The Villa

We rented the villa through Perillo Tours. They found the villa and arranged for someone to pick us up and all of our luggage at the airport. We followed the van with our rented van. The villa was comfortable and clean, but not luxurious. The building was built in the 1200's. Amazing! Two guys Stefano and Sergio, bought it in the late 90's with nothing in it. It took them several years to refurbish it, furnish it and make it livable. Quite a task! They broke the building up into several apartments on many levels. There were steps everywhere, getting from one section to the next. All old and many crumbly steps with no railings. There was a beautiful pool with great lounge chairs down on the lowest level. 

I had been worried that there was no AC, but it was not necessary. Being so high up, the nights were delightfully cool and I just slept with the window open and a floor fan. It got cooler the second week and I no longer needed the fan and I even closed the window.

One side of the villa, our apartment was  down the road to the left.

 Our apartment with five bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. Each apartment had its own patio and with table and chairs and grill. Our neighbors below us used the grill a lot. We did not.

We had a well appointed kitchen with gas stove, dishwasher, microwave, and washing machine. The marble top table could have sat 10. Notice the beautiful piece that held plenty of dishes and wine glasses and pots and pans below. 

Adjoining the kitchen was the sitting area with a not-so-comfortable couch. All of the floors were marble the same in all the rooms. Each bedroom was unique and two were on a different level. We would have liked to see the other apartments and how they were set up.

 There was a lot of interesting furniture. Stefano said he had friends in the antique business.

Stefano, our amazing landlord. He lost his partner, Sergio to cancer a few years ago and now runs the whole thing himself. There was a restaurant in what was the original wine cellar with a curved brick ceiling. He cooked dinner three nights a week, a set menu and you ate what he cooked that night. We feasted there one night for a fabulous three course dinner for only 20 Euros. He had a huge vegetable garden, which was evident in the meal. He was getting ready for a wedding the next week with 57 guests filling up the whole villa and Stefano doing the cooking. He also gave cooking classes. Quite a guy!

Did I mention that the villa was way up on the top of a hill with a very steep, switch back bumpy dirt road? It was not a ride for the faint of heart. Our car was filthy by the time we left with the dust being kicked up as we rode.

I don't think that this kind of trip would be for everyone, but we had a great time. So I'm home now for a long stretch until we go to Florida in January.