Sanity returns

After all that excitement, life has taken a somewhat slower pace.

• Thursday: Marg chose to stay home as the rest of us trotted off to Montepulciano (Tuscany). After the compulsory cup of coffee and pastry, shopping began in earnest. John Reid bought a cute hat that matched his shirt perfectly then headed for the shoe shop where he bought not 1 but 2 pairs of shoes Italiano style.

John Reid shows off his new hat

The 4 J's (John, Janette, Janice and John)

Others in our party bought a few things, we had lunch and then John Poll bought a delicious (expensive) Brunello red wine and Jan bought the mandatory 3 litre bottle. For those who may not know, Montepulciano is the town of leather and wine!!!!



Spello



• Friday: Spello. Marg drove up a street she shouldn’t have to kindly drop us all in the central piazza. Spello is a picturesque little town and everyone enjoyed walking along the main streets, ducking in and out of shops and naturally stopping for coffee and pastry en route.



We were treated to a wedding
in the cathedral at Spoleto,
beautiful Italian bride with a
pommie accent!



• Saturday: I stayed home this time while Marg drove the mob Spoleto.  Each time we go to that town we find a different place to park (accidently, we just get confused on the way in).  This time Marg parked in a newish car park and discovered a series of escalators which took them to the top of the town – 8 in fact!

• Sunday: Assisi.  It’s not possible to spend too much time in this fascinating city.



The main piazza at Cortona



• Monday: we spent several hours wandering around the streets, walls and shops one of the prettiest towns in Tuscany, Cortona. Marg made the hike this time up to the cathedral and fort at the top of the hill, both very interesting and the views were breathtaking.  Italians must have strong legs and hearts to live in these towns! 




The refectory at San Damiano convent

 

• Tuesday: we dropped our friends in Assisi and they walked down to the Santa Maria degli Angeli cathedral in the valley below to see the tiny Porziuncola chapel inside which St Francis helped to rebuild and where he died.  

Pizza and coffee in Bevagna

• Wednesday: San Damiano church where Francis first heard the call from Jesus to rebuild his church was the last ‘St Francis crawl’ destination for our friends, and then Marg took them to Bavagna, an old walled city in the valley (no hills, bliss!) which was most interesting as it is still very lived in – not as touristy as many of the towns. 

It was our friends last night so we had dinner at our favourite Assisi restaurant, La Palotta.  While we were filling in time, Jan got talking to an English lass who was in town for 5 days on her own, so we invited her to join us.  We had a lovely evening with scrumptious Umbrian fare.

Rambling in Paradiso

• Thursday: we bid sad goodbye to ‘The 4 J’s’ in the morning. It was a beautiful day – sunny, about 20 degrees – perfect for a walk.  A short stroll up the track turned into a 4-5km hike as Marg talked me into doing the full loop back to the house, a trek of about 2 hours.   Our friends at Curves would have been impressed with the way we managed the hills!  The scenery here is so lovely, it was a joy to ramble through it.  We picked Jennifer up at the station at 3.30, and tucked into taglietelle bolognaise and checked out her photos of Turkey before bed.

Jan getting a dog-fix
from a local farm

PS.  Apologies to those who have tried adding comments to the blog and can't do it easily.  You have to sign up for a google account to do this apparently, completely free of charge but a nuisance.  We are reading our emails – janmargaret@optusnet.com.au.
PPS. Also apologies for the sometimes crazy layout of the blog.  Controlling the placement of photos and text is impossible.  Those of you who know Marg will know it's really annoying her!  Still, it's free....