina at 3:30pm, happy to get a private room and warm shower.
Walked 15 minutes into heart of Cortina for drinks and early dinner at Faro Bar. Good cocktails, good house wine, and good flatbread.
Got the first good night’s sleep in a few days.
DAY 7 - Rest day in Cortina
Rest Day for Amy
Larry took a 7 mile trail run loop out of Cortina. Happy to have no backpack and no rain. Some good trail, except for a new river choosing to follow part of the trail. Nice views of surrounding hills blanketed in scattered snow. Back for a relaxing afternoon on the couch in one of the cozy common areas of our Hotel Pontechiesa.
Villa Le Panteraie
We spent 8 days / 9 nights in a fabulous Villa (Le Panteraie) just outside of Montecatini Terme. This experience should be on your bucket list. Our friends were so gracious to include us in this incredible experience. The villa was huge. 5 ensuite-bedrooms, professional kitchen, large dining room, game room and pool. Keiko the cat. The view was magical. We felt like rockstars,
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Every day was different. You could choose to be lazy or go site seeing. Most days for us included walks either into Montecatini Terme or Montecatini Alto - tiny hill top town 2 miles from the villa, wine and lots of wonderful food.
PIZZA MAKING: At the villa
This was an all day activity as we started with some dough already made and learned to make fabulous pizzas, facacio bread and fried bread.
We also made the dough ourselves and it raised all day and we were ale to use it the next day to make more pizzas.
At some point we learned how to make the easiest most delicious terimus.
DAY TRIP - Lucca
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DAY TRIP - Pistoia (twice)
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Val d'Orcia
Self guided 5 day hiking.
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Most days more walking than hiking. Average 8 - 10 miles each day.
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Do not rely on google maps for walking directions. Use all trails and other trail maps to ensure you avoid roads.
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Beautiful scenery- walking through rolling hills, via vineyards with bursting grapes or fields ready to be replanted.
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No need to leave for your day to much before 9am / 10am particularly if you are planning to stop for lunch on the way to your final destination. Option for lunch was always available. Most restaurants don’t open up for lunch until 12pm and close by 2:30pm
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Towns are small so if there are particular restaurants or wineries you want to visit you must make reservations in advance. Taxi reservations should be made 24 hours in advance
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Wine was excellent as well as the food
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Many stores close 1:00pm - 3:00pm or 4:00pm
DAY 1: Transfer from Montecatini Terme to Montepulciano
Took the train from Montecatini Terme to Buonconvento via Refredi connection. We wrote our last accommodation (Agriturismo Percenna) prior to the trip to see if we could leave a bag. They said no problem so we left behind as much as we could in our rolling carry on bag. It was a short walk from the train station up quite a hill, but had enough time to drop the bags off and grab a sandwich to go before getting on our late full bus for a fairly short bus ride through Pienza to Montepulciano.
Montepulciano is charming. It is a hilltop town with lots of wine tasting options, little shops and restaurants. Wonderful place to wander around.
We stayed at an apartment (Manilla House) which was right off the plaza at the top of the hill. Good location, top floor, many stairs, had some charm, small.
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Pre booked Wine tasting at Cantina De Ricci. Good thing we did, as others who tried to join a tour were turned away. Winery dates back to the medieval times. It is the only wine cellar built like a cathedral with high arched ceilings.
Wine was good, and liked they gave us a cute meat cheese bread appetizer tray to go with our tastes. If we had chosen to ship some wine back home, pricing seemed reasonable.
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After tasting, we headed to dinner down and around the corner from our apartment - Il Teatro Cucina Toscana. Ambiance wasn’t anything special but we could eat early (6:30pm). Although they were fully booked, they gave us a table. Service was very friendly and food was great. Glad we were close to apartment as it rained very hard. Waiter recommended a good Nobile wine for a decent price.
DAY 2: Walk Montepulciano to Pienza via Monticiello
Hike to Monticiello: 5.5 miles, about 2.5 hours lots of chit chatting with people we passed along the trail (which weren’t many, but comforting to know we were on the right trail). First mile paved road rest of trail gravel road with very few cars and bikes.
Hike Monticiello to Pienza: About 5 miles. Must remember to look back for amazing views.
Did not need poles. Although 10 miles, fairly easy day of walking.
Breakfast - Lalma. Opened at 9 am. Good option if you are craving eggs.
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Found an All Trails route to follow - Montepulciano to Pienze via Monticiello, where we stopped for lunch. Picturesque start on cypress-lined path led to first mile on a busy paved road.
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After which was a gravel/dirt road with no traffic. Views gorgeous, Cypress trees, rolling hills, farm land, grapes and olive trees as well as some larger trees.
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Had to leave the trail for 2/3 mile to get to Monticiello. Very small cute town.
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Lunch - Daria, although a local recommended La Guardiola, but it was full at 12:40pm. Turns out Daria was a Michelin restaurant. Food and wine super good at Daria. Gave us a complimentary little dessert. Said for dinner you must have a reservation, but lunch had available outdoor tables.
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After lunch, we rejoined trail up to Pienza. Stunning views.
Last mile or two was on the paved road without a shoulder and speeding cars, so not super fun.
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Stayed at a lovely apartment (Pienzalettings, booked through Booking.com) which was surprisingly big as there were 3 small separate areas and an outdoor patio with a small table. Large bathroom and vaulted ceilings. Bonus was a washing machine we weren’t anticipating.
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After completing a load of laundry and hanging it out to dry on the patio, we walked around the charming hilltop town.
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Had an early dinner at Case Nuove. Can’t go wrong with pasta, salad and house wine sitting outside.
Dessert across the path at Buongusto gelateria. Didn’t let us down.
DAY 3: Walk Pienza to Bagno Vignoni
Breakfast in front of the church at the only bar that was open at 8:30am.
Started walking at 10:15am. Back down we went, but mostly on carless dirt roads and a true walking path. Only the last 15 minutes or so were we on a paved road. Lots of open space today walking thru fields of rolling hills with hot sun.
Lots of gnats, maybe from the overnight rains. Followed All Trails again today. 5.5 miles to San Querico d’Orvia. Taking us 2 and a quarter hours.
Lunch outside at La Bottega du Ines. We had decided to load up on protein after so much pasta lately, which was apparently a good thing. Our restaurant was out of pasta, and so was another place we passed -seemed unbelievable, and downright un-Italian. Not sure what the deal was. Had excellent gelato at Golosi di Gelato just up the way toward the church.
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Off we went up and then down down to Bagno Vignoni with the tower of Rocca d’Orcia looming on the distant hilltop.
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Mostly wide dirt / gravel roads with little traffic. Was a little over 3 miles, about 1 hour 30 minutes. The surprise was the rain, as we weren’t expecting it from the forecast, although we saw the darkening sky. Fairly light when we were walking.
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Once we arrived at our hotel (La Locanda del Loggiato) boy did it pour. Hotel was very simple with a very good breakfast.
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Bagno Vignoni is a very small town famous for baths, although our timing with the weather wasn’t conducive to going out. Later we looked at the outdoor pool of Hotel Posta Marcucci. Looked amazing. A huge hot tub with beautiful views, but we were too late for a paid visit (about 30 euros, complimentary for hotel guests).
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There were very few restaurants, and a few closed on Wednesday, so ended up eating at the deli (La Bottega Di Cacio) below our hotel. Amazing bottle of Malintoppo Sangiovese wine for 18 euros, super friendly service, a good (but not heated) salami panini and vegetables.
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Early night for us since we couldn’t book a taxi or shuttle service, so walking to the abbey in the morning. Bus only runs direct once a day at 7:45am and that was too early for us as we wanted our included breakfast at 8:30am.
DAY 4: Walk to Saint Antimo Abbey from Bagno Vignoni
Hardest day. To the Abby was 9 miles in 4 hours, 5-6 miles of hiking (not walking) river beds, rocky muddy trails, wooded area. Due to the recent rains lots of large puddles to maneuver. Last 1-2 miles on a dirt road with up to 20% grades. Climbed 2,000 ft.
At the abby we enjoyed the chanting music and being able to sit for a little bit.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/08bTzTWCPfHFA4r6R_gCB0dQg
After the Abby another 4 miles and another 1,000 ft to reach our Montalcino apartment for the night. Again walked last mile on a busy paved road without much shoulder.
Apartment was large and outside the gates of the old town. Beautiful view from the balcony of the Tuscan hills. Only bummer about the apartment was the 15 minute downhill walk into the old city, so climbing that hill back after dinner and Brunello tasting.
Montalcino was charming like all the other renaissance towns, and a bit larger. With various shops and restaurants. Many more wine shops than we have seen to date offering free shipping to USA, if you bought 12 bottles. We couldn’t resist and look forward to our case when we return home.
We had dinner at x. They have a lovely area outside under an arch ceiling and a quaint back room inside. The wine was excellent and egg parmigiana the best we had. Stopped for gelato on the way home and it was very good
Miradouro das Virtudes
DAY 5: Walk Montalcino to Buonconvento
After 2 different stops in town for cappuccino, as we were in no hurry today as we only have a 3 hour / 8 mile walk, we headed down hill some sections of road 20% grade), and after a mile stopped at Paradiso di Caruci for wine tasting. We had no reservation but they squeezed us in.
We tried 4 delicious wines. Wines are all processed by hand. Manager super nice.
Walked another couple of miles on a dirt road through vineyards before we hit a busy paved road with very little shoulder. The last 5 miles was not pleasant. Lesson learned do not rely on google maps for walking directions. Use all trails and other trail maps to ensure you avoid roads. We talked to others and they definitely walked on paths not roads.
We got into B around 2pm. Had pizza not great. Followed by gelato before hoofing it up to our Agriturismo Percenna.
Agriturismo is charming. Views amazing, wonderful food and warm welcoming hosts.
DAY 6 - DELETE
DELETE SRIP
Umbria
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We spent a week outside of Perugia in the middle of nowhere, or at least it felt that way in a Villa -San Martinello (we booked through booking.com). The villa was charming and perfect for our needs. It has three apartments for rental on the grounds of this renovated 18th century manor house. Lots of grounds with trees surrounding the house. We ate dinner at home most nights as we weren't comfortable biking in the dark. We found a Conad grocery store a 10 minute bike ride from the villa. We adopted the cat who lived on the grounds. Actually she snuck in while we were getting settled. She made herself quite comfortable on our bed, until we decided to let her hang with us only in the living room area, when we weren't eating. She generally popped in for a visit whenever we opened the door, and happily napped on our couch. She seemed very clean and well cared for, although we never met her owner.
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Excellent e-bikes rented for the week through Renty Bikes. Great customer service for Andrea. Very helpful to have e-bikes in this hilly area.
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On most days we followed Apple maps or Komoot. Google maps did not work well for us. As we got more familiar with the area we found more options to our routes on less traveled back roads.
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It was nice to be based for a week and settle in for a bit. We had friends from Seattle join us for 3 days and that was great.
DAY 1 - Transfer via Sienna
Caught the 11:05am train from Buonconvento to Siena. 30 minute train ride. Open seating.
We had 3 hours before our Flixbus to Perugia which was a perfect amount to time to get lunch and walk to the plaza in Siena. We sat for a few minutes in the sun, trying to imagine how they turn this into a horse race track every year.
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Lunch was on the way to the plaza at Osteria Il Vinaio followed by, of course, our daily gelato.
DAY 2 - Laundry and lunch out
Catch up day to explore what was right near us and do laundry at the local laundry mat.
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Lunch at XXX
DAY 3 - Bike to Assai
We biked twice to Assai our first and our last day. The first time we went we were mainly on main roads the last time we found country roads whcih made the ride much more enjoyable. Took us each way about 60-90 minutes.
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The town of Assai is high on a hill. We checked out both churches that are on either ends of the town. Lots of tourist groups were doing the same. Several little shops, restaurants and wine tasting scattered throughout the town
DAY 4 - Bike to Perugia
A short bike ride but our least favorite due to city roads without shoulders, fast cars and to many roundabouts.
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We headed to the center of town and walked around seeing XXX. We would have liked to have seen YY but tickets were sold out for 2 days.
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Went to the chocolate factory. Only available tour was in Italian. We joined and the factory viewing was fascinating,
DAY 5 - Bike to Montefalco
Need to write this up
Geres
Alpine mountain town. Lots of hiking paths. Dense forest with lots of pine trees, ferns, crystal clear streams and waterfalls. Wonderful views. Goats, unattended horses, cows crossing road.
DAY 1
Easy drive from Porto. Our 1-bedroom Airbnb Refugio do Vidoeiro was right across the street from the start of two hiking trails. Great location and comfortable one bedroom place with decent kitchen and great patio.
We did PR3: Trilho Dos Currais. 6.5 moderate miles. 1,800ft+ elevation gain. First hour up hill (A few steep sections) which then opens up to a flatish section followed at mile 4 with an incredible viewpoint - Miradouro da Pedra Bela
Next 2 miles down had some fairly steep sections but all doable.
DAY 2 & 3
DAY 2: Rained pretty much all day. So we ended up just hanging out at our apartment. Rain stopped long enough for us to walk into town for lunch at Lourdes Capela. Lots of locals. Had a nice salad mista, sautéed cabbage, and black beans. Good sized servings.
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DAY 3:
Sun shined so we’re able to get out and see more of the beauty of Geres. First stop: Miradouro Rocas. Short hike up to 360 degree view point.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/037GeJzaA3dr9BKh9z5KdEbrw
Walked to Cascata do Arado. Along the way saw a single shepherd herding a huge group of goats that were quite spread out. He also had a dog, but didn’t seem he was helping much.
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Drove a short way to another view point along the way to our next waterfall.
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Followed by another short drive and hike to Cascata de Varzeas . Unfortunately could only hike so far before we hit a locked gate of private property so didn’t get the full view of the waterfall but most of it.
