Italy villa, France cruise

For our 50th anniversary, my wife, Judy, and I took our children and grandchildren (11 people in all) for a two-week vacation in Italy.

I rented Villa Aquilea (contact Jim and Katie Edmunds, 3585 Longwood Ave., Boulder, CO 80305; phone 303/494-1581 or, during the season, to Italy at 011 [39] 333 668 8968), which I read about in ITN (April ’10, pg. 71). The rental price for the week we stayed there, June 18-25, 2011, was $6,800.

Located high on a hillside overlooking the charming walled town of Lucca, Villa Aquilea was built more than 200 years ago. The three-story villa has two kitchens, six bedrooms and great dining areas inside and out. It is furnished with all the needed linens and, in the kitchen, the latest appliances. Its large swimming pool has a view of Lucca.

We ate most breakfasts and several dinners at the villa. There are also a number of very fine restaurants within a 20-minute drive.

Lucca is situated in a great part of Italy, allowing easy day trips to Florence, the Cinque Terre and Pisa.

Afterward, Judy and I went to Paris and on to a barge cruise aboard the 12-passenger Nenuphar, July 3-9, with French Country Waterways (Duxbury, MA; 800/222-1236).

We had a special “50th Anniversary” rate, 50% off; we paid $3,148 each, which included rail transfer from Paris to Dijon to board the barge; side trips to wineries and villages; all wine and liquor, and a dinner in a Michelin-three-star restaurant (but we felt the food on board was better). Large varieties of cheeses and wines were available at lunch and dinner.

We traveled through Burgundy. What beautiful country! French Country Waterways is wonderful to deal with. This was our second trip with them; we cruised on the Horizon II in April ’10.

GEORGE TOWERS
Fresno, CA