UMBRIA RETREAT 2025

dianedoban
Aug 18
4 min read

First of all, apologies for the delay in doing this blog. The Universe threw a couple of glitches at us, along with my own vice of procrastination....We ended up staying in Italy a month longer than anticipated, but That's a Whole Notha' Story!

Second of all, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that attended the retreat! We really had an amazing group of people, and made some new friends for life!

We have to say that the resort, La Ghirlanda really seems to out-do itself every year. The resort is truly magical with breathtaking views everywhere you look. Nestled in the hills of Saragano, Italy, its elegance and beauty is just perfect. And it's surrounded by vineyards and olive trees, wild flowers and lavender. The vibe is elegant and casual.

For our first-time guests, it's incredible when they go through the entrance gates of the villa and see it all in-person. All the rooms are different, and decorated with beautiful antiques. Since I love restoring furniture, I pretty much drool when I see the guest suites....

The evening of everyone's arrival, we have our "Welcome Dinner". This is our first taste of Umbria, its food, wine, and especially ambience. We all get to know each other, and see our friends that come every year. Yeah, Jacque, that would be you! And Susan and Brian too! We get to meet our first-time guests, which is always wonderful. And next year, my beautiful sister Jody will be there!

And, of course, the resident ambassadors, Jack and Mogli.

We spent the next two days at the resort with our Yamuna Body Rolling classes, including Yamuna Foot Fitness, which is super-important for our well-being. We also did breath work, pelvis, upper and lower legs.

Lunches consisted of salads, salmon and sandwiches, and generally light fare. Dinners were elegant presentations, accompanied by wines from the same vineyards surrounding us. Everything local, fresh and delicious!

The temperature was really heating up, and we found ourselves in the middle of an early summer heat wave. Thank goodness the resort has air conditioning! Plus, a swimming pool.

At this point, our group discovered the moon, and its many photo-ops.

After two full days of body rolling, we went on our first sight-seeing adventure to Assisi. We took an open-air bus that goes through the city and way up on the hill where there is a medieval fortress. After that, a little shopping followed by lunch in Assisi.

And, of course, when it's hot in Italy, we go for gelato!

Then, back to the resort for some relax time, followed by another fabulous dinner at La Ghirlanda.

The following day, another sight-seeing adventure with a visit to Trevi for an olive oil tasting.

After that, a lunch at San Pietro a Pettine, a truffle farm nestled in the hills of Trevi offering spectacular views of Umbria. Due to the heat, this year, we couldn't see the demonstration of how the dogs find the truffles, but we could certainly enjoy our truffle themed lunch!

And, after lunch, just for fun, a quick visit to Trevi. Did I mention, it was hot?

Since this retreat is one-half Yamuna Body Rolling, and one-half sight seeing, we're back to classes at the resort. We devote three days to body rolling, and three days of adventures! It was still "wicked hot", but we did our best to stay in the shade while we worked on our bodies. We even worked on some pretty advanced routines, because, hey, this was a spunky group!

The following day, we thought it would be fun to go to a local mercato, weekly outdoor Italian markets where they sell fresh food, household items, and clothes. The one in Foligno is on Tuesday, so that's where we went. There are some fun bargains (especially clothing) to be found. On the way back to the resort, we stopped at La Vecchia Cucina (a fabulous Umbrian restaurant) for lunch.

Following our al fresco lunch, back to the resort for our Italian Cooking class with the Contessa Amalia, where our guests learned how to prepare authentic Italian dishes. We were then able to enjoy the meal, and boy was it delicious! We even had truffle-flavored gelato for desert.

The next day was the day our spunky group departed......Many of them spent the night near the airport in Rome for their flights the next day. The resort is a few hours away from the Rome airport, so it makes sense to already be close to the airport the day of the flight. But, did I mention that this was a spunky group? They all decided to go into the city of Rome for even more shenanagins!

It was truly an awesome retreat; an awesome place, awesome food, but more importantly, awesome guests. Also, a special thank you to our "social media" experts, who provided us with so many great photos. That means you, Pippa and Aliza. We are truly grateful that they came and brought their own unique personalities making this experience truly beautiful. Love you guys!

If you are interested in joining us in 2026, (it'll be early June), please send us a message. Space is limited, so you'll want to be on the list!

Below a gallery of photos from the retreat. Hope to see you all again next year!