Dei Duchi Hotel Spoleto

... the religious paraphernalia being placed right next to fake guns, swords and whips. Very bizarre!
We commenced our walking tour which I did find interesting in the end, we learned about St Clair and St Francis and saw their crypts and where they spent time while they were alive. The story is actually quite interesting and I did learn a bit of history there so it was good. The town itself is quite pretty too as they had ...

Wednesday, We are alone in an Italian villa. It was magical. We slept in and then had breakfast on the veranda.

I made a picnic lunch out of the things we bought yesterday and feeling very brave we drove to Pettino. It is a small mountain village about a half an hour away from M & J's house. Reaching Pettino, we blinked and were out of town. Turning around and heading back down the hill to find a place ...

... 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.

... next to Civita. And I had to get to the other side of Bagnoregio, where a pedestrian bridge led to Civita. It was either a mile walk or a 1 Euro bus ride, but there were no buses for another two hours. So I walked it. But it was a nice walk. The town was very pretty, and it was all level or downhill.

When I got to the end of town, there was an amazing viewpoint that overlooked Civita and the surrounding land. It’s hard to describe, just look at the picture to see how ...

... well that had been dug a few centuries before when a pope had fled to the town for some reason. He feared being put under siege, so he had the well dug so that the town had a supply of fresh water. That way they could withstand a siege indefinitely.

The well was very well designed, there were two sets of spiral staircases that went to the bottom, so you could have one-way traffic flow. You go down one set of stairs, cross a bridge at the bottom, then go up the other set ...

... first of many we are going to see. After visiting their friends’ charming little artists’ apartment we are off to lunch, more wine and great food.

Back home to jump in the pool and take a much needed nap.

That night Mike makes us wonderful pesto pasta, drank more wine and talked into the warm Umbrian night. After our hosts went to bed we made love while moonlight showed in the window and the crickets chirped.

the francescan monks must have been part mountain goat.this palce is unbelievably hilly.also it poured with rain and thundered and we got drenched.we slept in an 1800 year old nunnery in single beds of course
we went to the church of saint claira and saw her tomb

... of Poor Ladies, in the Franciscan tradition. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares.

Very close to Perugia, do not miss the chance to visit Assisi. It is easy, cheap and quick to go there by train from Perugia.

I think that one day, maybe half a day, is enought to visit this city.

Located on a small hill, the view from the top is ...

... before as otherwise there is not even on bed left! But of course there are many other regions in Italy producing great wines like Umbria, Campania, Veneto, Friuli and Sicily. It is really worth to come to Italy for getting to know more about its wines and food and to taste them while undertaking some trips in the surrounding areas and see plenty of romantic and ancient places which are spread all over the country.