Italy
 

An Italy fans out there? I've been to Florence and Rome and Venice but quite fancy exploring the countryside a bit more, somewhere not as crowded with a bit more space. I've heard a lot about Umbria but don't know a great deal about it.
We're looking at villas rather than hotels. They're cheaper for all of us and we like the freedom and things like private pools for the kids. we've narrowed that down to these http://www.cottagestocastles.com but are still stuck on what area and which places we should try to see.

Someone else suggested the Italian lakes but they're quite far north and this is for later on in the year. We want it to still be warm enough to swim outside. Sicily could also be an option.

On our honeymoon to Hawaii years ago, we did the condo rental thing instead of staying in hotels. It worked out really well. Nice to be able to buy a fish steak and grill it up for dinner instead of going out to eat. And they were all very spacious and luxurious and price competitive. The hotels are normally located in central areas though. You give that up staying in what is basically a residential area.

Italy is nice. You can't go wrong in any of the places you mentioned.

J is going for a week in September, to Rome/Venice. Without me. I'm pretty jealous.

Irrelevant but: Are you a Brit by any chance?

back on topic: how long do you want to go for? if it's only a week you probably need to chose between enjoying a villa and it's pool and "seeing things"

Yup, I am :)

We want to go for a week to 10 days but might end up going to Sicily rather than the lakes. I think we can do some sight seeing and still laze around the pool a bit, then everyone's happy :)