Boni Cerri Spoleto

... today. That has to be my favorite saint. Very busy here even though end of season. No wireless interent. We have one more day and we start home. I think we are ready to get home. It has been beautiful here and I have learned so much, but all good things must come to an end. See you all next week I hope.

Hi Everyone!<br><br>This past weekend was the Perugia Chocolate Festival&#8230;It was amazing! Basically, I was in heaven. It was a chocolate lover&#8217;s paradise. We took a bus from Florence and arrived in Perugia by mid morning. It was a bitter day which gave me a perfect excuse to have some out of this world hot chocolate and churros. A bunch of my friends and I had lunch at a ...

... the most interesting surprize.<br><br>Perugia is surrounded by modern buildings and from the parking area there is a very modern, completely automated "minitram" connecting like a long rollercoaster, through the village below and under the mountain to the far side of Perugia. This is probably the most modern and efficient devise in all of Italy.<br><br>Arriving at the far side of Perugia, we were herded ...

... My friend has a nice, sparsely decorated flat in the heart of the village. We settled in and then went to the neighboring town of Amelia for a nice dinner.<br><br>Licia had worked in that region for a few months and had been recommended to a good restaurant near Amelia. We drove over the rolling hills to the small hilltop village ...

... and everything. We had a great view to the surrounding hills. <br>Perugia is a quaint town with cobblestone streets. We got a bit turned around and ended up back in the same spot we started walking but eventually found our way around the town. Then we headed to Assisi. We walked through markets and saw numerous churches. The stones and narrow streets reminded me of Siena. We grabbed a milkshake and gelato and headed back to Perugia.<br>

... Today the square is still a local meeting point for tourist and students alike. <br>The heart of the square belongs to Fontana Maggiore (Great Fountain) built between 1275 and 1278 by father and son team Nicola and Giovanni Pisano.<br>At the other end of the Piazza is the Cathedral of St Lorenzo with its pink façade, which was never truly completed. Work begun in 1345 and continued until 1587, however the door way was only built in the late 1700's.

... ceramic store and found a little dish with the iconic olive design and a little egg cup to remind me of the first leg of our romantic journey. Then nap time.<br><br>Dinner at home tonight with last night&#8217;s leftovers and a sauté of fresh eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. We ate outside and enjoyed the caress of the evening breeze. Tomorrow off to Orbetello with our friend Alessandro behind the wheel.

... restaurant to have dinner late, by our standard and arrive a half an hour too early. We had an antipasto as Mike suggested but didn't stop there, we ordered pasta. I had the potato gnocchi with truffles and mascarpone. Marty had the pasta with spicy red sauce. Stuffed with doggy bags in hand, we staggered back down the hill in the cool night air.

... on the terrace. I join her and relish in the cool morning air while performing Jill&#8217;s Anusara routine. Lovely.<br><br>Off to Spoleto we wind through the narrow cobbled stone streets to the top of the town. Jill and Mike show us an ancient amphitheatre, the one the Roman&#8217;s gave to the town of Spoleto for defeating Hannibal by pouring hot oil his troops. It is still being used today. We visit the town&#8217;s Duomo ...

... through a canopied forest. We visited a very old Church of San Pietro and we were also able to walk across an old aqueduct, the Ponte delle Torri. The hike ended with a visit to a small convent-monastery at the top of the mountain which was once the refuge of St. Francis of Assisi. There was not much to do at the top of the mountain and it was getting close to dusk so we decided to walk to main ...