Well, it’s hot here. We were seeking out shade as we made our touristy rounds. Rome-Fumicino airport was OK, customs a walk through and immigration two fast stamps. Baggage and Avis slow but no surprises. Once we got Tom-Tom GPS up and running on European maps, driving was routine until we got to Perugia. Before that we checked in at Castello di Monterone, our hotel and a restored and renovated castle that used to guard the approach to Perugia. Everything has a medieval look and feel, the rooms are beautiful as are the terraces, gardens, pool and setting on a steep hillside. The rosemary hedges we admired in the gardens showed up on the dinner plates. We ate in one of the two restaurants tonight and had a great meals, well herbed.
Perugia, the capital of Umbria, is built on two hilltops connected by a long ridge, initially by the Etruscans before Christ was even a twinkle in God’s eye. The town now spills up and down those hills, colli, and ravines. It’s all vertical. We took a bus tour of the city through narrow streets, heavy with traffic, innumerable Etruscan and Roman and Papal gates in the defensive walls. There’s a big university presence, lots of pricey boutiques and dozens of piazzas each with dozens of pizzerias. We had a nice lunch at one of the many. The entire city is composed of beige-to-orange sandstone and limestone with terra-cotta roof tiles and all soothing to the eye. We got lost driving and walking at every occasion and did a lot of K-turns and backing up. Add in a late afternoon crash, back in the room, and that’s the first day.
Perugia Belltower.
Piazza con Pizzaria.
Busted Garden.
Our Room Entry.
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