Italy in Nov.

Food, cooking and wine say "Bologna" to me.

How about Umbria? Le Marche? Great hiking in Umbria and great food. You might also return to Tuscany and visit some towns you may have missed there. Also good hiking. There is a book you might like, "Walking & Eating in Tuscany and Umbria." I've built parts of my trips around it.

Haven't been there, but how about Sicily? Would be warmer than northern Italy and I'd imagine plenty of hiking and amazing food.

Thanks for all the suggestions. We are starting to do our homework on them. We will definitely look up the "Walking & Eating..." book. We traveled by train on our first trip, but we are starting to realize that to get off the beaten track a little more, we will have to rent a car for at least part of the trip. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Kathleen: Check Slow Travel for some drive ideas. Here is one: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/sd_driving_tuscany.htm. Note in the nav bar to the right there are many others. We loved the day spent between Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano and San Quirco d'Orcia. Simply lovely! There is also a hike (in the book I recommended) from Montalcino to the Abbey of Sant'Antimo. If you try to do it, ask a local how to get started. The book version is a little complicated and the locals have a better way.

I agree with Laurel about Tuscany. We stayed at Agriturismo Cretaiole in Pienza the end of October/first week of November 2010 and loved it. It would include all of your interests. We chose that week because of the olive harvest, but there's also plenty else to do. Isabella, your hostess, puts together an entire week's itinerary that you can choose from; some things are included in your rate and others are optional. There's no pressure to do any of the activities, but there's something for everyone. Food and cooking - cooking class that was thought to be excellent by the two couples who went to it, a pici pasta making night at the agriturismo, truffle hunting and the most amazing lunch after... Wine - besides the wine tastings that Isabella sets up, Montalcino (Brunello wineries) and Montepulciano (Nobile wineries) are very close by. If you're interested in olive oil, we got to visit the local mill, watch the olives being pressed, and sampling and learning about good oil. Hiking - one of the activities was a long walk with a "local" that is also a highlight because he knows where all the best photo opportunities are. Cretaiole was an absolute highlight for us. We met a couple from Texas who were there for the fourth time and spending three weeks at Cretaiole. If you'd like more info, just pm me. You will love your stay there!