Active Baby Boomers

Homebase Abroad Offers Exclusive Umbria and Tuscany Villa Rentals

Homebase Abroad offers two new Italian villa rental packages in Tuscany and Umbria, available for a minimum of seven nights for groups of up to 12 people.

Boston, Mass. (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) August 30, 2005 -- Homebase Abroad, Ltd. introduced today two seasonal Umbria and Tuscany villa rental packages. They feature two of Homebase Abroad’s most popular properties: Podere I Castagni, in the often-photographed Val d'Orcia of Tuscany, and Casa Magnolia, situated in the ancient Spoleto in Umbria.

Both packages are available for a minimum of seven nights for groups of up to 12 people. Travel must commence before Oct. 31, 2005.

The Fall into Tuscany villa rental package is $16,100 per week, a savings of approximately $3,400 per week. All excursions include round-trip transportation. The package includes:

- Seven nights at Podere I Castagni, including electricity, gas and cleaning services
- Four-course Welcome Dinner, featuring Tuscan specialties and local wine
- Private tour of a family-run winery in Val d'Orcia, including wine tasting
- Private hands-on cooking lesson at the villa led by the owner of Podere I Castagni
- Truffle hunt with dogs followed by a meal prepared by guests and tour leaders
- Unlimited access to organic vegetables from villa garden
- Fifty-minute massage for each guest of the tour at the villa

Podere I Castagni is a 400-year-old, renovated farmhouse with a heated pool. Guests are accommodated in six double bedrooms, each with an ensuite bath. The ancient and well-maintained town of San Casciano dei Bagni is five minutes by car and offers restaurants, shops, pizzerias, bars and the well-known Fonteverde spa built on ancient Roman hot springs. San Casciano dei Bagni is near the famed wine towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino, approximately one and a half hours from Florence and Rome.

The Umbria on the Vine villa rental package is $14,900 per week, a savings of approximately $3,200 per week. All excursions include round-trip transportation. The package includes:

- Seven nights at Casa Magnolia, including electricity, gas, water and cleaning services
- Three-course Welcome Dinner of seasonal specialties and local wine
- Private walking-tour of Spoleto with an English-speaking guide
- Wine and olive oil tasting in Montefalco during the harvest festival for the local Sagrantio wine, including a four-course dinner of Umbrian specialties
- Excursion to Bevagna with a local family, including a tour of the village and family vineyards, olive groves and wine-making operation. An English-speaking guide and lunch with a family are included
- Dinner in Spello at a celebrated enoteca (wine store/cafe) with an Umbrian sommelier, including wine paired with local dishes

Casa Magnolia is a town-house style home for 12, featuring six bedrooms and six bathrooms with a heated garden pool and roof terrace. The property is situated on the edge of Spoleto, providing expansive countryside views as well as immediate access by foot to Spoleto's numerous restaurants, shops and services. Spoleto can be reached in one hour from Rome, by train or car, and is convenient to touring the major points of interest in Umbria; Perugia, Assisi, Todi, Orvieto and Gubbio.

These special packages are available only through Homebase Abroad for travel through October 2005. Air travel, car rental and other extras are excluded, including security deposit, additional food and beverages, additional staff services, tips and other on-site extras.

"We are in the business of helping people create life-long memories and have personally treasured our fall trips for the beauty of the landscape, the extraordinary harvest bounty and the relaxed, off-season feel of the countryside. At the core of these trips is the Homebase Abroad villa -- each is a private home. The special activities provide an amplified and uniquely personal experience of Italy's ancient and remarkable culture," explained Mara Solomon, director of Homebase Abroad. "These trips have been structured for those who want an authentic, hands-on holiday meeting local people in local places and want to delve deeply into the character and culture of central Italy."

For detailed information about the Fall into Tuscany and Umbria on the Vine programs, contact Homebase Abroad at 781-545-5112. For general reference, visit www.homebaseabroad.com.

Homebase Abroad, Ltd. specializes in villa rentals in Italy, including Tuscany and Umbria, working directly with 38 individual homeowners and providing concierge services for guests in Italy for the past 11 years. The company has been incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 1995.

Contact:
Mara Solomon, Director
Homebase Abroad, Ltd.
781-545-5112
www.homebaseabroad.com

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