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.