We signed up for a UT Flying Longhorns trip to an agriturismo in northern Italy presented by Orbridge starting June 13, 2015 with an extension to Venice. We flew in early on June 4th via United (great service, by the way) to Venice, staying the arrival night (a late afternoon arrival) in the outlying area of Venice at the Titian Hotel. The next morning we took a train from Venice to Verona and rented a car for the rest of the “on our own” portion of the trip. Rental in Verona was chosen because that’s where we would meet the UT group. The little VW Polo got great fuel mileage (diesel, DSG automatic) and was fun to drive once we discovered how to turn off the Auto-Stop feature (press the button marked “A” on the dash.)

Our first agriturismo for 4 days was La Sognata (the Dream) in the mountains above Milan, perched on the high side of a mountain valley north of Lago d’ Iseo and about 50 miles south of Switzerland. If going there, DO NOT take the OMG one-lane (really a ¾ lane) road from Esine that both of our GPSs recommended. Continue on SP8 up the valley, SP345 will connect with SP5 which will eventually lead you to La Sognata. Once at La Sognata, Daniella and Diego were great hosts. We were the only guests so we got lots of attention. The view is to die for, the room comfortable, and you get used to wiping the water from your private bathroom floor after a shower (only a shower curtain, spray head and a drain in the floor.) Daniella is an accomplished masseuse and a good cook. Ask her to fix her risotto and onions for you – best ever. Like most agriturismos, things are very individualistic but that’s why we stay at them. Loved the evening and night thunderstorms lighting up the sky and rumbling down the valley. Daniella has a few words of English but Diego has none. Between our phone’s translator, Spanish and lots of sign language, we were able to get things done.

So it was on to #2. Mondo Antico presented no travel issues like La Sognata and the GPSs found the way with no problem. Mondo is in hilly countryside below Milan and has a unique scenery all its own. We both highly recommend this agriturismo with Giuliana Tiraboschi as your host. The rooms are new-ish with great showers and good amenities – no refrigerator or cooking facilities but with Giuliana you won’t miss them. Giuliana is a fabulous cook and her daughter Leticia helps and is good with English. We took half-board and lunch wasn’t missed with the quality and quantity of food. Don’t miss the hike to the top of the vineyard’s hill where they have a large pool complete with sandy beach and umbrellas! Their wine stands with the best we’ve had. No sulfites or clearing agents are used and the grapes are grown organically. Wonderful views, walks around the area including the picturesque and somewhat abandoned town of Gaminara just up the road. Of all the agriturismos we’ve stayed in, this one would be in the top three. We had a day trip to Expo Milano 2015 – bought both the train tickets and expo tickets online at the agriturismo which printed them for us. Caught the train to Milan in Voghera just 7 miles from Mondo Antico. One change of trains in Milan and we were at the Expo. Just fabulous – check out the photos as they do a better job than any description. Coming back, our train from the expo that connected in Milan with Voghera was cancelled due to strikes. Luckily, we were at the station early and caught an alternate train with just a minute to spare and were back at the agriturismo on time. One note – in Italian parking garages, take your ticket with you and pay before you go to your car to leave. Payments are not accepted at the exit as is the case in many US lots.