San Carlo Borromeo Spoleto

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 ...

... was more of a motel than a hotel but we liked it.<br> Dinner was alfresco at the hotel and we had more success with wine discovering a lovely Italian cabernet sauvignon which we continued to enjoy after dinner. We all gathered for drinks under the moonlight out the front of our hotel after dinner and it turned into quite a late night. We really enjoyed ourselves though, getting to know people better and having some good laughs.

... white clouds. It was idyllic.<br><br>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 ...

... 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.

... which was just a free croissant from the restaurant next door. Then I relaxed in my room for a while until it was time to pack up and leave. And then I did another lap around the town.<br><br>I was very happy to finally get on the bus and be headed to Civita. It was actually a really nice bus ride. It was great to see the countryside a little closer, and there were some amazing views of Orvieto and Civita from a distance.<br><br>The bus actually dropped me off in Bagnoregio, the town ...

... after the cramped quarters in the hostels.<br><br>I soon headed out again to do a few things I couldn&#8217;t before with my backpack on. First, I went to a bell tower in the center of town where you could go to the top. It had an elevator up two floors, but then I had to climb up 173 steps. And the view at the top was worth it! It was amazing. I could see the city spread below me, and the hills surrounding us all around. <br><br>I next went to St. Patrick&#8217;s well, a very ...

... first of many we are going to see. After visiting their friends&#8217; charming little artists&#8217; apartment we are off to lunch, more wine and great food. <br><br>Back home to jump in the pool and take a much needed nap.<br><br>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<br>we went to the church of saint claira and saw her tomb

... as you can see from the photos, there has been a tremendous amount of effort to restore the city. It is a truly beautiful little town and feel luck to walk around this historical and spiritual place.<br><br>We also had a quick stop over in Oriveto to see it's famed cathedral. It's known for it's vivid colored mosaics. <br><br><br>

Chocolate is big business in Italy. Annual sales are worth 350 million euros, while consumption has doubled over the past 10 years - going from two to four kilos per capita - and continues to grow . Traditional Italian chocolate-makers shun alternatives to cocoa butter, which northern European manufacturers tend to use ...