Quattro Torri Perugia

Back to the land of pay toilets. Don.t know why that bothers me so much but it does. It just doesn.t seem right. Anyway, we are now in Assisi. We got off the boat and it was raining, and then we had to take a detour to Assisi. the road was very narrow and hilly, It was a little tense for awhile. Saw St Francis ...

... pizzeria where I had delicious lasagna. After lunch we browsed through the many stands. Sample after sample led to some major purchases. It was hard to pass up the various chocolate products when the smell just filled the air. There was everything from chocolate beer to chocolate &#8220;pills&#8221; to chocolate pasta!! <br><br>Heaven.<br><br>I&#8217;ll update you soon,<br><br>Siara

... absenthe.<br><br>Next we decided to explore the surrounding village before entering the crowds above. Perugia is a beautiful midieval village and very well preserved. Incorporated into this ancient setting are some very modern things like an underground moving walkway, taking you through the mazez below the pallazo. On this day, there were special booths set up for children and chocolate vendors.<br><br ...

So Licia and I both had to work on Saturday morning so we decided to meet at her house when we finished and then drive up to Montecastrilli for the night. The weather was nice and as it was late afternoon, we had little traffic.<br><br>It was a pleasant 2 hour drive to Montecastrilli. This is a small village near the center of ...

(Steve)<br> 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. <br>Our first day at the hostel was spent lazing around ...

After seeing most of what Florence has to offer we decided to head back to Perugia our original stop six days ago and see if we could actually get further than the train station. <br><br>With our 11 o'clock departing on time for a change we were soon headed out of Toscana and into the rolling hills, jagged mountains, swathes of olive orchards and ancient stone buildings that make up Umbria. <br><br>The scenery on the train ride down (although we had ...

... it is suddenly and gorgeously green and balmy. I'm posting some pictures leading up to and including Easter weekend. Yet to occur - Tuesday night's Passover Seder that I'm trying to put together for some students at the Umbra Institute (yes, I have found matzo in Perugia)! Wish me luck and look for a separate posting on that event!!

... Day, but the stockings wait for Befina to come on Jan. 6. Speaking of Sunday - we slept until noon! I don't think I've done that since I was a depressed 13 year old. We definitely needed to get the jet lag out of our systems. OK - I tired the photo upload and failed. I'll get Mike to help me and send you some soon, I promise. Miss you all!

... to the lower level of the building to see if the factory was open, even though the museum people had said it wasn't (it was Saturday) and it's true, it was closed. Although I did get in the front door before I ran into someone in the lobby that said it was closed, so I have in fact been inside the actual Perugina factory. But while I could have actually been surrounded by boxes and boxes of chocolate, making it a big day in my life, I only got as far as the lobby. Oh well ...

... especially the focacia at Ceccarani. This place was recommended as the best bread shop in Perugia, and it was absolutely packed. We bought three slices of focacia with different toppings, and returned to the Duomo to sit on the steps and have lunch. Only the Sala dei Notari was open, of the other museums and public buildings surrounding the piazza. With no great fanfare (or signage), this old courtroom is accessed via a staircase from the piazza. We had no idea what was inside, but ...