It has been almost 4 years since our trip to Europe, much has happened since then and sadly, none of it included travelling overseas. Nor did it include finishing all of my photobooks from that trip, three are currently sitting on our book shelves but there are still a few books to go. Sorting through photos and deciding on layout takes time and with me being a bit of a procrastinator it is taking longer because I keep getting sidetracked. Today the distraction has been looking through the many photos we took on our compact camera, the happy snaps and selfies (sans selfie stick of course). With the planning of our next trip underway, it was a joy to go back and see the photos we had of each other, captured as we moved from Paris to Amsterdam, then onto Germany and Switzerland before spending four weeks in Italy. The next trip will be shorter, but still with a focus on Italy and we are madly saving in the hope that we can make it happen this year. In the meantime, I’ll keep smiling as I look through all our wonderful, memory filled photos.
Looking out the window of our room in Paris
On the top deck of the bus, Paris
Our first afternoon in Paris
Rue Mouffetarde
How much is that doggy in the window? Amsterdam
Relaxed in Amsterdam
Cat eating croissants window display
Break time in Rothenburg
View of medieval towers from room, Rothenburg ob de tauber
Considered an eyesore by many, Federation Square’s architecture is unique in Melbourne and still draws the crowds.Look up to see the stunning stained glass ceiling in the Great Hall of the National Gallery of VictoriaClose up of the carving on the San Rufino Cathedral, AssisiPart of an piece of art decorating the walls of the series of escalators that take you from carpark to the old town of Siena.Intricate carving on a sarcophagus housed in the Palazzo Massimo, RomeMosaics close up in the Palazzo Massimo, Rome
For reasons I have forgotten, our itinerary took us from Orvieto to Assisi and then down to Sorrento, it would have made more sense to go to Assisi first given the proximity of Orvieto to Sorrento but it all worked out fine. Assisi is a medieval hilltop town in Umbria and is most famous for being the birthplace of St Francis, patron saint of Italy and founder of the Franciscan order. The drive from Orvieto to Assisi only took about 90 minutes, trying to find a park probably took longer because there are restrictions on cars in the old part of town. To be on the safe side we parked outside the walls and located our accommodation on foot, a medieval festival had been held over the weekend and members of the opposing sides were standing in the doorway of our hotel arguing about the results. When we finally reached reception they told us we could park outside the hotel to unload the car but long term parking (for a discounted rate) was not far away. As an apology for the obstruction in the doorway they upgraded our room.
Accommodation in Assisi
The festival that we had missed (typical) was the Calendimaggio, a medieval festival based on competition between the two sides of the city: Red and Blue, the Blue team had won and were still celebrating with singing, drums and dancing in the main square. There was grandstand style seating set up, after wandering down to the Basilica we sat and listened to the music being played by the competitors and their supporters.
Festival celebrations in Assisi
Basilisca San Francesco is a 13th century cathedral and still a major destination for pilgrims, popular with the faithful and with art lovers and history buffs. St Francis was a man who lived a simple life of poverty and abstinence, souvenirs featuring his face can be found throughout Assisi and range from the spiritual to the downright tacky. The interior of the cathedral is beautiful, crowds move slowly and silently throughout and should there be too much noise a voice can be heard ‘silenzio’ and people talk in whispers once again. The walls are covered in frescoes based on the life of St Francis and painted by Giotto, the ceilings are a vivid blue dotted with gold stars, a truly magnificent sight and I could not resist sneaking a couple of photos.
Basilica San Francesco interiorBasilica San Francesco interior
The Rocca Maggiore sits atop the hill, it is a medieval castle that dominates the skyline and from the outside it looks delapidated however there is plenty to explore inside its walls, we chose to brave the wind and look only from the outside. From the hill you have expansive views of the area and can see most, if not all the major churches that exist in Assisi. Walking past the fence covered in chewing gum and bubble gum we head down into the narrow cobblestone streets that run behind the main streets, cats rest in the sun and rambling roses grow over doorways, it is a pretty part of town.
Three wheeled trucks are common, they remind me of the Mr Bean television series and I imagine they’re very useful for navigating the narrow lanes. Out of the wind, it is quite pleasant just strolling, we pass a convent and another gate to the town before finding ourselves looking down upon the Basilica. In the midday sun the cathedral glows and tourists are all around us, taking the same photos that we have taken since our arrival.
Chewing gum fenceStreets near the lower part of the Basilica
The two other churches we saw, but did not enter were the Cathedral of San Rufino, a church with a Romanesque facade featuring lions and griffins, dedicated to San Rufino and the gothic Basilica di Santa Chiara, dedicated to Saint Claire. The square outside the Basilica di Santa Chiara is popular in the evenings as locals and tourists gather to talk and watch the sun set, nearby is a nutella crepes stand, something we haven’t seen much of since leaving Paris several weeks ago.
Basilica di Santa ChiaraCathedral San Rufino
Eating in Assisi was simple and the food very good, we enjoyed a pasta with wild boar, cream and truffles as well as huge pizzas and thick, gelatinous hot chocolates. The restaurant where we ate pizza was hidden in a side street not far from our hotel, I wish I could remember the name because it was a wonderful place and we enjoyed lunch so much that we returned for dinner that same night. The television was always on, Dad (or perhaps a Grandfather) sat at one of the tables, he watched television, gave instructions and helped with waiting on tables. As we sat eating steak, chips and spinach we could not hear much English and I’m sure the other patrons thought our meal was a bit on the odd side, the waitress didn’t seem to mind, she appeared happy to see us return so soon.
Assisi buildings and a helmet for a lightshade
The couple of days we spent in Assisi were extremely relaxing, we did a little shopping, alot of eating and exploring at a slow pace. The hotel we stayed in was very central, we could open our windows and look down to the main street and towards the square, the red and blue flags were draped all over town adding colour to the buildings. We also met a gentleman and his family who were staying at the hotel for the festival, they live in Rome but come to Assisi every year for the festival. His English was excellent and he told us that it was very warm in Rome, we spent a good deal of time chatting to him, he told us more about the festival and suggested places to go during our stay.
In a previous post I briefly mentioned the hilltop towns we were visiting while in Tuscany and Umbria, they truly are wonderful places to stay especially when they’re not so crowded such as Volterra and Orvieto after the sun goes down.
We based ourselves in Siena, Orvieto and Assisi for 10 days and made use of a rental car to travel to the other towns, part of the joy in visiting other towns is the scenic drive through the countryside and taking time to stop occasionally, admire the view and take a couple of photos. From Siena we did a day trip to Volterra and San Gimignano, leaving San Gimignano until the afternoon in the hope that most of the large tour groups had been and gone. Volterra is probably better known now thanks to the Twilight series of stories, it isn’t why we went there, Volterra is home to roman ruins, alabaster and unbeknown to us, a state prison housed in what looks like a medieval fortress. San Gimignano is a medieval town, famous for its many towers, of which only 14 still stand (there used to be about 70) and I could only count 11 from the Torre Grosse (large tower). San Gimignano is also home to Vernaccia, a nice white wine that is easy to drink after a long day of sight seeing.
Siena itself is a wonderful city to explore, once we were finally able to find the carpark and our way to Il Campo. The cathedral is a masterpiece of black and white marble, and although Marty wasn’t interested in seeing yet another church I paid the 3 euro admission and took the time to go inside and it was well worth it. Although we both loved Siena, our day spent driving through the Tuscan countryside to the small town of Pienza was probably more enjoyable. Pienza doesn’t have any major must-see attractions and doesn’t rate that highly in the guidebooks, what it does have is a fantastic view of the quintessential Tuscan countryside and very tasty pecorino cheese (made from sheep’s milk). In Pienza we were able to taste a variety of pecorino cheese including slivers of one flavoured with truffles, which I was quite fond of but Marty was left with a not-so pleasant taste in his mouth. We dined at a little bar called La Crete, salami and pecorino sandwiches washed down with a Vernaccia for Marty and a Vino Nobile for me and topped off with very good coffee. The drive home to Siena was equally spectacular, cypress pines, yellow fields, winding roads, red poppies and olive trees – all the ingredients for a perfect country drive.
Orvieto is a wonderful town to visit and even better if you can stay within the walls or close by them as we did, providing the opportunity to explore the streets after the tour groups and day trippers go home. From Orvieto we did another day of driving to see Civita de Bagnoregio (the dying town) and Bolsena, Civita de Bagnoregio is a hilltop town with a difference as there are very few residents and it is not swarming with tourists forking out euros in souvenir shops, the town is built of tufa which is slowly eroding causing sections of the hill to collapse and buildings with it. There is no collapsing of buildings while we were there, however we did wish that something would fall on a very loud, foul mouthed american tourist that was part of a small tour group. The drive from Orvieto only takes thirty minutes and after a couple of hours of explorations and one of the best lunches so far we decided to drive to Bolsena on Lake Bolsena. Bolsena is a pretty town, the location on the lake contributing greatly to its appeal and the gelati wasn’t bad either, it is a good place to take a breath and relax by the water but beyond that I couldn’t find the motivation to see more.
Two Black Dogs 