A Week in Tuscanny

Hey, Pam, welcome to the bulletin board. First basic question to you is how much research have you done on your own? Do you have a good guidebook? The RS Florence/Tuscany (only one "n") book is excellent and will be the smartest money you spend on your vacation. Second question to you is what do you enjoy doing? BTW, good choice on Assisi. We loved it, although it's best with at least an overnight stay. We stayed two nights and wished we had stayed three. (Here are some photos of Assisi in May 2008 taken on our trip, in case you're interested.) And a little trivia - Assisi isn't actually in Tuscany; it's in Umbria. Still beautiful, though.

Thanks Michael for your reply. I do have and have read the RS Florence and Tuscany. Incredible resource. I know we can't do it all so I thought I would see what others think. As for things we like to do -- visit local art/artists, history/church history, shopping and of course food/wine. I should also add that we plan on visiting the small village of Saturnia and hope that we can make another stop on the way.

Hi Pam, What Agriturismo are you staying at? We went to Volterra and San Gimignano one day, and Pienza and Multipulciano one day. We enjoyed all those towns.

Pam, It is all wonderful and I think there is nothing more fun than just getting in the car with a map and a vague idea of where to go and take off exploring. that is the most fun of all. Drive till you see something interesting and just stop... no schedule, no plan...just Italy. You will find plenty of interesting places and beautiful countryside to drive through.

Thanks everyone for your good advice! Michael - the pictures are gorgeous. We will definitely not miss Assisi. Andrea - We are staying at agriturismo Marciano. Are you familiar with it? And ambling through the countryside sounds lovely!

Yes, I am familiar with Agriturismo Marciano and have recommended it to many people. It may be my favorite place I have ever stayed! Best advice - do not miss any of their optional dinners. The food and wine are fabulous and interacting with the other guests is so much fun. They seem to do the dinners about every other night. Dinner is served at 8:00 p.m., so there is plenty of time to tour hill towns or whatever, and still be back in time. We stayed there in September 2010. If you are still looking for things to do when you get there, they are very good about giving you suggestions. Do you have a GPS? Having one was invaluable for us. They may have one at Marciano that they can loan you, but I would check with them about that.

Hi Pam, my husband and I will be going from Orvieto to Florence and we were going to take a train. Just curious, why did you choose a bus? We were also thinking of renting a car in Orvieto and possibly driving it to Florence and dropping it off (I know about the hazards of Florence everyone, I would just be dropping it off at the car rental agency. :-)

Hi Mary, I think we are going to take the bus from Sienna because it is actually faster than the train. Check out the Rick Steve's Florence Tuscany guide. I am sure either is fine and we may take the bus one day and the train the next.