Villa Scanni, which was built in the 1700's, is a farmhouse located inside the park of the "Vald'Orcia" and is set on top of a hill surrounded by century old cypress trees. Here tradition and culture join together in creating a very unique setting. The villa has been completely restored following traditional Tuscan styles. The rooms are airy and you will find beamed ceilings and cotto floors. Guests can also enjoy the swimming pool with commanding views of the countryside.

Easy Spaghetti Supper

2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 cans (15 oz each) tomato sauce
2 cans (12 oz each) tomato paste
1 can (7.5 oz) pitted ripe olives, drained and sliced
2 envelopes (1.5 oz each) Italian style spaghetti sauce mix with mushrooms
3 cups water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon crushed oregano leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, crumbled
16 oz Italian style spaghetti noodles
Fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

Cook and stir ground beef, onion and pepper until meat is brown and onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except spaghetti noodles and Parmesan cheese. Simmer uncovered 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally. Place in covered container; refrigerate overnight. Cook spaghetti as directed on package. Heat sauce; serve over hot cooked spaghetti and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. 8 servings.

- Betty Crocker’s Hostess Cookbook

Our group was third in line behind two other foursomes at the golf course.  A young man in the first group walloped his tee shot straight down the middle of the 410 yard fairway to within a few yards of the green. "Wow," said an older man in the second foursome, "I don't even go that far on vacation!" (He obviously hadn't discovered VillaNet yet!)

Dear Travelers,
 
We have really “Sprung into Spring” this month with many bookings for your summer and fall pleasure. And we still have some good availability for last minute shoppers.

I’m getting very excited about our upcoming trip which will take Cori and myself to Paris, Southern France and Italy to see family as well as inspect many new properties soon to be featured on our website.

We’re proud to have been one of the exhibitors at the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce trade show last month which was a great success.  And we’re looking forward to  present “Renting Villas in Europe” at the Savvy Traveler in Edmonds on May 8th.  For those locals who have not signed up yet, we’d love to see you there! You can pre-register at www.savvytraveler.com.

Best Regards,

Emmanuel de Ricard, President

Arezzo is a Must See!

Arezzo is an important town on the eastern border of Tuscany. About an hour's drive from Siena, it's a great place to spend a day of sightseeing and shopping. Remember the movie "Life is Beautiful" with the funny and delightful Roberto Benigni? This is his home town so many of the movie scenes were filmed here.

A wealthy city, it's known especially for the production of gold jewelry, world famous clothing, and furniture manufacture. Here you'll see renowned works of art including Francesca's "Legend of the Cross" frescoes in a simple little church on Piazza San Francesco, and of course architectural wonders such as the famous Duomo.

Every first weekend of the month there is a large antique fair in Piazza Grande. Here you find furniture, jewelry, pottery, and most anything old. The prices are said to be good and you can easily arrange to have your purchases shipped directly home. Along with Florence, Siena and Lucca, your visit to Arezzo will be one of the most enjoyable spent in Tuscany!

Kathy Hayes, Editor

Quote by Victor Borge; Photo by John Kaplan

How's the Weather?

When you're dreaming of your European destination it’s important to have some understanding of what weather you’re likely to encounter. It will not only help in planning what to pack, but activities to choose when you’re there. We make it easy for you. When you go to our website www.rentavilla.com and click on an area (let’s use Tuscany as an example) you’ll see a link just under the area heading that says "Weather in Tuscany". This takes you to www.weather.yahoo.com where you’ll see what the weather is doing at the moment, get a 5 day forecast, and see the monthly average for temperature and precipitation throughout the last year!

Being in the Northern Hemisphere, the warmest months in all areas we represent are July and August, but from May through October is still quite comfortable. For instance, in Tuscany those monthly averages are as follows:

Month	Avg High	Avg Low	Avg Precip
May	71.4 F	50.9 F	2.40 in
June	78.3 F	57.2 F	1.70 in
July	84.4 F	61.9 F	0.90 in
August	83.8 F	62.1 F	2.20 in
September	78.3 F	57.7 F	3.50 in
October	70.2 F	51.1 F	4.70 in

You’re going to have a fabulous time no matter what the weather, but it’s nice to know what’s normal for the season you’re going.

Kathy Hayes, Editor

"The Apartment Calvaire was very nice and the key holder was more than excellent!"

- DH, Hamilton, MA

VillaNet Vacation Villas and Apartments ( Copyright © 2004 )
website: www.rentavilla.com email: info@rentavilla.com
phone: (800) 964-1891 fax: (206) 417-1832
1251 NW 116th Street, Seattle WA 98177 USA

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