Dear Manola,
We had a wonderful time at the Villa
Il Maggio last month. The Villa far exceeded its description,
and we were very comfortable.
I would like to write a letter to
the owner, Gisela, who was very kind to us, but do not
have an address for her. Could you please send me her
postal address, or the address of the Villa? Thank you,
and many thanks also for making it possible for us to
have had this lovely week in Tuscany!
Regards,
Anu Dani
Hello Manola,
I am writing this email to convey our sincere appreciation
for the opportunity of staying in the abovementioned
property. We have had many trips to Europe and stayed
in lots of different villas and we were thoroughly delighted
with Villa Il Maggio.
We were greeted by Gisela, the owner of the property
upon our arrival and we found her to be extremely pleasant
and generous, she truly has an eye for detail and the
property has everything you could possibly imagine.
A lot of consideration has gone into the restoration
of this property and the gardens are magnificent. For
the first time in all our travels we only dined out
once as the villa was so conducive to cooking and the
dining room was magnificent, the ambience and beautiful
mood lighting made it so enjoyable and we found all
the local wine so pleasant to drink.
The bathroom with the bath in it was
divine and we didn't turn the lights on once the ample
candles left around the bath made it most relaxing whilst
looking out to the surrounding hills listening to music
and sipping on a glass or two of wine. The Jacuzzi area
was also magnificent and Paola's home cooked lasagne,
salad and delicious apple cake was very welcoming after
a long day travelling in the car from France. Bruno,
the gardener was very entertaining and supplied us with
lovely vegetables from the garden on a daily basis.
The children had lots of fun running around the acres
of land which surround the property and were playing
hide and seek with Bruno and despite the language barriers
we all managed to communicate quite effectively.
The villa is situated very close
to the local village of Sarteano which is a beautiful
village and we found travelling to the other local villages
most pleasant and not too far away i.e. Montalcino,
Montepulciano, Casa de Bagni, Pienza to name a few.
We also enjoyed lots of walking around the villa as
there are lots of pleasant walking
trails right outside the villa.
I would highly recommend this property
to anyone wishing to enjoy a true Tuscan experience
as the photographs of the property do not describe the
true attention to detail and the high standards of comfort
that this property exudes. My only suggestion is that
the property has a name placed directly out the front
of the property as we did experience a little difficulty
finding the property even though
the directions are precise, or perhaps you could say
that the property is the one right out the front of
the gravel road with the hedge.
Having said that we found a local
Police Officer at Casa de Bagni very helpful she telephoned
Gisela and arranged our rendezvous in the piazza at
Sarteano. Gisela then pointed out to us where all the
locals go to gather groceries, Restaurants, buy good
quality wine at very good prices...this we appreciated
very much.
Would you kindly pass my sincere
appreciation onto Gisela and Rebecca and if at any stage
you require a recommendation for the property, please
do not hesitate to contact me via email as I would be
very happy to offer this. We will definitely be back
to Villa Il Maggio but next time in the winter to see
Tuscany in it's true colours.
Kindest regards,
Kim Berkhout
Hello Gisela,
Thank you once again for sharing your
beautiful villa with us. We arrived back home in Australia
at midnight last night and we have many fond memories
of our time at Il Maggio. I truly hope that you would
offer the villa to us to rent at a later stage perhaps
in a years time so that we can experience a true Tuscan
winter in the house.
I hope you are well and it was a pleasure
to meet you. We truly regret not availing of your knowledge
and arranging a guided tour of art history lessons,
perhaps next time?
Once again, thank you for your generous
hospitality and sincere warmth, we appreciate all you
have done.
Kind regards,
Kim
Hi Rebecca, Happy new year to all.
I write to thank you and Gisela for a wonderful Christmas
week at Podere il Maggio. I would like to write directly
to Gisela, to thank her for all her courtesies, especially
her picking up Rory at the train station, but my computer,
with her direct email address has crashed. Please either
pass on our thanks, or send me her address. We were
made to feel very welcome - the gifts of Christmas cake,
wine, champagne, and candy were delightful. Even the
little decorations of fresh herbs and flowers added
a homey touch.
And to find roses still in bloom was
amazing. The love and care which has gone into the restoration
of the house and gardens is evident at every turn, and
we feel fortunate to have stayed there. The house was
warm and cozy, it was well stocked with fire wood and
cooking tools, and the hot tub was delightful. I understand
that they were just working out the kinks in the out
door lighting, but a little more light over by the hot
tub would be a good idea.
Paola was helpful and courteous; we
even had a chance to chat with Bruno, the gardener,
who came the day after Christmas to work on the vegetable
garden. The children of course loved the cat and spoiled
him with treats. Rory was very appreciative of the ride
from the train station, and enjoyed meeting Gisela.
We did our Christmas shopping in town - and did not
find it "touristy" at all. The shop keepers
were very friendly and helpful, and we enjoyed all the
Christmas decorations. We also found the house very
convenient for day trips - to Siena, Montalcino, Pienza,
and Montepulciano.
We didn't try to get up to Florence
- that will have to await another trip - but we did
take a drive over to Perugia and Assisi - to see where
Rory had spent his two week "home stay" in
the fall. If any of your guests are looking for a wonderful
vineyard tour, and an opportunity to buy some wonderful
wine, we heartily recommend Poggio Antico, just outside
of Montalcino. Call ahead to make an appointment. We
did some walking around the house property - we walked
into town, around a loop trail that picks up across
the street, and also a bit up the hill behind the house.
However, we were unsure which part
of it was public access, and we did not want to trespass,
so we did not go up into the woods, especially since
there was some shooting going on from time to time.
It might be helpful to let your guests know exactly
where they can walk on the paths up the hill behind
the house. Gisela recommended a restaurant nearby, but
we did not have an opportunity to get there. Once again,
we appreciate all the effort that went into making our
stay a memorable one. If you need a reference, or if
any potential guests would like to hear from someone
who has actually styaed at the house, just let me know.
It was great. Joan
Dear Joan,
Thank you very much for taking the
time to write this lovely letter.
Of course I knew what a delight the
villa is, having been there many times as both a guest
and in my capacity as director of InTuscany but due
to the very sophisticated and yet simple nature of the
villa it is hard to describe to people over the web
exactly what it is like.
The photos in no way communicate the
high level of comfort and attention to detail that guests
will find there.
We hope to be able to help you again
for another trip and are very glad that this one went
so well. I always love it here in the winter as I think
one finds Tuscany in it's essence and with out make
up on.
All the best for 2004,
Rebecca Taylor
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