Gubbio

11/10/2008
The GPS died on the way to Gubbio today so we had to rely on our intuition and maps to get here.
Gubbio like most Umbrian towns is perched on a steep hill. We found an elevator that took us up to the Palazzo Ducale and the cathedral.
Anna, Jeff and I took the Funivia Colle Elletto up to the Baslica Di SantÚbaldo. This is like a chair lift except in this case we stood in something that looked like a birdcage and trundled away on a dodgy old cable and dangled precariously over the rocky escarpment up to the top. We held on tightly as we approached the bumpy pulleys at the pylons along the way. The view is magnificent and great for photos if you are game enough to let go.
Bob decided terra firma was more the go and cheerily waved us off and gave a rendition of what he was going to tell parents, relatives and friends about the last time he saw Anna, Jeff and Helen departing on a rickety old birdcage.
Getting off at the top was a bit scary as the birdcage didn't actually come to a stop so we had to make a jump for it.
At the basilica is the body of St Ubaldo a 12th century bishop. I said to Anna it probably would be a wax dummy but it was real alright. Every year he is taken out and given a tour of the town on his special saints day.
Coming back down the mountain once again in the birdcage was exciting and like a rollercoaster ride. Going over the precipice all you see is sky and the descent seems at a faster rate of knots down to the bottom. We were very jubilant when we got back to safe ground. Jeff made a point of taking photos of the courageous ones and the one who wasn't.

Isola Maggiore

10/10/2008
Today we took a trip to Maggiore Island which is supposed to be a favorite with St Francis. On arrival the seaside village with it's tumbling array of houses and a few shops is quaint and charming. We followed a marked route around the island which isn't very big, and came to the church of the Arc Angel Saint Michael which houses frescoes and a painting by Bartolomeo Caporali from 1460. We walked through olive groves to the castle we could see from San Feliciano but it was under restoration and not open to the public. We walked back to the village and sat at a cafe by the lakeside and enjoyed a brochetta for lunch before catching the ferry back to Passignano.
We had dinner at Di Marissimo's the restaurant at our villa. The carpark has been full each night and obviously a popular spot. A little tricky reading the menu and when we asked what the dishes were in english it was assumed that was what we were ordering. It would have been easier to order pizza. Anyway, it was quite enjoyable and cheap.

Assisi and Spello

9/10/2008
We did a trip to Assisi today, the spiritual capital of Umbria and the birthplace of St Francis. We joined the many tourists and pilgrims crowding in to view the Basilica di San Francesco. We strolled around the winding steep streets and browsed through some of the trinkety souvenir shops selling everything to do with St Francis from statues, teatowels and snow domes.
We then drove on to the very pretty town of Spello. We did lots of walking up narrow steep arched walkways which have a profusion of hanging baskets and flowerpots - which a couple of cats had taken over for an afternoon siesta - to some magnificent views of the Umbrian countryside.
On the way back we stopped at Passignano for a drink and to use the internet at the TI. We had really good pizzas at a restaurant near the lake for dinner.

Lake Trasimeno

8/10/2008
Today is market day in Castigliane del Lago. It is quite a large market stretching from outside the walls to inside the narrow streets of the old town. The goods they sell are mainly cheap imports of clothing, toys, kitchen ware and manchester so a little disappointing as hardly any art or craft or culinary delights.
Anna and Jeff arrived by train from Florence tonight. It is so good to see them again. They really like the villa and settled in quickly. We had a very happy time over dinner catching up with all their news and exchanging travel stories.

Lake Trasimeno

7/10/2008
Today we returned to Castello Santo Guilliana where we once stayed back in the 70's. We once new someone who lived there who we had met while working in Iceland. It is now enclosed and private so viewed it from the outside and took lots of photos from vantage points.
We drove around Lake Trasimeno to Passignano which is an appealing town with a tourist information office. The lady surprised us when she spoke with a very english accent. She was very helpful in providing ferry timetables for trips on the lake. We drove on to Tuero to check out where the train station is, so we know where to meet Anna and Jeff tomorrow afternoon. There is not much at Tuero but obviously is set up for camper in the summer. There is a collection of very strange sculptures along the foreshore of the lake.
Enjoyed watching the sunset again on our balcony with our neighbours friendly cats.

A morning trip to Perugia and an afternoon at Castaglione del Lago

6/10/2008
We were told there was a launderette in San Feliciano but we could not find it, and after embarrassing myself at the chemist, when I went in to ask where the launderette was.... did the usual pantomime and got directed to the supermarket. So we gave up, set the GPS and headed to Perugia where our guide book gave directions to one.
Madam GPS led us up the garden path once again, or I should say... narrow one way streets... and we were not sure if they were one way and we were going the right way. We drove into a pedestrian precinct, and crawled gingerly through the middle apologising to everyone who gave us very strange looks as we edged our way through not trying to knock anyone. All the while Madam GPS saying "You have reached your destination..." then as we kept going "turn around when possible". We finally made it out of there without getting booked and parked a good distance from the launderette but preferred the walk to anymore hair raising experiences. Settled back in the launderette to stabilise the nerves and watch the clothes girate around.. quite relaxing actually. We met an Aussie girl there who had just been to a wedding in Tuscany which sounded lovely. She was full of interesting anecdotes of her travel experiences and we told her where we had been - so it turned out a very pleasant morning. Nice to have clean clothes again!!
On the way back we found a Eurospar and a Lidl (Aldi) store so we bought some more food and returned to the villa to unload the car.
Later that day we drove to Castaglione del Lago another walled village. Lots of delicatessens where the stall holders stand at the front door offering a platter with samples of their goods to try. It has quite an atmosphere this old town and very pleasant to walk around - lots of interesting shops a jumble of narrow streets and intertwining houses.
We went to the Della Corgna (ducal palace) and viewed the frescos which was worth the visit. We walked the walls of the Lion fortress which has some lovely views of the lake.
We returned to our villa and sat on our balcony while enjoying a wine and the cheese and ham we had bought at one of the delicattessens and watched the sunset with a couple of our neighbours cats.

Termoli to Lake Trasimeno

5/10/2008
The scenery from Termoli on the coast to Lake Trasimeno was quite dramatic with hillside towns and snow on the tops of mountains in the distance behind.
We arrived at San Feliciano with a few minor diversions. Our instructions were to ask in the village for direction to our accommodation. We asked 3 people and took 2 out of 3 being the best chance and got here without a hiccup. We were greeted very warmly by Massimo who doesn't speak any english but introduced us to his son who speaks a little. It came as a surprise that a restaurant is part of the villa. It is a converted farmhouse with 2 rented apartments and another which is occupied by a relative - who has approximately 20 cats. We opened up the windows and were greeted by a cat or kitten wanting to join us - luckily there are screens. Our apartment is large, very comfortable and there will be plenty of room when Anna and Jeff arrive.
We drove to Magione and had some interesting moments finding our way around. Narrow streets Madam GPS wanting to take us down one way streets the wrong way etc. Being a Sunday there is not much open. We found a large furniture store - of all places... a bit like IKEA... that also had a small dry goods section and managed to find the ingredients to make puttenesca.
Our closest village is San Feliciano which is very small and quiet. It is situated near the lake with a pretty park in between where the trees are turning their autumn colours. After siesta the locals congregate in the park and there are groups of old men sitting around talking or playing chess.
On the lake we watched a fisherman rowing around and checking the fishtraps which look like bunches of twigs sticking out of the water like derelict indian teepees.

Termoli

4/10/2008
We head north to Termoli today. This is just a stop over break on the way to Lake Trasimeno and I have not booked ahead this time. So we will take pot luck with the accommodation.
The town is quite charming to walk around and has a landmark Frederick II's 13 century castle which has narrow streets and medieval houses overlooking the Adriatic Sea. This is where a lot of Italians come for there holidays, although it is fairly quiet at this time of the year.
We arrived at Pensione Osteria San Giorgio right in the heart of the town. Very little english spoken here by "the boy" but we were able to get across what we wanted... a double matrimonial, si. Uno or dooee, uno. with breakfast, yes. Then he went on about €60 plus €30 which was very confusing, and emphasising dooee. So we thought maybe he was saying cheaper €30 for 2 nights. So we kept saying uno. We were perplexed and "the boy" seemed exasperated, anyway we got our uno. We will feel like we are sleeping in the Sistine Chapel tonight as we have God and Adam above us as well as Mary and Jesus on the wall.
Later, as there was a torrential downpour we decided to eat at the restaurant in the pensione and went downstairs to book a table. Our "boy" was in the restaurant and we got across what we wanted with the usual pointing and gesturing. He pointed to all the tables and indicated they were reserved and then made a big point of setting up a table and saying dooee €30. Ahh! now the penny dropped!! Anyway, we had a lovely meal even though we got everything twice! I ordered what I wanted and Bob ordered his. Then we both got what I ordered and I got what Bob ordered as well.... all very confusing! When Bob went to pay, "the boy" told him tomorrow.
Interesting that the pensione caters for groups of men working away from home. We were wondering why there were long tables that were only set up on one side. Then 2 groups of men arrived and all sat on one side facing the TV. When one group left they handed the remote to the one of other group.
The next morning "the boy" was nowhere to be seen and we had 3 waitresses trying to work out why we wanted to pay €30. We even found the paper that he had written it all down on when trying to explain it the day before but they didn't get it. One spoke a little english and said we will ring "the boy" (although he was a man - hence we called him "the boy"). They said he was coming but we waited and waited and he didn't show.
We were just about to leave the money on the desk when an older woman arrived who looked like the owner and babbled away to the girls in italian like what are these crazy australian tourists doing hanging around the reception desk cluttering up the place... and after our pantomime once again she accepted our €30 and off we went.
We were very glad to see that our car was still where we parked it and had not been washed down the hill in the downpour last night.