Hotel Tvder

Where is Todi, anyway?

by karenincalifornia

Todi is about 90 minutes north of Rome, 2 hours south of Florence, 30 minutes east of Orvieto, 30 minutes south of Perugia. The wonderfully charming towns of Perugia, Assisi, Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco, Spoleto, Trevi, Deruta and Orvieto are all within a relatively short drive.

Listenin' to them church bells

by karenincalifornia

We saw many huge ornate churches on our trips to Florence, Siena, Assisi, and Rome. Italy has some of the simpler variety, too. I passed this church - the Church of St. Arnaldo - each morning on my early morning walks. It was set on the ridge next to a small olive grove and Todi could be viewed in the distance. It was very peaceful, but I never saw anyone there.

Le Mandorelle - A Country Villa in Umbria

by karenincalifornia

"Home away from home"

This travelogue is dedicated to pictures of the beautiful country villa we rented in Umbria - Le Mandorelle. It was absolutely the best house we've ever rented - anywhere. Visit the owner's website at Le Mandorelle for complete details and reservation information.

The picture above was taken from the driveway leading to the villa. The driveway runs through an olive grove. The owners press their own olive oil, and left some in the fridge for our stay.

"Family room"

The family room is the place we spent most of our time when we were indoors. Each room is impeccably decorated and furnished with antiques. In one of the corners of the room (not seen here) is an antique desk with a DSL modem and hi speed wi-fi connectivity. The connection worked perfectly and I was able to stay in touch with some very important people.

"Living room"

And if there isn't enough room in the family room, you can always spill over into the living room. In addition to the furnishings, the lighting throughout the house was exquisite. During the day, we would simply open up all the shutters and doors and let the balmy Umbrian breeze waft through the rooms.

"The terrazzo"

The terrazzo was my favorite place to spend time and relax. We ate all our meals on the table outside. I especially enjoyed relaxing on the chaise lounges in the evening and listening to the nighttime birds and crickets. From the terrazzo was the most incredible view of the valley between Le Mandorelle and Todi.

"The pool"

Le Mandorelle has a sensational pool. It is large enough for lap swimming and it is surrounded by the gardens. What makes this pool exceptional is the incredible view of the valley and Umbrian countryside. The ancient town of Todi can be viewed off in the distance just beyond one of those bushes.

"The kitchen"

My husband and I love to cook and we are frequently collaborating on recipes of all kinds, so it is important to me to have a good kitchen. The kitchen at Le Mandorelle had everything. I do mean everything. For instance, for the stove, you had your choice - a gas stove, an electric stove and if that is not enough, also a wood burning stove!

Every appliance imaginable was included. The kitchen had lots of room. This picture doesn't do it justice. It also had two ovens, a center island and a huge refrigerator.

I found the Italian appliances to be a bit counter-intuitive. They don't operate like US appliances, so it took me a few tries to get them to work right. The owners included some very detailed instructions, and after a few tries, I finally did get the dishwasher and clothes washer to work.

If you are somewhat inept like we are, I would avoid cooking with the gas stove. The pilot light goes out easily and then you have to bother the caretaker to come and relight it. That happened once, and after that, we stuck with the electric stove, which never went out.

"Master bedroom"

The master bedroom had a queen sized bed, down pillows, antique furniture and a sloped wooden beamed ceiling. It connected to a huge walk-in closet and a large marble bathroom. The upstairs windows all have screens which was nice because they kept those pesky bugs out of the bedrooms at night (but there really are not too many of those in Umbria).

"Backyard"

The view from the backyard of the villa was breathtaking. Each morning, I would sit outside with a cup or tea or coffee and marvel at my fantastic luck at stumbling across this stunning home and scenery.

The Umbrian weather was beautiful every day, and we were rewarded with this beautiful scene. Todi is the town seen in the background on this exceptionally clear day. On some days, Umbria gets a bit hazy but this particular day was picture postcard perfect.