The beginning of our big 13 day road trip round Italy! We had done the practice run down to Paestum and Pompeii and it had gone pretty well except for the little detour on the first evening. We seem to have got used to any of Tommy’s little idiosyncrasies and I was a big fan. Get the data into the machine correctly and the stress of map reading in hectic traffic was gone! However, being on the road for several days, down to Rome for a few more and then back in Celano visiting relatives meant there wasn’t a lot of preparation time to be had and also keeping a tab on business back home in Brisbane was beckoning. So, we made a late start today and set off for Perugia in Umbria at around 5pm into an impressive lighting and thunderstorm. The days here in Italy are long and I think it takes a toll on the kids, let alone us. Sun goes down around 9pm. Evening meals only start about then. Bedtime is often 11pm - 11.30pm. Getting up early in the morning therefore is a bit of a trial especially for our little morning grump, Genevieve! It is a huge effort to get going before 10 or 11am. Anyway today was 5pm and we were on our way.
Heading toward another agriturismo today and after the impressive storms in the mountains of Abruzzo the drive turned out to be lovely. Through steep forested mountains and narrow valleys with little fields for farming, it was a combination of national parks and rural Italy. There were tall fields of golden sunflowers painting the gentle slopes of Umbria. Our agriturismo was in amongst olive groves and sunflower fields and right next to a lone church on a hill. We arrived at 8.30pm and it was still 35 degrees. So within minutes of checking-in the kids were all in the pool to freshen up. Another good view across the fields from the pool into the sunset!
The temperatures are really starting to sore now. Often in the high 30’s and low 40’s and a drier sort of heat to that of Brisbane but still scorching when directly in the sun. The sun sinks around 9pm and Italians don’t go out to dinner till then. It is nothing to walk into a restaurant at 10 – 10.30pm around here! We had a big search for food tonight however as all the local restaurants were closed on Monday night. Then in the most unlikely place (the top of a big shopping centre in Perugia) at 11pm we found a great slow food place. The pizza’s were excellent and Kailin and Liane got the variety plate featuring many Neapolitan pizza recipes. Buonissimo again!
Fred
Adri's Word: Today’s journey was filled with the most ooohs and aaahs so far as we drove from Abruzzo into Umbria and Toscana (Tuscany). We had left the cool, deep green woods of the windy mountain roads from the previous days’ travels and exchanged them for views from the climate controlled 7-seater Lancia as we set Tommy on course for Perugia. We drove long stretches of autostrada which looked across wonderful soft landscapes of gently undulating hills with interesting patchworks of perfect pastures and small crops decorated by farm houses of all ages, styles and in various states of repair. The olives, fennel, corn, a short grain I didn’t recognise (Arborio rice??!!) and tobacco were but a few of the crops that coloured the tapestry its various shades of green. There was a flurry of activity in the car when the fields changed to bright yellow and we tried to capture on camera the golden faces of the girasoii (sunflowers) as we took another curve in the road – “quick, give me the camera” “undo your window” ”they’re on my side!” “Aw, they’re facing the wrong way!” “slow down, dad, you’re going too fast!” “too late”.
We were finally able to slow down and take some gorgeous shots of girasoli when we arrived at our next Agriturismo (farmstay) outside Perugia, at about 8pm. It had been a long trip in the blistering heat and we were all grateful that we managed to squeeze in a swim just before dark!
Adriana
Kailins Word: On the way too the hotel, we appreciated the beautiful countriside and bright sunflowers. When we got there, we had a look around. The hotel was beautiful and beautifully placed. It was on top of a hill, so you could see all the sunflowers, just a large yellow patch. The hotel had a pool with a water slide, one of those soccer table thingies, a ping pong table, and, best of all, a mini soccer field with goals and everything! Unfortunately we were only staying one night, so we didn't get to use all the cool stuff there.
That's a shame Kailin. David would have enjoyed that too. &You must be all very exhausted with the long days, good food and the heat. It all still looks wonderful though, and what a great life-event holiday you are having together! We look forward to more movies too!
ReplyDeleteCheers
Andrew