Hi,
We enjoy listening to your show and greatly appreciate your wonderful advice and knowledge!
We are a family of three (one soon to be 13 year old daughter) who would love to stay in either the Umbria region in Italy or the Provence region in France for two weeks. We are very flexible with our travel dates for late June, July or August of this year. We are interested in staying in a villa rather than a regular hotel. We would also like to travel to other parts of the country by train. Which location would be best suitable for a 13 year old and train travel? We greatly appreciate all your help! Thanks so much! P.S. Can you please recommend any villa rental sites?
SpecMan
Dear Specman,
I'm not sure if you heard our answer on air last Sunday. Bottom line: you stumped us, or to be more specific, divided us! My father voted for Provence and I thought Umbria would be more fun for a 13 year old. Both destinations offer the promise of excellent eating, historic sights to view and spectacular vistas. You may just want to toss a coin; I don't think it's possible to go wrong with either choice!
We are worried, however, about you relying solely on trains with a villa rental. You can rely on trains in those areas, however, you need to stay in urban areas to do so. Most villa rentals are in the countryside, so to get from your villa to, well really anywhere, you'll need a set of wheels. So you may want to rethink your planning on that. Instead of a villa, you might consider an apartment rental in one of the bigger towns, one with good train service (perhaps in Avignon in Provence or Perugia in Umbria). If you do decide to rent a car, know that car rentals are much cheaper in France than they are in Italy (due to all the extra insurance you're required by law to purchase in Italy). So you may want to factor in all your costs--airfare, villa costs, and in-country transportation--when choosing your final destination.
As for villa rental companies to use, try the following:
Good luck with your wonderful choice. As I said before, there's no way you can go wrong on this one.
Cordially,
Pauline Frommer
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