Villa Dei Platani Foligno

December 7, 2009



Didn't know what to expect of Perugia, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. It actually have a very medieval feel to it. It sits atop a mountain and I can see why it was originally located here as one gets a very beautiful view of the valley below….and any wandering mauraders! Italy is on a 4 day holiday since the Feast of the Immaculate Conception falls on Tuesday. The ...

... Nuova was built by King Philip III of Spain in the 1600s (hence, “new” church!) on the spot acknowledged to be the house of St. Francis’ family.

After a quick but very tasty lunch of autumnal vegetables soup, bruschetta, a large corn and avocado salad, and sausage pizza (plus beer!), we continued our way through Assisi’s city centre to the Basilica di Santa Chiara, located just past our hotel.

The daughter of an Assisian nobleman, St ...

... 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.

... left her waiting for a (seemingly) endless time. we were finally reunited and snuck off to a calmer alley to a pizza al taglio shop.

The pizza was terrific, much more like the American pizza I am used to than the Roman pizza. We sat on a bench and ate in peace then stopped in the most beautiful chocolate shop. They were offering shots of Chocolate liqours and I bought a sample sized bottle of Chocolate ...

... 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 “pills” to chocolate pasta!!

Heaven.

I’ll update you soon,

Siara

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.

It was a pleasant 2 hour drive to Montecastrilli. This is a small village near the center of ...

... and everything. We had a great view to the surrounding hills.
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.

... Today the square is still a local meeting point for tourist and students alike.
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.
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.

... lunch we stumbled on a look-out and found a little Italian family having lunch there as well. We scouted a grassy spot under some trees and laid out our quilt and had lunch. We drank our chilled white wine while eating our pecorino cheese, prosciutto, fresh bread and juicy peaches. I took pictures, Marty read until we both dozed off, while hearing the happy sounds of the Italian family under the bright blue sky and ...

... this time up to the town. Quiet a lovely view. The owner was so nice and helpful we hardly ordered from the menu. He brought out these wonderful antipastas, calamari ceviche style, little sardines, and a octopus soup with a great broth. I had a nice gnocchi with mussels and tomatoes which was normal not on the menu, both the redferns had a nice white fish. The owner brought out his own wine from his vineyard, which was interesting because they let the vines get very ...