A weekend in Umbria

The word "green" takes on a new meaning when one travels into Umbria at this time of year. The vibrancy of the colour is extraordinary. So green and lush.

We left Roma about 3 pm on Friday and made our way toward Spoleto in Umbria. About a two hour drive

Spoleto is a town situated in the mountains which has a solid commercial base as well as being "una bella citta".

This is the Duomo is the centro. Like so many towns in Italia it is walled and positioned on a hill top. Most of the churches have antiquity and interesting features particularly the frescoes. This one was in very good condition dating back to the 15th century

The Town was pristine with no sign of graffitti (prevalent in Roma). It also appears to be wealthy when compared to other towns.

We stayed in a three star hotel, Hotel Caviliere, which was in the main corso. Some of the internal areas of the hotel were absolutely amazing

Here is a touristo in one

The town was great for walking but half the time you are walking up very steep pathways (the other half coming down very steep walkways).

Spoleto boasts a festival in June and July which is musically based and attracts visitors in large numbers.

The festival is held in various parts of the town including the ancient Roman ampitheatre below

Okay, I have to mention food. We were lucky for dinner. We found a traditional family run "slow food" restaurant. Antipasti, Zuppa di Vedura (vegetable soup) and Coniglio (rabbit) con vino rosso. Alan was in heaven. And the food and wine very reasonable priced

Of the other towns visited our favourite was Spello. A small hilltop town north of Spoletto, near Assissi. The sense of pride in the people of Spello was obvious with the ultra clean streets, floral displays and well presented houses. It also did not have too may tourists

Say no more. We loved the town

The two other towns were amass with tourists. Assissi and Orvieto

Assisi has strong Religious heritage through St Francis whilst Orvieto is one of the Etruscan areas.

Orvieto sits on, what appears to be, a large rock. The escarpment is vertical and a funiculare runs from its base up to the town. It had a grand duomo which was quite spectaular.

Assissi has four main churches. This is one of them.

The pink stone seen on this church is from the Assissi area

This is one of the Piazzas in Assissi

The other town visited was Todi which had a antique fair in the main Piazza. Smaller town

Well that's all for now

Ciao, cuiao a amici e famiglia

Baccio a Tutti

Carolyna e Alan

Back to Earth

Well this week has changed dramatically for us. Weather has turned colder (almost like that last cold blast that hits before summer). It has been showery and umbrellas have been in big demand. They are sold usually by people of African origin on the street. Normally they sell a large umbrella for 10 euro but not when they come up against Carolyna. Oh My g..
Poor man walked away shaking his head at the 5 euro in his hand after facing up to the ultimate negotiator.

Sunday started as most days, breakfast at home then to our local for un caffe e un caffe latte.

That's Fabio in the background. Il Capo of the bar

Then for a long walk which culminated in a visit to the Vaticano. They do not allow visitors into certain areas unless they are there for a service, prayer or confession. Carolyn learnt the secret to getting in and so we ended up attending mass at St Peters at 5pm on Sunday. Quite an experience.

Il Vaticano is not just St Peters but it is a wonderful museum with amazing collections. We spent some time in the crypt area where amany of the popes have been laid to rest. Very interesting. Hard to describe the feeling being in the presence of such history

Here is Alan coming out of St Peters after church

So on Monday off we go to our first Italian lessons. We feel very comfortable at the school. In our class we have a Korean, two from Brazil, one from London and one from US, plus of course two aussies

We are learning some good elements of the language and even though we both feel that we will never be ultra proficient in the language our skills are undoubtedly improving. They teach in Italian so it forces you to listen and concentrate. Quite a good way to learn.

Below are some pics of our welcoming party on day three.

The lady holding the floor here is our teacher, Anna Rita

And here is one of her best students. A number of the students at the school are associated with the Vatican from foreign countries

The course runs for a month and is on every day except weekends. This week has been interrupted by a visit we needed to make to the Questura (police) to locally register for our Permesso di Soggiorno. What an experience. Fortunately we had a pre arranged interview time and someone to help us. We got there at about 9am and left at about 12-30. Firstly we had to get our papers reviewed and filed. Then we had to wait while everyone was fingerprinted and details reconfirmed. You have every finger printed singularly, as a whole and even the palms of your hands.

Glad that is over but I must say that, as is the case with so many Italians, the staff at the Questura were very friendly and kind to the Starnieri (foreigners)

Well thats all for now. This weekend we have booked a car and will go to Umbria which is a couple of hours north east of Roma. We stay on Friday and Saturday night in Spoleto but hope to get to other Umbrian towns including Spelo, Assissi, Todi, Orvieto and possibly Gubbio

Carolyna is cuurently a little unwell with some sort of virus. Hopefully it will only be a short one.

Ciaio, ciao baccio a tutti

Villa Adriana Tivoli and Villa D'Este

Answer to last Blog...Artichoke or Carciofi in Italian. Very impressive and great taste and texture

On Thursday we went on our first out of Rome expedition to Villa Adriana (Hadrians villa) and Villa D'Este

Well worth the time. Suggest you allocate one full day as our time was a little rushed. It is about 30 minutes out of Rome.

Adriana's villa named after the emporer Hadrian is reputedly older than Rome itself. The ruins are obviously time affected however you can see the amazing structure that was created. It was Hadrians country villa and was of substantial proportions. Half the population at the villa were slaves and the other half military

The impressive theatre near the entrance to the villa

The Roman baths. There were three main baths with different temperatures

One of the many pools in the villa grounds. Hadrian is reputed to have dinner with his Roman generals and senatorial visitors at the far end brought to him by barge from this end of the lake...believe it or not!!

Two happy tourists

Villa D'Este, beautiful gardens in Tivoli. Just took our breath away. One of the most beautiful gardens principally due to the large number of water features

Una Bella figura

Just beautiful with the flowers in the foreground

We loved the experience of this area and will try to come back again.

Cia, ciao e baccio sul tutti

Carolyna e Alano

Cena (dinner)

Can anyone tell me what this is?

We had dinner at one of the best Roman restaurants, Al Moro (not too expensive) and this was Carolyna's primi piatti (first course)

Answer next blog

The second week

Week two in Roma can be spent relaxing, eating, with friends or !!!!!!!

Well we did !!!!!

As the day was overcast with showers forecast we decided to trek out to the burbs to see what a Roman mall was like. Well surprise, surprise...no different to any other mall in the world

This was at Euromar in an area called EUR in Roma. The area was built in the Mussolini regime and was meant to be an example of fascist greatness. Today it is a rather bland open boulevards government orientated area.
Getting there was an experience. Metro to termini, then a change of lines to an area about 2 kilometers away and then a bus.

I don't think Carolyna was overly impressed with all the public transport

 Carolyna, "Doesn't Alano know I don't do buses"

What a difference a day makes. Next day, Sunday, was bright and sunny. A beautiful primavera day

We had heard about a great eclectic area out from the city centre and decided to enjoy the day and make the trip out. Via Pigneto is the name of the main street and what luck we arrived on market day

Just a wonderful environment of street stalls, restaurants and bars. Roman were out en mass with no sign of a tourist
We loved meandering along the street looking at the various activities

Lunch was at an amazing restaurant called Necci. Absolutely recommend. Open terraces under large umbrellas with Italian families and friends providing an exciting buzz.

We spent over two hours there of which over 30 minutes was spent with the chef owner having an aperitivo. Ben is an ex Brit who learnt all about Italian cooking working with some of the finest chefs in Italy

So absolutely recommend even though Alano got greedy at the end and selected two dolci...at 4 Euro apiece. He ultimately paid the price

Sunday night was a buzz...stumbled on a gay restaurant bar... What a hoot. Great spot. Buffet and one drink for 10E each.

Well all for now

Cao, ciao a dopo

Carolyna e Alano

First week

Well here we are. Can't keep a good girl down. She insisted on a red vespa
Just borrowed!

Our apartment at night overlooking Via delle Carrozze. Sorry but the vino just sneaked in. We love the apartment and the area it is in.

We have a supermercato close by and a daily street fruit and vegie market. What more do you need!

Of course we occasionally have to eat out and here we are having a buono pranzo on domenica scorsa (great lunch last Sunday)

Well I have finally been able to upload a few pics. Will be blogging again shortly

Dear friends, ciao ciao...a dopo

Carolyna e Alano

Early days

Settling in

Well here we are in bella Roma

No implications with the volcanic ash. We did not even know about it until well after we got here. Skies have been blue and crystal clear on most days

First test passed...Carolyna likes the apartment. She has bought some homely additions and it looks a bella casa. Our new home.

We continue to go through the bureaucratic process here. We have an agent, Relocation Enterprises who are great. Even though we have our visa's we need to register here. So today we went to the Post Office to register for interview with the Questura (police). At that interview we will be finger printed which will result in us obtaining the Permesso di Soggiorno.

We love the Italian style. The people live the piena di vita and are so emotionally attached to living life to the fullest.

For Carolyna's birthday we went to our favourite restaurant, Dal Bolognese. Superb food and wine. Its always a pleasure to dine here. Tragically we have rebooked for later this week.

Sunday really is the Passiagiata day where Romans come out en mass to walk the streets of Rome. The Passiagiata is truly alive and well in Rome. We love it and walked our legs off on Sunday enjoying the occassional stop for an aperitivo or lunch. We have a favourite (new) spot on Campo Fiore where the prople watching is great

On one night we went to an old favourite Trattoria of mine, Hostario Romana. Have to book but love the buzz and waiters. Some appear to have been there forever. Their life seems to revolve around their jobs, as if it is their oxygen that keeps them going. The commitment is amazing and we love it. The food at Hostario is buonissimo, fresh with subtle flavours that complement one another.

So much to tell but will keep that to another day. Love the comments coming in. Special thanks to Fabio

Ciao ciao.......a dopo

Carolyna e Alano