Albergo Ristorante Lucciola Santo Stefano al Mare

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 ...

... right after breakfast.]

By 10am, we began our touring day in Assisi by stopping to explore the Piazza del Comune, right near our hotel (both of them!) and considered the very heart of Assisi. This piazza was once the site of a partially excavated Foro Romano (Roman forum) – so some of the shops lining the piazza open their basements to reveal Roman ruins! Flanking one end of the piazza is the Tiempo di Minerva, which is now a church called the Santa Maria ...

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 ...

... we made our way to some of the cathedrals and then down to the main center of chocolate wonders. I sasw a block of chocolate the size of a human being that was being cut with a giant saw the crumbled with a sledge hammer and sold by the gram.

By now the day was winding down and we had a long drive ahead so we made our way back down the hill and drove leisurely home!!

Good job, well done!

... 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

... br>We had a traditional dinner consisting of foods from that region. I had a pasta followed by the most sumptuous lamb. And Licia had the same. We took a stroll through the charming village and then drove back to our village for the night.

It was quite cold but with the fresh air and quiet, I got a great night's sleep.

... the pool but the second day we went back into Perugia and had a look around before catching a train to Assisi. The train station isn't in the centre of Perugia, so we had to catch a mini-metro to the top of the hill which gave us a great view before exploring the town on the way back down. We spent the afternoon in Assisi, a short train ride from Perugia.
Assisi is a major destination for millions of pilgrims due to its religious ...

... this route before it was through the dark and didn't see any of the beauty) from Florences was some of the most beautiful we have seen so far in Italy. The train takes you past Lago Trasimeno a drop dead gorgeous lake with picturesque islands floating on its crystal surface, surrounded by lush green hills. Now this is the real heart of Italy, were you slow your pace to suit the life around you.

One of Italy's best preserved hill towns ...

... Roman Civilization. It's all good stuff and I should be able to make a pretty competent tour guide of Rome when Im done. Jon Blake, my roommate from Berkeley spent the weekend. He is studying in Budapest. The highlight was a long walk down the Via Appia, one of the ancient roads that in and out of Rome. It is lined with various burial tombs, mausoleums, and stones. We walked for a few miles until it was pitch black, then found ourselves waiting on a dark road ...

The second leg of our journey was Florence in the Tuscany region. An hour and a half from Rome. I almost pulled a muscle dragging my luggage through the cobblestone steps to reach our hotel. To make matters worse, our room was located on the second floor with not an elevator in sight. Florence is an extraordinary city, its art treasures are unparallel anywhere in the world - a city of refinement and elegance. The city is small but remarkably beautiful and walking is the most ...