Tuscany and Umbria: Rustic Beauty in the Italian Heartland

My adventure with OAT on this tour of "Tuscany and Umbria: Rustic Beauty" from March 16-30, 2015 far exceeded my expectation.  Like Linda, a fellow traveler, said on her Facebook, "on a scale of 1-10, I rate this trip 15".  I was first disappointed that Gail, my travel companion, bailed out at the last minute due to her sister's accident which required her assistance.  But the beauty, delicious food, much learning and discoveries, and the genuine people to people encounters absolutely delighted and enlightened my heart.  Below is a map of our tour, which covered Lucca, Florence, Snan Galgano, Seina, Montepulciano, Monticchiello, Lake traimeno, Assisi, Trevi, Norcia valley, Bomarzo, and Borgo di Tragliiata.

Our tour director, Giovanna, has been one of the best guide I ever had on GCT/OAT trips.  She is energetic, enthusiastic, professional, and caring:

Some typical scenery we saw when riding in the bus are the charming green rolling hills of Tuscany, the rustic hilltop towns in Umbria, and lots and lots of cypress and olive trees.

 
I will try to capture some of the joy I felt when we visited from towns to towns in later posts.