"Favorite family summer getaway in Italy"
by Laura Veglia
We decided when our daughter was young that each summer we would bring her to a different part of Italy to introduce her to the Italian side of her heritage and also to discover a new part of the country where her father was born. Working for an internet travel company, we normally stay in the best of hotels but this year we thought we would try something new by staying in the countryside away from the throngs of tourists in the main cities. I left the planning to my husband and he found a place for us to use as base to explore the region of Umbria. I was brave and left the planning to him.
We arrived in Rome and set off on the autostrada to find our home base to tour the area of Umbria - Montefalco. After two hours battling to get out of the Roman traffic, we came close to our destination. The arrival directions were interesting,,, off the highway turn at the second vineyard and follow the road till you come across a villa with a red gate. After traversing a long and dusty country road and passing many vineyards, as well as several olive groves and quite a few fields of waving sunflowers, we knew we were lost. We almost started to panic when in the distance I saw a red gate. But to our dismay the villa at the end of the road was not quite what we expected . With falling down steps and peeling paint, I thought that my worst nightmare of internet travel was about to be realized. We were greeted by a angry looking dog and an old woman with no teeth Lucia, our 16 year old daughter, and I stayed cowering in the car while dad went to check things out. We were realizing the hazards of allowing dad to plan our summer vacation. Finally, after much consultation which included a great deal of hand gestures, my husband returned to the car and to our relief announced we were not staying here.
The next villa we came to was much more inviting a long winding road and at the end on top of the hill sat the Villa Mustafa, a building that looked like it came from another era. Tall cypress trees flanked the entrance and the smell of flowers greeted us from the garden.
Now let me tell you about the the original owner,,, this Mustafa who had built the villa. Many years ago Signor Mustafa was the last castrato singer at the Sistene Chapel. Naturally being a castratto singer is a somewhat significant inconvenience to a man, but in his case because of his high pitched singing voice and his wealthy employer (The Vatican), he was compensated handsomely and became very rich. This Signor Mustafa must have been smart to have purchase this very significant parcel of land in what is arguably one of the most beautiful countrysides on this earth - Umbria. This was getting interesting.
Greeting us at the door was a lovely woman, with long flowing black hair and somewhat pale skin. She showed us around the grounds, through the household and finally our rooms,,, we had the green and the blue room on the second floor. As we scaled the stairs to our room the eyes in the portraits of the original Mustafa seemed to follow us. There did not seem to be evidence of other guests in residence.
Our first day passed uneventfully, except we learned one small fact. Travelling with a child in Italy gives you one distinct advantage at meal time. Italians are suckers for animals and small children. In Italy there are strict rules for lunch. Lunch ends around 2pm and dinner does not start up again till 7pm. If you happen to be starving during these hours, you are out of luck. In our case we were quite hungry after travelling so far so we set off on the road until we saw a sign with two forks - it is a sign for gastronomy in Italy, if you see a sign such as this on a country road, I recommend you follow it, you will not be disappointed. Alas, we found the restaurant attached to the sign but it was closed - it being after the official lunch and dinner time. My husband approached the matron of the house who was just locking up and asked if we could come in for something to eat. The answer was an equivocal "NO".
What could we do but trot out our daughter, looking gaunt as only a teenager can - pleading for the lady to allow us in for the sake of the bambina. We used her shamelessly as bait to gain entrance into the restaurant. The woman looked at our daughter, thought a moment, then turned back the key in the lock. Her last words to us, "you may come in, but only if you eat what I tell you to eat". We knew at that moment we were in. We were seated at a long wooden table with a view of the rolling green hills and waited eagerly. The first plate was set in front of us, slices of homemade salamis, pancetta and cheese, crustry bread and a fresh local wine. Then we watched as she went to the garden, gathered a variety of things and through the kitchen came back and presented us with a salad of greens - less than 5 minutes from the earth. Then my husband asked in his most respectful way if it were not the season for porcinis. The lady looked at my husband for a moment, said something under her breath and left us. We thought that was it until she came back with a platter of pasta and porcini, trailing behind her the smell of the forest. Oh glory, the joys of travelling with a teenager. This turned out to be one of the most memorable food experiences of our trip.
Now after this unexpected feast, we set off back for our home base but due to our somewhat extended afternoon gastronomic experience, it had become quite dark outside. The country road which had seemed quite inviting during the afternoon almost seemed somewhat scary at night. The plants on either side of the car seemed almost to reach out and grab us. Coming around the corner we must have scared a very large bird from its nest. It almost seemed we were under attack as it took flight from its nest and flew in front of the car.
Finally we came back to the villa. There were no lights on and so we tiptoed up the stairs to our room. We deposited Lucia in the blue room before retiring to our own. The small bedside lamp did not do much to illuminate the room. There being no tv, no internet and nothing for us to do, we all went straight to sleep. It seemed very quiet for about ten minutes after which we were introduced to the sounds of the countryside. First something small seemed to be foraging in the yard maybe a cat or perhaps some other less domesticated animal? Then the sound of the cicadas - it is a sound that I have now become used to in the Italian summer, the first night it was a new sound for us. Then after we had finally settled down to the normal sounds of the night, we heard each step creaking outside our door, as though the ghost of Mustafa was coming to pay us a visit. My husband and I lay wide eyed in the bed, not knowing what to expect. After a couple moments of silence, the door burst opened and in came a vision in the dark our very own Lucia long legs and all jumped in between us trembling with fear!. Now anyone who has slept in a matrimonial bed in Italy will know that it is a far cry from an American queen bed, and definitely not room enough for three. After a long and somewhat restless night in the bed all together, the morning sun peeked through the window and we were woken to a delicious smell coming from downstairs. We got up and hurried down to a breakfast of fresh pastries - hot from the oven, homemade apricot marmalade and a table set with fresh white linens on the lovely terrace.
After this memorable beginning of our trip, each morning we set off in a different direction to explore. Our host gave us some recommendations but mostly we just followed the road till we found a place that looked interesting to stop. We visited Perugia, which is a college town and probably closest to a city that exists in Umbria, Spoletto, which is known for its jazz festival, Assisi, and our home town of Montefalco, which produces a very special wine called Sagrantino. In a town with probably 10,000 inhabitants it had the most amazing restaurants.
Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy. It is less known than Tuscany but equally as beautiful and not overrun with tourists. Umbria is less touristic than other areas of Italy and you should be ready for a slower pace in the summer. The scenery is lovely, the people genuine and it is full of medieval hill towns and fashionable villages.
Ahhhh Italy, it is good to be home again!
by Laura Veglia. In addition to being a mom, Laura is the vice-president of Sales for BookIt.com, an online travel provider.
We decided when our daughter was young that each summer we would bring her to a different part of Italy to introduce her to the Italian side of her heritage and also to discover a new part of the country where her father was born. Working for an internet travel company, we normally stay in the best of hotels but this year we thought we would try something new by staying in the countryside away from the throngs of tourists in the main cities. I left the planning to my husband and he found a place for us to use as base to explore the region of Umbria. I was brave and left the planning to him.
We arrived in Rome and set off on the autostrada to find our home base to tour the area of Umbria - Montefalco. After two hours battling to get out of the Roman traffic, we came close to our destination. The arrival directions were interesting,,, off the highway turn at the second vineyard and follow the road till you come across a villa with a red gate. After traversing a long and dusty country road and passing many vineyards, as well as several olive groves and quite a few fields of waving sunflowers, we knew we were lost. We almost started to panic when in the distance I saw a red gate. But to our dismay the villa at the end of the road was not quite what we expected . With falling down steps and peeling paint, I thought that my worst nightmare of internet travel was about to be realized. We were greeted by a angry looking dog and an old woman with no teeth Lucia, our 16 year old daughter, and I stayed cowering in the car while dad went to check things out. We were realizing the hazards of allowing dad to plan our summer vacation. Finally, after much consultation which included a great deal of hand gestures, my husband returned to the car and to our relief announced we were not staying here.
The next villa we came to was much more inviting a long winding road and at the end on top of the hill sat the Villa Mustafa, a building that looked like it came from another era. Tall cypress trees flanked the entrance and the smell of flowers greeted us from the garden.
Now let me tell you about the the original owner,,, this Mustafa who had built the villa. Many years ago Signor Mustafa was the last castrato singer at the Sistene Chapel. Naturally being a castratto singer is a somewhat significant inconvenience to a man, but in his case because of his high pitched singing voice and his wealthy employer (The Vatican), he was compensated handsomely and became very rich. This Signor Mustafa must have been smart to have purchase this very significant parcel of land in what is arguably one of the most beautiful countrysides on this earth - Umbria. This was getting interesting.
Greeting us at the door was a lovely woman, with long flowing black hair and somewhat pale skin. She showed us around the grounds, through the household and finally our rooms,,, we had the green and the blue room on the second floor. As we scaled the stairs to our room the eyes in the portraits of the original Mustafa seemed to follow us. There did not seem to be evidence of other guests in residence.
Our first day passed uneventfully, except we learned one small fact. Travelling with a child in Italy gives you one distinct advantage at meal time. Italians are suckers for animals and small children. In Italy there are strict rules for lunch. Lunch ends around 2pm and dinner does not start up again till 7pm. If you happen to be starving during these hours, you are out of luck. In our case we were quite hungry after travelling so far so we set off on the road until we saw a sign with two forks - it is a sign for gastronomy in Italy, if you see a sign such as this on a country road, I recommend you follow it, you will not be disappointed. Alas, we found the restaurant attached to the sign but it was closed - it being after the official lunch and dinner time. My husband approached the matron of the house who was just locking up and asked if we could come in for something to eat. The answer was an equivocal "NO".
What could we do but trot out our daughter, looking gaunt as only a teenager can - pleading for the lady to allow us in for the sake of the bambina. We used her shamelessly as bait to gain entrance into the restaurant. The woman looked at our daughter, thought a moment, then turned back the key in the lock. Her last words to us, "you may come in, but only if you eat what I tell you to eat". We knew at that moment we were in. We were seated at a long wooden table with a view of the rolling green hills and waited eagerly. The first plate was set in front of us, slices of homemade salamis, pancetta and cheese, crustry bread and a fresh local wine. Then we watched as she went to the garden, gathered a variety of things and through the kitchen came back and presented us with a salad of greens - less than 5 minutes from the earth. Then my husband asked in his most respectful way if it were not the season for porcinis. The lady looked at my husband for a moment, said something under her breath and left us. We thought that was it until she came back with a platter of pasta and porcini, trailing behind her the smell of the forest. Oh glory, the joys of travelling with a teenager. This turned out to be one of the most memorable food experiences of our trip.
Now after this unexpected feast, we set off back for our home base but due to our somewhat extended afternoon gastronomic experience, it had become quite dark outside. The country road which had seemed quite inviting during the afternoon almost seemed somewhat scary at night. The plants on either side of the car seemed almost to reach out and grab us. Coming around the corner we must have scared a very large bird from its nest. It almost seemed we were under attack as it took flight from its nest and flew in front of the car.
Finally we came back to the villa. There were no lights on and so we tiptoed up the stairs to our room. We deposited Lucia in the blue room before retiring to our own. The small bedside lamp did not do much to illuminate the room. There being no tv, no internet and nothing for us to do, we all went straight to sleep. It seemed very quiet for about ten minutes after which we were introduced to the sounds of the countryside. First something small seemed to be foraging in the yard maybe a cat or perhaps some other less domesticated animal? Then the sound of the cicadas - it is a sound that I have now become used to in the Italian summer, the first night it was a new sound for us. Then after we had finally settled down to the normal sounds of the night, we heard each step creaking outside our door, as though the ghost of Mustafa was coming to pay us a visit. My husband and I lay wide eyed in the bed, not knowing what to expect. After a couple moments of silence, the door burst opened and in came a vision in the dark our very own Lucia long legs and all jumped in between us trembling with fear!. Now anyone who has slept in a matrimonial bed in Italy will know that it is a far cry from an American queen bed, and definitely not room enough for three. After a long and somewhat restless night in the bed all together, the morning sun peeked through the window and we were woken to a delicious smell coming from downstairs. We got up and hurried down to a breakfast of fresh pastries - hot from the oven, homemade apricot marmalade and a table set with fresh white linens on the lovely terrace.
After this memorable beginning of our trip, each morning we set off in a different direction to explore. Our host gave us some recommendations but mostly we just followed the road till we found a place that looked interesting to stop. We visited Perugia, which is a college town and probably closest to a city that exists in Umbria, Spoletto, which is known for its jazz festival, Assisi, and our home town of Montefalco, which produces a very special wine called Sagrantino. In a town with probably 10,000 inhabitants it had the most amazing restaurants.
Umbria is known as the green heart of Italy. It is less known than Tuscany but equally as beautiful and not overrun with tourists. Umbria is less touristic than other areas of Italy and you should be ready for a slower pace in the summer. The scenery is lovely, the people genuine and it is full of medieval hill towns and fashionable villages.
Ahhhh Italy, it is good to be home again!
by Laura Veglia. In addition to being a mom, Laura is the vice-president of Sales for BookIt.com, an online travel provider.
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