One last blast on Italy, and then it’s time to move on. This year we rented a place in the Umbrian hills east of Cortona. We’ve come to sort of enjoy the touristical one-two punch: first you tour with a group looking at art and Italy, then you repair to the country and relax. We had good cooks, a couple of singers, readers, nappers, artists and some longgg card games…in other words, a perfect vacation! Some of us took a hike around Umbertide and made a side trips to Montepulciano and Sansepulchro and I think all of us just enjoyed our week in the countryside. Here’s where we were:
Ca di Bracco, renovated in 1998
Pool views
country rustics (Roger, Read and Julia)
The kitchen
Rocky, the villa’s dog, visited us a couple of times daily.
Jim and Carol relax on the terrace.
On The Way 
how very wonderful
the villa is picture perfect, roger looks so happy beside the pool
and the terrace- gorgeous!