Umbria is an Italian region bordering Tuscany, Lazio and Marche. It is often called the green heart of the country and is known for its medieval towns built on hills, the dense forests and the regional cuisine especially with truffles and wine.
We were in this area in August this year. After we drove back home from Lake Garda, it was clear to us very quickly that the summer in Germany would continue to be not really good. So it was a pretty easy decision to go back to Italy. The weather outlook was so much better there than here.
August is the main holiday month in Italy, which means that all Italians are away on vacation. This makes the search for accommodation relatively cumbersome and even in Corona times Italy seems to be very well booked. Airbnb nevertheless offered us a supposedly sufficient selection of possible houses and we decided on a small villetta Near Florence. "Casa Carla" - it was obvious that it would be a very simple dwelling, but sufficient for our purposes. At least that's what we thought full of optimism before we stood in reality in front of the cottage.
The ride over the Alps with our "Mule" - a Mercedes E350 convertible with trailer hitch to transport our two Cube Bikes - was again super relaxed. Not 6 hours after departure, we drove comfortably over the Autostrada del Brennero past Lake Garda on the Autostrada del Sol towards Florence.
The street names of the Italian highways alone make us happy. However, our happiness came to an abrupt end in the traffic jam before Florence, from where we then moved forward only at walking pace. A felt eternity later we reached with 2 hours delay the agreed meeting place, where the landlady awaited us.
We followed it from Piazza Fiaschi Donnini. One winding narrow road after the next up the hill and down again, then sharp left up and right again steeply down - now left twice more and then steeply uphill into the driveway. In every bend and dip we were afraid for our underbody, the trailer hitch and the front skirt of our "Mule".
Already during the journey it was clear to us - tonight there would be only Tuc cookies and water, we had that with us as provisions. A trip in the dark to go eat something was out of the question, we were both sure that we would not have found our way back to the accommodation without further ado. Reception with the cell phone - no reception. The Navi shows only offroad. When our "Mule" dragged itself around the last bend and we drove up the steep driveway with bated breath, we already suspected something terrible.
And if you suspect something terrible, you know from experience - it gets worse. We stopped in front of a small building, which might have been a small stable in a former life. Functional, very basic and reduced to the bare essentials, run down and in no way even remotely inviting.
Fine for livestock. Equipped with outdoor furniture that seemed to come from the dump and that you would not want to use under any circumstances. Having no alternative, we entered the cabin knowing we couldn't stand it here. We found ourselves in a room that had a meager mini-kitchen to the right and was otherwise dominated by a bed that was not large, but seemed huge in the confines of the room.
Otherwise, we had to wriggle our way under a steel staircase that accessed another bed on a steel platform mounted halfway up in the style of a high shelf. We had never seen shit like this before. Through a narrow wall passage we found our way into what the landlady called a bathroom. I couldn't stand upright in it with my almost 1.90 and didn't really enjoy the idea of having to use this facility. The whole thing can only be described as absolute impudence.
Well, long story short, for lack of alternatives we stayed one night and looked for another accommodation the same evening. Actually, we had planned to spend our time in Tuscany, near Florence. But it was not that easy. Ferragosto, Covid, acute need... not a good starting point.
We landed the next noon after a three-hour drive in Bevagna, Umbria, about 20 km from the very impressive Assisi. The accommodation offered on booking.com was offered as a deluxe apartment with absolutely luxurious facilities. The pictures made a very good impression and the location at Colle della Pace promised peace and privacy.
We arranged with the landlady on site and were immediately thrilled when we arrived. A huge property with a very nice house awaited us. Through the electric gate we followed her over the long driveway and were happy to get out right in front of the beautiful house.
But unfortunately, the ride did not end at the front door. The landlady circled the villa and followed a path down the hill to a terrace, which was the entrance to the apartment. We could not believe our eyes. It was the converted basement, at best to be called a basement, so not something we find attractive. Above it lived the landlady with her husband and their one-year-old daughter.
A basement apartment whose bathroom and bedroom windows looked into dark and dirty shafts of light, was connected to the apartment above by an interior staircase and let you participate noisily in family life, offered no wifi and no umbrella or outdoor shower - let alone a pool - and all that for 550 euros a day.
We made the best of the situation, explored the surrounding countryside, ate excellent food and enjoyed the infinite tranquility of the area despite everything. No planes, no cars or scooters, nothing. Being able to hear silence is a very impressive experience. The landlords were very nice and fortunately quite a lot on the road. After a week we went to Spoleto to another apartment, which was much more attractive in price. Here the whole crap took its further course.
On the net a house was offered and on the pictures it was clearly shown as a house. But what did we find? Again a basement apartment, well, let's call it basement. And above us, of course, lived the landlords. The apartment provided to us was occupied by the daughter, who was about fifty years old and moved upstairs to her parents for the time of our stay. We hate having to move directly into the very personal environment of other people and among their paraphernalia. We prefer vacation homes that are basically used as such.
Moreover, the further south we went, the worse the infrastructure became and the prices went up. Umbria was worth a trip, but we will probably not pitch our tents there again.
The entire summer in Italy turned out to be a complete joke in many parts and showed the merciless impudence of some Italian landlords. They think the tourists are so stupid and, purely because of the weather, so desperate that they offer them real junk for an outrageous amount of money. These landlords are to be wished that all vacationers show them the middle finger and look for something really nice.
In sum, we have found for us that we are probably in the best hands in the area around Lake Garda. In addition to a functioning infrastructure, this region is very well maintained and offers at least acceptable, sometimes really good quality for a lot of money, of course.
In any case, it is recommended to get in direct contact with as many landlords as possible and to have a selection of different rental properties. In Italy there are very nice and friendly landlords, who are really concerned that their guests are satisfied and feel comfortable and are happy to come back.
An example of this are Alice and Simone of the new and very beautiful Villa Corte Alzeroni in Bardolino. From the very large elevated garden opens a fantastic view of Lake Garda. We met the two by chance and looked at the accommodation - our next stay on Lake Garda we will hopefully spend there. But first our summer should continue in September in Pesaro. Here we had already rented a dream house with pool.