Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2010
Edit Blog Post
We were supposed to be in Prague for the 4 July Long Weekend - we even had the flight tickets. Unfortunately I wasn't aware of the restrictions on flying in your last month of pregnancy when I booked so our non-refundable budget air tickets went to waste! As we were limited to a driving holiday, we decided on a relaxing long weekend in Umbria. We hadn't previously visited this area but had heard a lot of friends speak highly of it so we researched dog friendly bed and breakfast places with a pool (mandatory given that the temperatures remained in the 30s all weekend) and off we set.
Umbria is the only province in Italy which does not share a border with another country or the sea so it is thought to be the most truly 'Italian' province - less touched by the influence of the outside world. The scenery is quite similar to Tuscany; rolling hills covered by vineyards and picturesque walled hilltop towns. The most refreshing aspect is the lack of tourists. Assisi as the main tourist attraction certainly had the obligatory large groups of people traipsing after an umbrella holding guide from tourist site to trinket shop
but the other towns were refreshingly untouristy and gave a feel for how the locals lived day to day.
We stayed a half hour drive outside of Assisi in a 3 horse, one restaurant, one road town which was perfect for the relaxing weekend theme. We were situated up on one of the hills and had a beautiful view from our cottage and pool area out over the valley. It felt like our own private resort as there was only one other couple staying and we only saw them once. The place was wonderfully set up for Millie as the pool and garden area were completely fenced in so she spent her time 'exploring'. Her first discovery was the stable of horses out the back of the cottage and she wasn't quite sure what to make of these. We are quite convinced she thought they were large dogs who should want to play with her and she kept going back for further looks over the course of the weekend.
Our first evening we headed to the town of Gubbio which is a small town set on a fairly steep hill. We meandered our way from the bottom of
the town up the hill to where the main cathedral was. A wedding was happening as we arrived and it was quite entertaining to sit and watch the hundreds of guests arrive at the church as it felt like we were watching a runway show in Paris or Milan. The clothes, shoes, hats and makeup appeared to be out of the latest Vogue magazine and we marvelled at how the women were negotiating the hilly cobblestone streets in 10cm stilleto sandals. Once the service was underway we located an outdoor coffee shop/ bar in an enclosed garden area 50 meters from the church and decided to stop for a drink. We were quite bemused to find that many of the male guests at the wedding had the same idea. Whilst the remainder of the family sat through the long Catholic church service, many of the men - dressed in suits and obviously attending the wedding...relaxed at the bar with a drink waiting for the service to finish so they could get on to the reception!
Our next day we got up for a beautiful early morning swim followed by a breakfast of fresh bread, jams and cake then headed
off to see Assisi - home to Saint Francis. Like all other Umbrian towns - it is set on a hill so at 9 months pregnant I was traipsing up and down cobblestone streets finding every excuse to break for regular cafe stops. The town certainly felt like a place of pilgrimage - we saw many nuns and monks walking the streets between the churches which appeared to be on every corner. The most famous church is the Basilica di San Francesco which is where Saint Francis is buried. As we were there on a Sunday, a service was underway but the tourists were still permitted to wander the church and visit the crypt. We also visited the Basilica di Santa Chiara which is dedicated to Saint Clare - St Francis' female contemporary who also followed the vow of poverty. Underneath the Basilica is a small museum which displays some of the artifacts attributed to both her and Saint Francis including their brown cloth robes and sandals.
After Assisi we headed to Perugia which is the capital of Umbria. Again - a city clinging to the side of a steep hill but fortunately modern technology has seen a series
of outdoor escalators installed which made the town much easier to explore. Perugia is a thriving modern city which has expanded considerably on the plain below the hill, but we chose only to explore the medieval old city which remains relatively untouched above the modern buildings. Unfortunately it did still have that 'big city hustle and bustle' feel and after the previous 2 towns where all the cars parked outside the walls and the streets were walking thoroughfares only, we were not that taken by Perugia.
The final town we visited in Umbria was Spello which was probably the highlight. A small town, off the tourist radar - it was a wonderful walled town to explore and get a feel for Umbria. With only 1 main street which wound its way up the hill, the town had beautiful views over the valley and the streets themselves were lovely as each house had numerous planters filled with bright coloured geraniums and other flowers to lighten up the stone facades. We found a delightful restaurant with a courtyard garden overlooking the valley for a light lunch and spent a relaxing hour or so there.
We had contemplated heading out to
dinner at one of the restaurants in Umbria for our last night but with such a beautiful cottage and garden - we decided on takeaway pizza from the 1 place in our small town and had a wonderful dinner at our 'private resort' with views out over the countryside and then a late evening swim. It was definitely a relaxing weekend with the chance to visit some beautiful towns.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.289s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 11; qc: 49; dbt: 0.0436s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb