Blogs from Umbria, Italy, Europe

After yesterday’s unsuccessful venture into nature, we thought we’d stick with man made beauty for the next few days. Another lazy start before we were on our way to Gubbio. Miraculously didn’t need a divorce to find the parking area and we were on our way up into town in minutes. The town is spectacularly set on a hillside, dominated by the Palazzo dei Consoli. We made our way up up up but thankfully, it was cooler today with a bit of cloud cover, so whinging was minimised. We enjoyed a wander through the medieval street before reaching the top point of our climb at the cathedral. Meandered back down and pottered around in some shops before the requests for lunch became overwhelming and we stopped on a small square. We all enjoyed some pasta, with ... read more

After the glowing reports from the jazz festival the night before, we decided it was worth the journey in to Perugia to see what all the fuss was about. Obviously nothing too early but we found ourselves a parking spot without too much stress and began the long trek up to the town centre. A bit of wandering and we stumbled across a great band called Funk Off, who were performing in the Main Street. Much to the girls’ horror, their funky tunes inspired some parental dancing, but luckily they found some cousins to share their mortification with. The heat and the dancing were becoming too much so we wandered some more before settling on a restaurant for lunch. Some gelato before beginning the downwards trek to the baking hot car. Back to the house for ... read more

After months and months of plotting, scheming and straight-out lying, we couldn’t believe the day had finally arrived! The tightly managed schedule was tracking well when we left but less well when we hit the freeway…headed in exactly the wrong direction. Adding half an hour to the journey when your nerves are already on a knife edge is even less good when you get the message from Heathrow that the intricately orchestrated plan looks to be falling at the final hurdle due to BA’s overbooking. Some tense minutes, some tears and an express trip to Pisa and we received the joyous news that the plan was back on track. Piazza dei miracoli it truly was!! So back on our way to collect our online order which required a significant amount of wondering and wandering but we ... read more

Bonjour à tous, Une journée que je vais qualifier d'une belle improvisation. Hier au soir en étudiant ma route pour Rome, la conclusion a été que plus de 400km sans autoroute, et si la route est dans les mêmes conditions que celles du matin je vais passer la journée dans la voiture, je ne suis pas pressé, et pour couper plus au moins au milieu, il y a Pérouse. Sur Booking, je trouve un bed and breakfast, à 1km du centre, une jolie villa très stylée romane, un beau jardin tout fleuri, un parking privé, une note de la clientèle de 9.5/10, et un prix très convenable, et en plus l'appartement équipé d'un lave linge, idéal pour remettre tout mon linge sale au propre. Le top. Un moment après la réservation, je reçois la confirmation de ... read more

In the 20s Coppa della Perugina was an international car race invented by Giovanni Buitoni, the owner of the confectionery company “La Perugina“. At the beginning of the last century when the phenomenon of car racing was affecting more and more people, from 1924 until 1927 a handful of sportsmen stimulated by Giovanni Buitoni organized on the flat land below the city of Perugia a circuit race called Coppa della Perugina. The success was so important that when the race ceased (for reasons not related to the will of the organizers) a very strong memory, never faded over the years. So much so that, just after the World War II, Alberto Andreani, Chairman of the Automobile Club, and Bruno Buitoni, Chairman of Perugina, made the Coppa della Perugina come back. Unfortunately, as in the past, after ... read more