Family - Commendable Rentals

How and where to plan a multigenerational travel in Tuscany

27/01/2019 by florealexandre

A family trip to Tuscany is always a good idea. That is the conclusion we came to during our family Christmas dinner last December. As part of a very extended and scattered family, it is always a struggle to be able to see everybody throughout the year. So we all decided that 2019 was going to be the summer when we would all meet halfway, and where better than Italy, where the sun shines from April to late October and activities are as diverse as the landscapes. Besides the obvious -the beach, the country, the food, the people- Tuscany is in our opinion one of the best places to comfortably travel with a crowd, as large villas are plentiful; it involves some mandatory logistics and planning if you want everyone to remember this trip positively as an unforgettable experience. Here are some tips for arranging successful multigenerational Tuscany trips.

Should you want a countryside vacation, protected from the hustle and bustle of touristy cities, Pitigliano is your best option: our ancient, former convent Il Convento makes a perfect holiday seeing and will welcome you and 10 other family members. It is just a 15min drive away from this incredible town. Located in the south of Tuscany, Pitigliano is unquestionably one of the most beautiful, charming and interesting towns in the area. Its rich history goes from prehistory through Etruscan and Roman settlements and Italian Renaissance, all of which you can discover at The Orsini Palace, now the Civic Archaeological Museum of Pitigliano. Within its spectacular old city centre is an area known as a “Little Jerusalem” for its once large and active Jewish community that was active in the 15th century. Don’t miss the recently restored Synagogue! On top of its rich history, the town is also famous for its wine production. The vineyards in this area, aided by volcanic tufa and millennia-old soil, produce one of the most lauded Italian white wines: Bianco di Pitigliano, a DOC appellation and a must-have while on the Strada del Vino! From there you can also visit the nearby towns of Saturnia and Sorano, which have benefited from hot springs for centuries and are now a must-go spa destination.

For a seaside vacation, about an hour away from Pitigliano is the Monte Argentario and its fantastic archipelago! Perched on a cliff on the edge of the Mediterranean sea, the Villa degli Angeli gazes from Ansedonia at Italy’s most spectacular views, and can comfortably sleep up to 14 people. While there, though you may want to do nothing, there are plenty of possible excursions to keep you busy. In Ansedonia, don’t miss the remains of the ancient city of Cosa, an archaeological site of international interest dating back to 273 BC and included in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You can also walk or bike in the nearby pine forest and beachcomb the long beach, that is if you tire of swimming in the sea from the private beach of your villa…

You can also explore Orbetello or discover traditional festivals such as the Balestro del Girifalco, stroll by boat in unspoilt places accessible only by the sea, dive into the Mediterranean waters and discover marine life, or try hang gliding at the many centres and schools in the region. We happily recommend Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole, two fishing ports that have become seaside resorts, surrounded by high rocks and connected to the mainland by the wide sandy beaches of Gianella and Feniglia.

Closer to San Giminiano, Siena and Florence, perched on a hill and overlooking vineyards, is Castello Lorenzo. Located in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, where Niccolò Machiavelli wrote his most famous book, The Prince, Castello Lorenzo was originally a medieval fortress built in the eleventh century, converted in the fifteenth century into a magnificent villa of the Tuscan aristocracy with a unique charm and impeccable taste. With its 10 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, it will easily welcome up to 20 guests! Don’t miss the Antinori Wine Estate, simply breath-taking: the winery overlooks the countryside from a terrace surrounded by vineyards, and while staying at Castello Lorenzo, you can visit the cellars and participate in tastings, but also have lunch in their restaurant Rinuccio 1180 located on the roof of the building. We will take care of your reservations, tastings and excursions!

Finally, further north in the Tuscan Maremma, we definitely recommend Castagnetto Carducci, home of La Civetta, a 14-people villa with pool and private access to the beach! There is shopping should you want to cook family meals yourself, or you can use our wonderful cook, but there are also plenty of restaurants to enjoy. Local foods are based on Maremma specialties, fresh fruits and vegetables, freshly made mozzarella and of course, the famous Super Tuscan Wines nearby. Not too far away, is the famous city of Pisa (and its leaning tower!) and Lucca is about 1-hour drive north.

At Commendable Rentals, we can help you plan your whole trip, from choosing properties to rent , to booking guides, boats, chef, cooking lessons, and museum tickets in advance; don’t hesitate to ask for our help!

From Rome with Love

24/12/2018 by florealexandre

Most cities around Christmas vie to be the most festive and spirited, but few European capitals are as dedicated to bringing the Winter Wonderland to life as Rome. Whether you arrive in the Eternal City by day or by night, you will be charmed by the crisp yet mild December weather, and the glory of Rome’s winter blue skies. Last minute Christmas shopping rushes, the nonchalant strolls of locals trying to differentiate themselves from the tourists, and of course the Christmas lights, add energy to the glow, as Nativity scenes and Christmas markets pop up all over the city. If you arrive by night, don’t miss a drive pass the majestic and romantic Colosseum; its recently renovated arches are particularly beautiful when lit by spotlights against the dark sapphire blue sky.

The Christmas holiday season in Rome officially starts on December 8, the holiday of the Immaculate Conception, or Immacolata, and ends on January 6 at the Epiphany – when La Befana, a sort of Christmas witch is the lead character – and it is indeed magical: it is a great time to see the city in a -literally- different light and to discover the great Roman Christmas traditions. If you are by yourself, feel free to prep a special playlist for the occasion: Culture Trip has put together a wonderful list of songs inspired by the beauty of Rome, and there in one for every taste and every moment of the day (waking up to Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day by Morcheeba is the absolute guarantee of a good mood all day long)! Though it is holiday season, most shops of the city are usually open -with the exception of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the day after Christmas, and New Years’ Day- and most of the major sites and monuments that have entry tickets, including the Colosseum, Forum, and Borghese Gallery will all be open on the 26th, despite that day also being a holiday. We recommend planning your visits on the 26th, as the museums and churches will be much less crowded than usual.

Whether it is your first time in Rome or you are a newbie in the city, start your day with a bit of Christmas sightseeing; and whether you are religious or not, you should look for the numerous Nativity scenes scattered around the city: they will surprise you by their artistry, beauty and inventiveness. The major one this year is held of course in Vatican City, but there are beautiful ones in every major and minor church of Rome, which counts more than 900 churches, cathedrals and basilicas. We recommend Santa Maria del Popolo, created and built by famous painter, sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17^th century, Santa Maria in Trastevere in the charming, bohème district which gave it its name, or the Pantheon, to couple historical beacons and Christmas sightseeing.

In the mood for some Christmas shopping? There are a lot of beautiful, eccentric and charming Christmas markets all over town! All neighbourhoods offer something. Vintage pieces and hipster vibes are what the district of Monti is about, and Mercato Monti is the perfect embodiment of its way of life. You may find there the ideal Christmas gifts: clothes, accessories and other artisanal pieces await! Good to know: in December the market doubles in size, promoting more than 50 local talents.

Monti is really a charming neighbourhood, and we happen to have a great apartment there for you to live like Romans do: our Bella Vita is located near the Colosseum and is the ideal place to rent for a family of 4 or 2 couples. Previous guests describe it best: “The perfect Roman Holiday! Both modern and historic- this was the perfect home base from which to explore Rome”.

Other Christmas markets punctuates the city, find an exhaustive list right here.

After all this wandering, you stomach might start to rumble; fear not! Rome is filled with charming and delicious trattorias and pizzerias, including two of our most favourites: Da Francesco and Fiammetta. Both are located just steps away from the Piazza Navona in the heart of the Historic Centre, and are dear to our hearts. Da Francesco, where the truffle pizza is close to heaven, is located on Piazza del Fico, right in front of Bar del Fico, one of the most popular bars in Rome. There you can sip your spritz or martini while peeping at fashionable locals and waiting for a table. Don’t hesitate to visit their website, as they even provide true Italian recipes should you want to test your cooking abilities back home!

Fiammetta is another true hidden gem: it is in a great location, just around the corner from Piazza Navona, but without the fuss of tourists. The menu is as varied as it is appetizing, with sitting options both inside and out. The pizzas are cooked in a wood-fire oven, as any good pizza should be. Go Italian all the way and try the white pizza with mozzarella covered in salty, peppery endive.

Should you want to celebrate Christmas both at home and in Rome, just stay on Piazza Fiammetta and book our lovely 3-bedroom apartment! Fiammetta is so much better than a hotel: this spacious apartment sleeps up to 6 guests and is beautifully proportioned and elegantly furnished, in a modern yet timeless idiom, blending art and antiques with modern design. Original beamed ceilings and polished terracotta floors underline its historic origins and add warmth to the coolness of the white walls. Cherry on the cake: The kitchen is designed for chefs, so you will be able to try all these wonderful recipes by yourself!

Commendable Rentals has a lovely, extensive collections of palazzi, houses and apartments to rent in Rome, find the perfect place for you and start enjoying your Roman Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

The Commendable Rentals team

Multigenerational travel in Provence: experiences and ideal roofs to share

27/10/2018 by florealexandre

Travelling as a multigenerational group can be an exciting, rich and rewarding experience, and Europe draws many families to its history, art and culture. At Commendable Rentals we have great family properties in France and Italy, and this week’s trip will be taken in two of the most beautiful Natural Regional Parks of the French South: the Alpilles, where we will stop at Saint-Rémy and Les-Baux-de-Provence, and the Préalpes d’Azur, home of Grasse and its ancient perfume industry. Motivations for extended-family travel differ with each family of course: it could be to involve the elders in an active trip, a celebration travel, or simply to reunite after some time: multigenerational trips are a good opportunity to reconnect for families whose members are geographically separated. Finance, too, plays a large role as a holiday shared is usually better value for money, but perhaps the most important reason is that in a globalized world, older generations prefer to introduce their younger relations to things they’ve never encountered before in a friendly and secure environment. For a relaxing summer stay with grandparents and children, Provence and Côte d’Azur are certainly the best places to visit or revisit; strolling among olive trees, lavender fields and vineyards, waking up to clear light pouring from a vast blue sky, wandering through raw and natural landscapes, gazing upon nature from a limestone hill, eating fresh, locally grown foods, swimming in the Mediterranean sea or drinking rosé wine under the stars, those are but a few examples of how to spend your time in these beautiful regions.

Most vacationers insist time is more relaxing when several generations are involved, especially as duties such as cooking, shopping or babysitting are spread out instead of concentrated on the parents. To take a break from the hectic pace of your daily routines, Bastide de la Félicité is certainly the best option: with its nine delightful bedrooms -including two garden suites- spacious bathrooms and very extensive game room, it can easily welcome up to eighteen guests of all ages.

Apart from its charming interior decor and luxurious setting, many extra features will please you outside as well: kids can run to the hen house each morning and afternoon to gather fresh eggs for breakfast or a French “omelette”, the whole family can play hide-n-seek games in the well-tended gardens and the playhouse, the two pools are as much relaxing areas as they are gathering ones: the larger pool has a pool house with showers and its own outdoor kitchen, and the smaller one is hidden in a private garden, with comfortable sunbeds and even a charming hut for the elders to take a nap after lunch, or the children to invent games, quests and safaris. Thanks to the two friendly donkeys of the property, grandparents will be able to share knowledge with their grand kids on feeding farm animals, and at the end of the day, they will certainly call them repeatedly so that they finally come down from the tree house to get ready for dinner. Finally, the tennis court will be the perfect setting for a family tournament! Unforgettable memories will be built in this wonderful property, so much that you will want to spend a lot of time right there!

For a more unusual stay in the Alpilles -and the priceless, unmistakable look of awe of your children’s eyes when they discover their room!- Le Dernier Château is the villa you want: set into the limestone hillside of Les Baux-de-Provence, this troglodyte luxury villa is an enchanting shelter in a spectacular and unique environment, with pool, terrace, and panoramic views over the Baux-de-Provence golf course and the mountains. Your family will be all set in the 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, all perfectly fitted out, and the fireplace and spacious living room are just the perfect setting for privileged family moments, telling stories, reflecting on the activities of the day or planning the next excursion.

Indeed, within each family are wide range of different needs, abilities and desires, which make holidays that much more exciting. Whether you want to all stick together or go your separate ways during the day, excursions, curiosities and visits in the area are diverse and accessible to all: you are located right in the middle of the golden triangle formed by Avignon, Arles and Aix-en-Provence. Explore Aix and visit the city as the famed post-impressionist and pre-cubist painter Cézanne experienced it, from the old town to the Montagne Sainte Victoire, which he painted almost 80 times, through all four seasons, in different light. From Aix to Avignon, do stop at La Roque d’Anthéron for a piano concert, or several: the 39th edition of the International Piano Festival will be held from July 20th to August 18th 2019.

From there, you can then reach Gordes and l’Isle sur la Sorgue (the Venice of Provence), two of the most charming and popular villages of the area -both of them are part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association- where you can stop for a delicious local meal, stroll through flea fairs and farmers markets, visit the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Sénanque while tasting -and eventually buying!- their lavender honey, or admire the countryside from the rampart walk of the castle of Gordes.

Stroll through fields and pick fruits and flowers, practice your golf swing or take a journey into the heart of the Middle Ages at the castle of Les Baux, which architecture and siege engines will delight young and old alike! Finally, for a multimedia, immersive experience, do visit the Carrières de Lumières for a must-see, original, playful and full of emotion experience!

Should you be more attracted to the chic glamour of the French Riviera, our Bastide des Roses is ideal! Just a stone-throw away from all the fashionable buzz of the French Riviera, encircled by high hedges and greenery, this beautiful hidden property will, according to our guests, “makes you feel like a romantic character in movie or a book set in Provence”! It is the ultimate luxury stay, with its timeless charm, unpretentious glamour and impeccable taste; it will be the perfect fit for a family up to 9 people seeking comfort and refined style. The swimming pool and its adjoining pool house are at the end of a rose garden, olive groves surround the gracious historical building tastefully decorated in Provence style, and the cobble stone patio roofed by old vines will be an ideal stage to admire each sunset and for astronomy lessons… Can you hear the sound of crickets?

The vast lawns and the many shady corners under olive, pine and palm trees will offer many opportunities to spend the day in solitude -everyone need their rest once in a while!- or with a big family, and the kitchen is very large, equipped with everything you need to cook delicious meal after a grocery shopping spree to the nearby towns of Vallbonne or Grasse. Family travel often means everybody gets to do at least one activity of their choice, which can lead the rest of the family to discover passions they never knew they had; leave it to the Côte d’Azur to endlessly surprise you. Strolling the streets of Grasse, do stop at the International Perfume Museum or the Fragonard Museum, a visit we recommend even with kids! Just an hour away, Nice offers a wonderful day excursion for all ages as well: enjoy a Fenocchio artisanal basilic flavored sorbet on the Promenade des Anglais, and visit the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art or the Théatre de la Photographie et de l’Image. From Nice, you are just an hour away from Monaco with its Exotic Garden and its Oceanographic Museum, or Menton and the Jean Cocteau Museum. Numerous beaches and coves will welcome you for a picnic or a swim all along the coast of course.
We will attend to every step of the organisation of such trips, so feel free to ask us anything! We can provide cooks, housekeeping services, breakfast delivery, pool setting and cleaning, transportation for the youngest and oldest, and much more, so you won’t be focusing on every little detail and will enjoy the big, important family moments of your trip!

Precious family time…

27/09/2018 by florealexandre

What a world we live in! With globalization and tough competition, job relocation is sometimes the lot of many scattered families around the globe. Believe us, we can relate! What better way to keep the family bound tight than to organise a family reunion? It could be for a family birthday, for a holiday celebration, an anniversary, or simply because it has been too long. Here is a simple, yet very effective recipe to any successful family gathering. First and foremost, you must pick a place, and not just any place: it should be in an attractive area, central or at least easy to get to, preferably with mild weather (we wouldn’t want to be stuck inside all the time, now, would we?), both extensive and comfy, with a homey feeling that makes all relax: as the host, you want to have your family close by and comfortably settled. The surroundings should offer both activities for every generation and relaxed and intimate areas for time out or reacquainting moments. And finally, what would be a family reunion without qualitative family meals? To ensure you get all that – and more! – we recommend two choices, in two different countries which, although very different, easily check all of the above.

Should your family be spread throughout Europe – lucky you! – or should you simply look for an exceptional venue, Mediterranean countries always come first to mind. There is first beautiful Italy, where we found right next to Rome, its capital, the perfect Villa for your family retreat. And though we are of course accustomed to organizing parties and events, it is always with a bit of surprise – and a warm feeling of pride – that we read the wonderful reviews our guests leave us after some time spent in our wonderful properties. Villa Vesta was praised numerous times by its visitors, and here is how they describe it in their own words:
“absolutely beautiful”, “has to be seen and experienced!”, “a beautiful location and a wonderful trip managed end to end exceptionally well”, “we look forward to our next trip”, “We loved the location, the peacefulness, how well equipped it was and the pool was wonderful to swim in after a long day in Rome. We would highly recommend this place to anyone!”

Need we say more? The area around Villa Vesta offers of course beautiful Rome, always a good idea no matter what time of the year, Tivoli and the marvellous gardens of Villa d’Este and Villa Hadriana, but also Castelli Romani, a natural volcanic park with amazing scenery, pretty Ariccia and its Palazzo Chigi (barely a 20min ride), Frascati with its flourishing vineyards and enotecas, Castle San Castello in Sora, and of course Grottaferrata, built around the Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, founded in 1004, and summer home of the Popes. But the Villa will certainly captivate you and your loved ones, as everything there is designed to make you want to stay.

France would be more convenient for you? Fear not, the French Provence welcomes you at the Bastide de la Félicité. Located in one of the most interesting parts of Provence to visit, anyone who visits La Félicité will nevertheless want to spend a lot of time there, as our happy guests sum it up themselves:
“Paradise”, “Essence of Provence in total luxury”, “Fantastic property, bedrooms, grounds, pool, playground and tennis court”, “sumptuous property”, “the staff was so very helpful, friendly and accommodating”, the long list of praise matches the extensive attention to every single detail inside and outside the house.

But you will want of course to discover the charms Saint-Remy, Avignon (a 30min drive) with the Popes Palace, its city center which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, and the Festival d’Avignon, l’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a wonderful site famous for its many antique shops and Sundays antique markets, Eygalières, only 15min away and probably the most beautiful village in the Alpilles, Arles, home to the Rencontres de la Photographie, and finally Les Baux de Provence and the Carrières de Lumières, a high technology multimedia performance in the ancient and giant caves that were quarried to build the town.

In Italy or in France, we will of course take care of your transfers, itineraries, visits, wine tastings, or any activity you would feel like trying. Call your loved ones, set a date, and reunite in style!

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