Online at last

Apologies for the late blog entry!  We arrived at the house to find the phone line out of order and have only been back online for a couple of days.

You have to hand it to the Koreans, they are efficient. We boarded the Korean Airlines plane 15 minutes before take off and still we left on time!!! (Try that Qantas.) With plenty of legroom and on-demand entertainment, the 9 hour flight to Seoul was pleasant. The flight included an overnight stay, and we were delighted to discover also dinner, breakfast and light lunch.

Once we walked the entire length of the very long airport to locate the shuttle bus, everything went like clockwork as we were taken to the Airport Hyatt. Dinner was OK except it cost US$44 for four glasses of wine but breakfast was sensational. The staff buzzed around us like bees, bowing at every opportunity and whipping away our plates before we had finished the last mouthful. Yep, we’d recommend Korean Airways.

What a contrast Rome Airport was! Norm & Annette’s flight arrived within minutes of ours so together we tried to find the Airport Hilton. The chap on the information desk was (typically) disinterested in providing helpful information – paused his phone conversation to tell Marg to go upstairs and follow the ‘indicators’. Marg found a magic machine that put her in touch with a real person on screen who was more helpful.

Like Rome Airport, the Hilton is getting a bit shabby but quite adequate and after pizza and wine with Norm & Annette we went to bed.





Annette, Norm & Marg enjoy the first of many gelati!



Tuesday dawned sunny and clear, the car pick up was uneventful and we were on the road to Assisi by 11am. Driving up to the house felt like we were coming home.  Luna the neighbour’s dog was here to greet us.  It didn’t take her long to remember that she was allowed in and on the lounge and bed!

Once we unpacked, we called Birgitta and made plans for dinner at her house. We saw the sun slink down behind the hills as we consumed a typical Birgitta feast under their new pergola – prosciutto and melon, buffalo mozzarella surrounded by delicious home grown tomatoes, pasta with cream, sausage and speck, then gelati (three flavours), coffee and liqueur to finish it all off.  She is such a splendid cook!  It is so lovely to see Birgitta, Piero and Sam (their dog) again. We tried ‘our’ wine, the result of the day of grape picking with them last October.  Hmm, not very good. But as Birgitta said, “It’s fresh!”  They have over 300 litres of it.  Oh dear.  It grows on you though…

Next day, a couple of hours in Assisi, a rest and then we picked up Karl and Fay at the station at 8pm. 

Thursday we shopped for supplies in the morning, had a siesta and then headed for nearby Spello for a late afternoon stroll and gelati.

Another gelati moment: L to R - Fay, Marg, Annette, Norm and Karl

We came home over Monte Subasio, the mountain above Assisi, over 6000 feet high, offering spectacular views across the Spoleto valley and nearby mountains.  Dinner was sword fish purchased that morning sliced fresh from the whole fish, baked with tomato, fennel and olives. 

The ancient fort Rocca Maggiore towers over Assisi










Tranquility at Eremo delle Carceri

Friday we rose early and all but Jan wound our way up Monte Subasio to Eremo delle Carceri (the hermitage) where St Francis and his friars loved to pray.  It’s hard to describe the peace of this special place. As my friend Mary from England said, it truly is a ‘thin place’ where God seems closer and able to reach into your soul.

After lunch we headed for Deruta.  It was delightful to see some of our ‘ceramica’ friends again, and we were poor at resisting temptation, each purchasing a number of beautiful hand painted pieces.  Oh, and we talked Annette into buying a pair of gold jeans on saldi (sale).  Now she is an Italian!


Exhausted from buying all those ceramics!



Feasting at Mr Grumpy's

We had dinner at Mr Grumpy’s down the road with Piero and Birgitta – simple, delicious, country fare enjoyed on the warm evening under a vine covered pergola.



Yesterday (Saturday) we headed for Corciano, a small hilltop town near Perugia, the capital of Umbria and about 45km from here.  A week of medieval pomp and ceremony was supposed to commence but we discovered we were too early – nothing was happening until late afternoon.  It was still a lovely town anyway.  Back to Assisi for lunch (pizza and beer) and then home for a relaxing afternoon.  Annette did a wonderful job of lasagne and salad, then affogato - icecream with strong coffee and a splash of coffee liqueur purchased in town.  We spent a couple of delightful hours looking at the Lemans’ photos from their cruise to Scandinavia and Russia, and the Hills’ from their week in China. 

We sent off our four guests to Assisi this morning for more shopping and sightseeing and driving practice for Norm who will be their driver for the next 3 days for their Cinque Terra trip. We stayed home to finally upload this blog and check emails.  We’re all going to Chiara di Dio musical this afternoon in Assisi, a beautiful musical interpretation of St Clare’s life and faith.

The weather has been superb!  30-34 every day, hardly a cloud in the sky, and dropping to a cool 12-15 at night, perfect for sleeping.  The long range forecast shows more of the same.  We feel for all of you back home in the grip of winter still, though Sandie tells us Sydney has had a warm spell.

Ciao for now.