One couple wanted to combine a pilgrimage to grandfathers Umbrian village with Rome, Florence and Venice. We offered our couple a choice of Roman accommodations: near that Piazza Novona, whose streets radiate from a Bernini fountain to the Vatican, Spanish Steps and Pantheon; or, behind the Via Condotti, whose chic shops yield to neighborhoods where laundry flaps above friendly neighborhood markets and trattorias. Our couple drove north, through Umbrian hills flanked by olive groves and vineyards, to the market center of Todi. We directed them to their ancestral hilltop village across the valley, approached along a road lined by stately cypress. They reported that the vino tinto was heavenly as "nonno" remembered. Next, a leisurely meander to Assisi, a favorite Umbrian town, then to Tuscany's Chianti hills. They seldom skipped a "degustacion" signpost, enjoying a local wine tasting.		How to avoid the crowds when they flock to world famous Florence and Venice? We showed our couple how to reserve entrance to the big museums in advance-- so they remained in charge of their own schedule. That left time to browse the marvelous artisans' workshops across the Ponte Vecchio, to observe mosaic, silver and wood crafts being fashioned. To dine at a suggested Florentine restaurant featuring generous servings of truffles and late autumn, and asparagus risottos in the late spring. And of course, we pointed them to Venice's traghettos, local gondola ferries costing a mere 50 cents.