Vacapedia Vacation Rentals Blog

I’ve been traveling. First there was four days in Dublin, one of the more expensive places on earth. Mediocre food will cost you an arm and a leg. Then there was Provence in France, where the food was tasty, but the bills! Oh, my, the cost of a meal!

Luckily, we’re back in Northern Tuscany, where a gourmet three course meal with a bottle of good wine and some fizzy water and coffee, enough for a two hour Sunday Extravaganza, set the two of us back €50–about what a couple of ok main courses and a Guiness would cost in Dublin.

Traditional farro soup baked inside a round loaf of bread, followed by a big grilled Cinta Senese pork chop with potato and vegetables, followed by a chocolate bomb of a chocolate cake made up my meal, followed by one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had. All washed down with a red wine from the region. It doesn’t get much better than this.

That’s $78, tax and tip included, for a big Sunday dinner for two, even with the dismal value of the dollar. You couldn’t match it in the San Francisco, where just the wine would have set you back at least $30.

The truth is, renting a vacation home like Casa Ori in Anghiari, a wonderful little hill town in Tuscany, then hitting the restaurants and nearby historic sites can be part of a very frugal vacation.

You see, tonight, after our extravagant lunch, we’re having a light supper at home. A little salad of endive and radicchio topped with that great tuna in olive oil they have here, some gorgonzola cheese, a slice or two of coppa, some bread–all bought at the local market. Oh yes, I have a glass of good white wine in my hand. The bottle cost €0.98. I kid you not.

Vacation rentals can save you a bundle.