Lots of splendid Lake District countryside, however, is assured.
To the Editor: Thanks to Frederick Turner ("Autumn Is Mellow Deep in Normandy," Sept. 10) for reminding me of a visit, in 1976, to the splendid Calvados countryside and an overnight at the same Auberge du Vieux Puits in Pont-Audemer.
Out in the splendid Lubéron countryside, in the postcard-perfect village of Gordes, 40km east of Avignon, Michelin-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire will from July be taking over the newly refurbished restaurant at Bastide de Gordes (rue de la Combe, +33 4 9072 1212).
Walk Montepulciano's car-free streets and enjoy the splendid Tuscan countryside views before tucking into one of the cantinas in town (meaning you can sample without worrying about driving) to savor the hometown pride, Vino Nobile di Montepulicano (Thomas Jefferson described it as a "favorite wine"), a structured red made largely from the Sangiovese grape grown in surrounding vineyards.
The must-see food producers are in the surrounding countryside, but the splendid monuments of Parma are worth a day's sightseeing, too.
It is like stepping into a splendid old pub in the Irish countryside.
Just imagine how splendid you will look in your pro-countryside rugger shirt or ladies' skinni-fit t-shirt.
Of note, though, is the 15th-century Castello Monforte, which offers splendid views of the city and the surrounding countryside.
The riotous ornamentation, the architectural grandeur, and the dramatic costumes — on both sides of the footlights — make for a tinderbox of passions, as do the city's luminous canals and splendid plazas and the gaudily bedizened villas of town and countryside alike.
At a time when every drama where characters even see a photograph of the British countryside tries to sell a Downton connection, that's a right splendid feat.
