Hotel Perusia & La Villa Perugia

(Steve)
After saying goodbye to the splendour of the seas, we made our way to the Venice train station and boarded the next train to Perugia. Known as the 'green heart' of Italy, Perugia reminded us a lot of Tuscany but greener. We were staying in a farmhouse so we had to catch a bus out of the city and after finding a few helpful locals we were pointed down a long dirt road.
Our first day at the hostel was spent lazing around ...

... is famous for its chocolates. You can see that little architecturally has changed with-in the city walls in the last 400 hundred years. With a mix of past glories and a youthful vibe from the university it has a charm that is hard to resist.

We walked up to Piazza IV Novembre which for thousands of years was a meeting point for the ancient Etruscan and Roman civilisations. In the medieval period it was also the political center of ...

... 1627 to 1799, again with a bank loan on pledge, but also with a community itself.

The Jewish pawn shops are spread throughout central and northern Italy, from the fourteenth century. Practices affect smaller than those used previously, Christians from providers, and are more easily controlled by the authorities, which stipulate, to this end with the holders of the bank, real contracts renewable every five to ten years.

The most important period of stay of the ...

So we are really excited that we are getting to go swimming and sunbathing. In goes Castiglione Del Lago into Harriet... we arrive and both said... oh... it was gross. All muddy and nasty. So we then drive to Passignano thinking ...

... red and gasping for air. Was it worth it? not really! To make it worse I ran into some people I saw at the top the first time... the road that I thought didnt go anywhere did so I had walked down and up again for no reason! On the way back down again my legs turned to jelly and I thought I was going to fall over! Oh dear..... learnt that lesson. Luckily Kathleen was driving as I was dead!!!

... white clouds. It was idyllic.

Heading back down the hill we stopped at Castelle de Campo. The castle overlooks the Spoleto valley. People are living there today and the Duomo is fully functional inside the walls of this tiny medieval town. Reaching home again in the hottest part of the day we jump into the pool to cool off. Refreshed we drove into Campelle de Clituno for the daily gelato. Shopped the ...

... dialect and we had no idea. Luckily he was a french chef who spoke English. Mandy had a white truffle pasta hats and I had veal and potatoes - sounds average but it was the best meal full of flavor and cooked perfectly. Then we indulged in dessert which was a souffle and ice cream. Not forgetting a glass of the local red wine finished off the perfect meal. I would ...

... to do Mon-Sat and give them some hours on Sunday? It's not strictly religious, because some stores and restaurants are open on Sunday. You get the picture. Then there is the cell phone. Italians are the most verbal people I have ever observed. They talk constantly. And they often sound like they are arguing. They are not, it's just that they are very loud and expressive and, of course, their hands are flying. Well, the cell phone was made for the ...

... apt, but by a different route. No more le stapette, but downhill there and uphill back home. Went to find our building. Lots of students once again - all young. We are beginning to be nervous about tomorrow. Wondering if we should just go into the second level beginner so we don't have a constant deer in the headlights look. We will see how difficult it is tomorrow and possibly change. We have this week to do so, then we are ...

... to remove bright colored shed sweater hairs from our black jackets, we slinked down stair to the COOP. I bought items to make fresh bruschette which by the way is actually pronounced brew-sk-eta NOT brew-sh-eta as I have been reminded several times by Aila. We paid for everything at the register and bagged everything up and Kat started searching through her purse. "Looking for something?" I inquired. "I gave the woman at UPIM 20€. She was supposed to give me 11&euro ...