WHY UMBRIA?
our italy plans were pretty un-planned other than wanting to get up into the mountains and of course get to florence/tuscany for the wedding i mentioned here. while in rome we randomly met 3 different italians that were born and raised in umbria, and they all pretty much said we "had to go". umbria is a region i hadn't really heard of, bordering tuscany and often referred to as the country's green heart. the region is known for its medieval hill towns, dense forests and local cuisine – and tends to be less touristy than tuscany. after doing a little research and seeing the perugia farmhouse , we thought this would be a fun and random next stop. 

THE FARMHOUSE:
after a 2.5 hour train from rome, a 20 minute bus ride and a 15 minute walk, we arrived. for a little more privacy we chose the roller caravan [which actually ended up being cheaper than two beds in the dorm room] and ended up loving it so much that we extended our stay by 2 nights. this place is tucked back in the middle of the countryside, so if you don't have a car [like us] it is tough to get around. we made the decision to just not leave the property and enjoy the pool, animals, local winery and food farm with craft beer, hiking trails, communal kitchen and cool people – everyone staying/working there was around our age and really fun. we all cooked dinner together one night which is what i love about the hostel vibes. 

THE REGION:
umbria is broken into smaller cities, and we mainly stayed in perugia. if you're planning a visit, some other cities we didn't have time to explore but heard were cool are: assisi, spoleto, gubbio & todi.