Umbria & Le Marche

Amy, We've been living in Umbria for the last 5 months, so I may be able to add a little to your thinking. There are some marvellous places here to visit. Although the bus/train may present some challenges, with a little basic Italian (dov'e la fermata per...?), you'll be fine, as almost every Italian here speaks enough English to get you where you need to go. Assisi is an obvious choice. Spello and Spoletto are fabulous to visit, and would be on my list too. We live in Perugia, which has a really fabulous town center (centro storico) with lots going on. I loved visiting Montefalco for the Sagrantino tasting at L'Artische in the centro storico followed by their fabulous dinner. This website also has some ideas for you: http://www.umbrianadventure.com/Basic.html Cheers!

I'd stay in Ravenna. Nice old town, lots to see and easy connections by train and bus to places like Padua, Verona and even Venice. Also to the Adriatic coast.

Since no one has mentioned Gubbio or Urbino, I'll throw them in for your consideration. Sorry, but I don't know anything about public transport. If I were using it, however, I'd try to find schedules and base my choices on which towns have good transport connections. You don't want to spend too much of your time in vehicles, or discover that the only bus is too early or too late, or that despite proximity you can't there from here . . .

Ravenna is lovely, especially if you are into the world famous mosaics. Another town, further south in the Marche, is Ascoli Piceno. Fantastic square, walkable, quaint. Very Tuscan type town without the extra cost of "Tuscany" -

Don't miss Todi in Umbria....a beautiful hill town...had a fabulous lunch there last week, cooked by a Scottish chef, John Paterson! It's called Antica Hosteria del la Valle, Via Augusto Ciufelli.