Montestigliano

Looking for a gentle Italian adventure? Have kids who like to travel or in the mood for a romantic getaway? Azienda Agraria Montestigliano is an old olive farm about 10 miles outside of Siena, one of the more beautiful medieval cities of Italy. Montestigliano, which sits on a high hill overlooking some of the most gorgeous scenery of Tuscany, is an agriturismo farm meaning that it is a working farm which has converted some of its outbuildings into tourist accommodations. Montestigliano has a variety of apartments and houses, all outfitted nicely and each with a kitchen. Each apartment is self-catered, meaning that you need to go to one of the local stores when you first arrive for all your food items and paper products. All linens are supplied, but you may want to buy or bring your own beach towels for the pools.

Members of the Donati family run, and some live on, the estate and you can read all about the history of Montestigliano on their website www.montestigliano.it. One of the real treasures of Montestigliano is Susan Pennington, Massimo Donati's partner, who really runs the show there. Susan, originally from the UK, came over to Italy many years ago to work on the farm, fell in love with the farmer's son, and with the help of the family, created what is Montestigliano today.

If you have children, there are kid's activities that Susan can arrange for you, but if they are like my kid, they might just want to spend all day at the pool. My daughter loves the fact that the kid's pool- so named because it has a shallow end and is far away from the adult "quiet" pool, has a diving board. The pools do not have lifeguards but you won't mind hanging out at this pool under the umbrellas, staring at the rolling hills and Siena in the distance. It is quite magical.

And if you don't have kids but want a bit of romance, you will find Montestigliano overflowing with it. Walks in the olive groves, cooking classes, excursions to romantic Siena - it's all right there for you.

So for some really lovely pictures and a list of the prices, check out their website www.montestigliano.it.

I hope you enjoy it.