Hike - Day one - May 25, Monday; Spoleto, Hotel Clitunno Today's daily itinerary states: We recommend you arrive in Spoleto by train. After your arrival, you have time to explore the town, one of Umbria's finest hilltop towns. The focal point is the fan-shaped Piazza del Duomo, site of the magnificent 12th century cathedral, with a superlative fresco cycle by Fra Fillipo Lipi. Other important monuments that you should not miss include the Roman theatre, the 14th century aqueduct and the Romanesque church of Saint Eufemia. We arrived at our next hotel, Hotel Clitunno, in Spoleto and checked into our rooms. After freshening up we all met outside on the terrace. We went to discover Spoleto. We found an old castle - the majestic Rocca Albornoziana, built in 1359-1370 and after much conversation with the ... read more

The bus dropped us off at the main Piazza Quaranta Martiri in Gubbio. I had directions on how to get to our hotel. We walked up a very steep, cobblestoned, road that was only wide enough for one small car. We came upon a small store that sold various important sundries and we made our first purchase of wine. Jeff wanted to buy local and so we purchased a couple bottles of red wine grown in the region. They each cost around 3 to 5 euros. We were thrilled. We also purchased some local cheese that had the regions famous black truffles laced throughout. We continued walking up the very steep hill. Jeff was smart, as always, and he only had a daypack with all of his belongings. I had a too large suitcase with wheels, ... read more