In desperate need of a break from the credit crunch doom and winter gloom and conscious of our pledge to pull in our purse strings, with a little organizing and shrewd spending we had a fabulous time in Le Marche, Italy.

We saved loads by booking a weekday flight with Ryan Air to Ancona and heading into the beautiful province of Macerata, just outside the beautiful Sibillini National Park.

To keep costs down we stayed at some excellent self catering apartments that cost under £20pp a night, and shopped locally for food. Prices for some items in the supermarkets are no cheaper than the UK, but if you shop ‘Italian’; wine, parmesan, mascarpone and bread, you get good value and good quality. The weekly markets in most towns are full of fresh, seasonal produce for creating a fantastic meal. If you want cheaper wine, buy it direct from the local cantinas. We found one in Tolentino called Il Pollenza where we bought some lovely Rosso Piceno for €1.40 per litre.

We like to go walking, and this place was ideal for short walks around town or longer, more challenging hiking in the mountains. The owners of the villa where we were staying had walking itineraries and maps we could use. We stayed in the lower snow free foothills as higher up the local ski resort was in full swing, and although we didn’t ski, at our holiday villa they had a few skis and a sledge available for guests.
One thing we did cotton on to was the fabulous bar snacks that are free if you turn up to the bar just before midday and have a small glass of Verdicchio or an aperitivo with the locals. If you drink what the locals are drinking you can save on your bar bill (beers in Italy are not cheap).
We did splash out a couple of nights on dinner. There were plenty of local places to choose from. We had the best pizza ever for €5 and another night we went to a great osteria "Scherzi parte" that served up regional Marche dishes. As we had had our free ‘starter’ at the bar before hand we skipped antipasti and had a two plates of pasta between us, which was just right, and then tucked in to the tasty grilled meats and salad. We drank the house wine at €5 per litre and finished off with a light, creamy, home made pannacotta. The bill was just over €60 for four.

www.villasanraffaello.com
Ancona airport

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We've just spent a superb weekend in wonderful Autumn sunshine here in Le Marche staying at lovely Villa San Raffaello with its great apartments, amazing views and free organic vegetables.

On Friday we visited the lovely medieval town of Sarnano, ate at the excellent Le Clarrise ristorante in the Centro Storico and then dressed up and joined the locals at L'ex disco for Halloween.

The next morning we had to blow away the cobwebs using the local maps of old mule tracks walking in the fantastic Italian rolling hills, past the heady scent of locals making vino cotto (a cooked wine that was first made by in Roman times), past 13th century churches and a 15th century mill.

On Sunday, fuelled by a desire to eat something local and unpretentious, we hiked into the Sibillini mountains and ate at the rifugio (refuge) at Monte Amandola. This is one of a chain of mountain refuges at around 1500 metres, which walkers can eat, drink and stay at. The food was really tasty and included many seasonal dishes, including strozzaprete (literally priest strangler) pasta with truffle and sausage, and succulent lamb cooked on coals. The bill, including wine, coffee and home made tiramisu, was only €13 a head.

www.villasanraffaello.com

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Amazing views, incredible food and great hospitality - we ate at the villa 5 of the 7 nights we stayed, loved the antipasta and David's deserts were fabulous. In fact my partner is a vegetarian and the menu was better than most restaurants. Had the most relaxing holiday, in fact we were chilled out within half an hour of arriving. This region of the Marche is still relatively undiscovered and long may it stay that way. Prices for eating out are unbelievable - 3 course meals around 35 euro and great local wines as well.

Villa Sibillini's bed and breakfast rates are just 85 euro a night and the breakfasts are a delight, fresh fruits and many home-made jams.

Couldn't praise it enough, Pam and David have just the right touch - friendly and welcoming, it was like staying with friends. Will certainly be back.

Contrada Collalto 10, San Ginesio, Macerata 62026, Le Marche, Italy
nearest station - Tolentino
www.villasibillini.com

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The food is very rustic and basic but the restaurants tend to only cook local regional food specialising in either fish or meat. My favourite restaurant can be found in Grottomare Alta and is called Osteria dell’Arancia. It has a sister hotel on the Kings Road, London but the original is better – last time I was there dinner was about €40 for everything.

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