While Tuscany and Umbria are the go-to regions when touring Italy, Le Marche is touted as an equally beautiful but less populated alternative. With rich farmland and twisting mountain roads inland and the Adriatic Sea on the coast, it’s the best of both worlds as far as a Sunday drive goes.
We left the guesthouse just before noon and it wasn’t long before we were off the major roads. The landscape was beautiful – so colourful. The different crops made the farming landscape look like patchwork with different greens, yellows and browns. Some paddocks needed some attention but in the meantime gorgeous wildflowers were blooming. There were lots of bright red poppies.
Arriving at the Coast we pulled into a small town called Porto Sant’Elpidio. We didn’t see much of the town – just parked, grabbed some lunch and went to the beach. Large sections of the beach were filled 
with chairs and umbrellas, which you can enjoy if you’re willing to pay for it. We weren’t. So instead went for a swim in one of the open areas. The Adriatic Sea may just be the warmest ocean I’ve stuck my toe into. With the temperature nearing the mid-30s, a dip in the ocean was the perfect half-way mark. There were so few people in the water though…thousands on the beach tanning, a few people up to their ankles in the water, but hardly anyone actually swimming.
We took a different route home – sticking to the Coast for a bit before entering some windy roads. We must have hit a tourist trail here. We met about 20 tour buses coming the other way. Given how narrow the roads are, it was always interesting if the meeting came on a corner. Huge tunnels, the longest just more than 4km, cut through the rugged mountains, but as we returned to Umbria so did more level ground.
