Enjoying Casa Fabbrini

We were greeted Friday evening by Giorgio and Paola, the owners of Casa Fabbrini who welcomed us into their home as if we had known them for years. It was literally like being "at home" only this home was an amazing Tuscan villa that opens its doors to guests year round and lavishes them with every detailed comfort.

Giorgio and Paola are not only the best cooks, make their own jams, cookies, olive oil, everything but they are also two very respected physicians in Rome. They invited us to an incredible dinner with homemade pasta (made by Giorgio), amazing radicchio, rabbit with the secret sauce, and a semi freddo of persimmon. To top it off biscotti made by Paola herself , chocolates, and after dinner drinks. Oh I forgot about the suppli' direct from Rome and the most amazing mozzarella! Non ho parole...

We sat at a large table in a beautiful dining area with all the guests who stayed in the Villa the entire weekend. It was nice, refreshing talking and chatting with people I had never met before that evening. We had one thing in common, an appreciation for good food and very nice company.

If you ever plan to visit the Valdichiana area, check out http://www.casafabbrini.com/
You will be glad you did.

Renting a Villa in Tuscany

Since this is such a popular topic, I will be writing more and more about holidays and renting property in Italy in future posts. For one reason or another more and more people are deciding to rent villas in Italy. The many advantages are to avoid steep hotel costs, freedom to do what one wants to within the confines of your rental property, ability to lodge with many people and divide costs, and finally stay in a beautiful home with all the amenities.

The option of renting an Italian property is becoming so attractive among foreigners visiting Italy. Word of mouth has been the largest motivator. Foreigners return home boasting about the incredible restored farmhouse they rented in the hills of Umbria or Tuscany for instance.

How does finding rental property in Italy work? The toughest job is finding the one property that is right for you. There is a plethora of websites for those searching. I happen to have some favourites: http://www.agriturismo.net/, http://www.welcometuscany.it/, http://www.italy-vacationrental.com/.

I thought it helpful after you have found a few properties that interest you, to ask for recommendations from others that have stayed there. You can contact them to get some inside info on the villa.

You must of course decide on the city or town you want your vacation to be based in Italy . You will most likely need to rent a car. It would be nice to know how far the autostrada (freeway) is and where the nearest train stations are.

You should know what kind of a Italian holiday you want. Do you want to stay close to the villa and absorb the local beauty and bask at the pool the whole time or do you want to use it as a base and visit neighboring towns (and if so how far are you from these towns?). Will you be travelling with children? A villa in the middle of nowhere sounds romantic and peaceful to you but could be boring for a teen.

Amenities
Amenities in this Italian property rental may include pool, tennis courts, Jacuzzi, housekeeping services, pick up and drop off at the airport. If you will be with younger children, ask about high chairs, pack and plays, cribs, etc. Make sure you are clear (a written confirmation is best) which amenities, if any, are included.

Also be sure that you know if the villa is being exclusively rented to you. In other words you will not be sharing it with other guests or groups.

Cost
Most of the time villa rental costs are not per person but total cost to rent the premises. Rates vary per area and based on low or high season.Again always get a written confirmation.

Other Info
Find out who will be available if you need something while staying in the property. Is this person down the street or in another city? A pipe can burst or electricity can be cut off. Who do you need to call and most importantly, who will pay for the repair?

Be Informed
Get as much info as you can including of course pictures of your Italy vacation rental. Here recommendations will come in handy. You will want to ask past visitors about the cleanliness, overall maintenance, availability of landlord, amenities, etc. Lastly the more prepared you are before getting into the property, the more you can really rest and enjoy yourself once you are here!