This is exactly how I feel about Italy. I ve traveled to a lot of places yet never been to there. My

As a result, my readers are always asking me for Italy advice.  Most of the time, people want help with their itinerary, and I give them a variation of the Rome-Florence-Venice cheap airlines tickets for military members route with a day or two in the countryside.
I know most people visiting Italy for the first time want to see the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel and the statue of David and the canals of Venice.  These are the Italian symbols that have been etched in our brains since childhood.
I began thinking about this on my trip to Emilia-Romagna last year, but it was solidified after a few days in Umbria.  Umbria cheap airlines tickets for military members is far from an urban mecca the largest city is Perugia, which isn t even that big and we spent our days going from hill town to hill town and vineyard to vineyard, exploring close to the ground.
A lot of people travel to Tuscany thinking that they ll be the only foreigners, only to find themselves elbow to elbow with dozens of shuffling tour groups in San Gimignano or Cortona.  Tuscany cheap airlines tickets for military members is magical, but parts of it feel like Italian Disneyland these days.
Travel to Umbria and you ll experience all of the beauty, all of the charm, cheap airlines tickets for military members and all of the deliciousness of Tuscany with fewer crowds and less price-gouging.  (There is, however, one exception: Assisi.  Assisi is very crowded and very tourism-driven, but it s definitely worth a half-day visit.)
These towns, along with Orvieto, which I visited a few years ago, are convenient to visit for first-time Italy visitors, with tourist attractions and plenty of English cheap airlines tickets for military members speakers.  And LOTS of delicious cheap airlines tickets for military members food, of course!
While the museums are some of the big draws in Florence and Rome, there are great, quirky museums out in the Umbrian countryside as well.  I really enjoyed the Museo del Vino (Museum of Wine) in Torgiano.
I love small museums with a very tight and focused theme.  Plus, when something has been around for thousands of years in cultures cheap airlines tickets for military members all over the world, you can guarantee that it has an interesting history.  I loved seeing all the wine cups and bowls from different ages!
We happened to be in Umbria for the Feast of St. George, which takes place in April.  Among the festivities?  A bonfire and LOTS of porchetta (whole cheap airlines tickets for military members roasted pig stuffed with fennel).  It was the small-town aspect of the festival that really charmed me before cheap airlines tickets for military members the meal, the mayor made a speech and the priest led everyone in prayer.  I loved that.
Another advantage of traveling in the countryside?  It s SO much cheaper.  Our guide, Fabio, took us to a gelateria in his hometown where the gelato cost ONE EURO.  I have never paid one euro for gelato in Italy, anywhere!
And then, of course, there s agriturismo .  Agriturismo, or agritourism, is a very popular option for vacationing Italians, and it s just starting to catch on with international visitors. cheap airlines tickets for military members  In Umbria, we visited cheap airlines tickets for military members Agriturismo I Mondarli , run by three sisters.
How does it work?  You go stay at a farm or vineyard that doubles as a B B.  They range from very basic to nearly luxurious, though most agriturismos are quite simple.  During the day, you can help out with the work if you d like picking grapes, working in the gardens, pressing olive oil or you can do whatever else you d like.
But it s mealtime that makes agriturismo special.  Imagine plate after plate of fresh food from the farm appearing in front of you several kinds of cured meats, cheap airlines tickets for military members a giant mound of fresh ricotta, tons of vegetables picked from the dirt that day.  The sisters described their food as simply country food but believe me, even the simplest of Italian country food is better than food almost anywhere else!
I fully expect to see agriturismo grow exponentially all over the world in the next few years.  Keep an eye out for it!  For now, it s one of the experiences that I highly recommend in Umbria and anywhere in Italy.
So here is my new advice for visiting Italy: rent a car and drive into the countryside.  Visit every small town that catches your fancy.  Book a few days at an agriturismo.  Eat everything you set your eyes on.
It s not Rome, and it s not Venice, but it s a very different kind of Italian experience, and one that I enjoyed greatly.  If you re planning a trip to Italy for the first time, consider taking the Umbrian route instead!
Second: I ve been curious about this aspect of Italy and what you thought of it ever since you posted about Emliia-Romagna a little while back. I came across another blog that was singing the praises of Sardinia today, and your post here has made me want to go back to Italy and explore even more now!
Although if truth be told, I m ever so slightly terrified at the thought of 1 Euro gelato I have a feeling that Italy would NOT be good for my waistline. The food that you describe that is simply country food sounds heavenly, too for me, absolutely nothing can beat fresh, home-style food (and you know I m loving the fennel-stuffed pork, too).
Italy is VERY dangerous for your waistline. I gained so much weight during my semester abroad that my sister started calling cheap airlines tickets for military members me Heavy K! She drew a picture of me with a forgotten pie hidden underneath one of my rolls of fat.
You had me at Umbria and gelato ! That s one of the few regions of Italy my sister and I haven t been to yet. We recently cheap airlines tickets for military members posted a piece about renting cars in other countries (one of our few useful pieces) and if your readers see this and want to rent a car this info could be helpful:
Yay for Orvieto! Some other really cool towns to explore in the area are Sovana (really cool Etruscan ruins there) and Pitigliano. Also, very close to Orvieto is Civita di Bagnoregio, which is literally falling apart and something like 10 people live there.
I ADORE Umbria, and not only because I was born and live here, but because I think it s a magical place. Every time I go on holidays even if I visit the most beautiful countries, I always feel a deep gratitude for having the chance to live among these hills, when I finally see them again I always think Sooo beautiful I m home! .
Quote! Although cities like Rome, Venice, Florence, and there are many more city destinations in Italy that deserve a closer discovery such as Genova ^_^, the Italian countryside allows to dip very easily cheap airlines tickets for military members into a genuine everyday live made of open hearted people, great nature, traditions and great food. Every region offer a unique identity trough it s landscape, language, traditions, cuisine and true: that can t be found in the big cities. I think that makes Italy so attractive.
This is exactly how I feel about Italy. I ve traveled to a lot of places yet never been to there. My plan for Italy has always been to rent a car and do a giant road trip of the country, from cities to countryside to the coast, especially for a honemoon I ve never had the strong desire to simply fly in and out of their big well-known cities. I even opted out on a 4-day trip to Rome and went off to Croatia instead. When I think of Italy, all I ve ever envisioned cheap airlines tickets for military members were beautiful coastlines with stunning beaches and vast stretches cheap airlines tickets for military members of farmland in the countryside. Glad you re able to share this same sentiment cheap airlines tickets for military members now.
You ve spent a ton of time in Italy but your expert travel advice (you are a professional writer cheap airlines tickets for military members right?) was to send people to major tourist destinations every time without considering that hey, there is also a million other places where people could go (including the Tuscan countryside) until you went on a paid trip to Umbria? It never crossed your mind that there are places cheap airlines tickets for military members to visit outside your itinerary took you on a paid trip there? Did you not realize cheap airlines tickets for military members the countryside existed until then? How much time could you spend of spent in Italy? After all, I ve never been there but I still know that if I wanted to escape the crowds maybe going to the heel might be a better choice than Rome!
And your insights wow! The countryside is cheaper! There are fewer crowds! It s beautiful out there. Insightful cheap airlines tickets for military members stuff. Next you ll tell me revolutionary travel advice cheap airlines tickets for military members like visiting asia is cheaper than Europe.
I read your blog here and there and this is the straw that breaks the camel s back so to speak. It seems every post of yours has a thank you to someone who paid for your trip but the opinions are always your own. How is that possible when your travels are only where people send you? Or at places you get for free? At some point, your credibility becomes an issue. I ve never once seen you say Hey, I got this freebie but it sucked. You always cheap airlines tickets for military members glow about everything. Either you are not writing negative reviews or your opinion is that easily both. Both are equally bad.
Your blog was a lot better when it was girl explores the world. I really enjoyed reading about your time in Asia. It was interesting. Now that you take all these paid trips and write the worst travel fluff ever, I don t even see what the point of this blog is other than to perpetuate your own travels on someone else s dime. That food post in the Faroe Islands is that really possible for the adventurous cheap airlines tickets for military members person on the budget? And speaking of which, you never talk about how any of these activities actually cost. But then again since you aren t paying for them, I bet you don t even know.
If you cannot accept some (justified, I d say) criticism, why do you enable comments anyway? As you say, life is short! You could have saved the poor guy at least half an hour of his lifetime if you re not interested in your readers comments, why do you encourage them?
Who is Adventurous cheap airlines tickets for military members Kate? At age 26, I quit my job to travel the world alone. I spent six fantastic months in Southeast Asia and turned my travel blog into a full-time business. Today, I travel cheap airlines tickets for military members full-time, going anywhere that sounds wacky or beautiful or interesting. My goal is to show YOU how you can travel cheap airlines tickets for military members the world on your own -- easily, safely, and adventurously. cheap airlines tickets for military members Read more here.
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