This really was the perfect property for our holiday. 10 of us, a mixture of adults, teens and little ones had a wonderfull time. The villa has been thoughtfully designed with all modern amenities required yet styled beautifully with a sympathetically rural feel. The pool was incredible, a perfect size for a large family group and combined with the rest of the outside space , meant we never felt like we were on top of one another.
The location of the property was also a delight with amazing views from every window yet close to a good sized town with all the shops, supermarkets and restaurants you could need. Some of us managed the walk into and back from town a few times, but be warned it is a challenge as it is up a steep hill. Even so it is only a 25 minute walk and perfect for burning off those pasta calories. If you cant face the walk, a taxi was only 10 euros wich was great after a night out for a family meal.
Thw wildlife around the villa was great too, we saw a group of deer at the end of the garden one morning, pheasant in the afternoons and bats in the evening. We didn't spot them, but we did hear wild boar on a few occasions as well.
Our hosts Alan and Mel were supberb, right from pulling out all the stops to get the villa ready ahead of schedule as they knew we were arriving early to giving us plenty of advise about where to eat and which of the numerous picturesque local hilltop towns and villages to explore, I would definately recomend Corfino for the view and delightful backstreets, Barga is also a must for a slightly larger town and you simply have to visit Lucca with its authentic period architecture and amazing city walls you could easily spend a couple of days there soaking it all in. With plenty of museums and even an annual music festival that this year featured artists such as Green Day, Rag n Bone man and The Rolling Stones it really did have it all.
We cant thank Alan, Mel enough for the chance to stay in their lovely propery and we look forward to hopefully seeing them again in the future.
I would also like to thank Lorraine who manages the bookings for her excellent communication which helped make the process so painless.
If you haven't booked a property through homeaway before and haven't been to Garfagnana, what are you waiting for?