The Green Heart of Italy

         Sorry this is brief, but I am leaving for my flight in 30 minutes.  Will expand in detail (not as long as the last post) when I return in a week.


          On Friday after my class, we rented a car and headed to Umbria.  I slept for about the first hour and woke up at an Autostrada outside of Rome.  These Autostradas are unbelievable and could probably put Monterey's whole foods out of business.  They have gourmet food with prosciutto and sausage curing behind the counter and offer road side food that deserves a New York Times write up.  After our pit stop to get a map of the area, I drove us to Spoleto.  A tiny hill town with an incredible acquaduct that at its largest spans a ravine 280 ft high.  It offered incredible views and a passage way over to the other side that was full of green hillsides.
         Next we drove to Assisi, home of San Francesco, one of the two patron saints of Italy.  We had a decent dinner at Da Erminio with large amounts of shaved truffles and mushrooms galore.  After dinner, we climbed up the hill to La Rocca Maggiore, the hill side fortress that protected the people in times of siege.  The next morning we walked a little more and saw the Roman Amphitheater that is there.  It is now a collection of homes, built on the oval floor of the ancient stadium.  I then drove us over to the other side of the town (it is walkable, but one can only be on the stair master for so long) to view Basilica of St. Francis.  The bottom church was very unique, with very low ceilings and dark colors.  The upper church, however, used bright colors to depict St. Francis's life on the walls of the very spacious naive.  We then took the scenic road to Gubbio.
          Gubbio is very medieval in its architecture and sat nustled up against a mountain.  I had the best meal of my life for lunch at a place called Taverna del Lupo (This will get its own post upon return) and couldn't have been happier.  We hiked the switch-backed roads and dirt trails up the mountain and viewed the town from above.  There was a chair lift pole, there is one that takes people to the top, where we took some photos and relaxed.  We then drove to Perugia with no hotel booked.  We stopped at one place, and I got out and asked how much the hotel cost for a night, the answer was 450 euros.  So instead of booking 4, one for each of us and one for our luggage, we decided to search elsewhere.  We went through the entire city, me driving a little to fast to turn off to check other hotels, before we ended up at the entrance again.  We gave it another shot and found a reasonable hotel where I got to share a room with my parents and listen to them snore all night.  I wasn't especially fond of the place, mainly because it was a city and not a town.  I had presumed that we were going to towns the entire time (even though I suggesed Perugia, not my parents) and only found out that it has 150,000 people upon our arrival.  In the late morning we did some strolling before headed the car to Todi.  Todi was much more enjoyable, offering spectacular views of the rolling luciously green Umbrian hills and Tiber River.  We had a late lunch, walked around a little more and then aimed for Rome.
          Driving the Fiat Panda (yes you need to look it up) was very fun.  The car felt like it was going to explode, according to Dad, and the wheels were going to fall off, according to Mom, when I had it pedal to the medal in 5th gear and we got up to 145 km/hr.  I felt like I was in a race car and copied the italian drivers, using the entire road (regardless of blind turns) to keep with the bank of the road (oh how I wish we had a Maserati).  Instead of going around Rome and in from the bottom, we drove straight through.  I thought it would be nerve racking to drive the streets with the previously described roman drives, but it was quite fun.  It felt natural, and in car that small, like you can squeeze through anything and drive anywhere. Another great trip throughout Italy, and I think now, Mom and Dad have conquered all of the central Italy hill towns.
          Unfortunately, my parents had to leave Monday (originally supposed to be Sunday, but due to the British Airways strike, their flight was cancelled) and it was back to normal life in Rome.  This week I had midterms and studied a majority of the time.  It is great to be done and finally on spring break.
         For spring break, I will be doing some traveling solo.  I've never done something so independent before, and am actually cherishing the opportunity to do so.  All of my friends who have done so, say it is a great experience to learn about yourself.  I am glad I am not following the pack and am doing something that I want to do.  So instead of following my friends to either Greece or Madrid and Seville, I will be going to Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera.  I am most excited for Formentera because it is a pretty quite island of 9,000 people.  It looks like it has great views and great beaches, two things I truly love and make life more enjoyable for everyone.
          My itinerary is slightly crazy, and I don't expect much sleep for a while.  Tonight at 9:30 I fly out of Rome to Girona (an airport 1 hour away from Barcelona) where I will take a bus into the Barcelona and spend the evening (technically morning by the time I get there) an afternoon and then leave Monday morning at 5:00 am (back to Girona).  From there I will hop on my 8:25 flight to Palma Mallorca and spend two days exploring that island.  I will then muster my sea legs and take a 3 hour ferry to Ibiza.  I will spend the afternoon in Ibiza before taking the ferry over to Formentera where I will be until Friday morning.  Then another ferry back to Ibiza to explore there and spend the night before flying back to Rome on Saturday.  All of that in a week, but it will be a great time.  I cherish the adventure and can't wait to travel the islands and see their sights.  Everyone have a good week, I'll be off the blog until next week.  Pictures and in-depth commentary on Umbria (mainly Taverna del Lupo) will recommence.  Wish me luck.
A Presto