Trevi to Poreta and La Capitana

LOur last long hike, 12miles.   Up and down under dark clouds much of the day.  We did not get wet, though!    We arrived at our lovely agroturismo, but could not be shown to our rooms right away because the men were in the fields harvesting olives.  I was beat after our three day walk and took a break from yoga, which I needed.  

We stopped by the entrance to a garden for lunch this day.   

The agroturismo was lovely, but the temperature had cooled off so we could not enjoy the pool.   We did enjoy Lissi's birthday at dinner and a good yoga session in the morning before we started our next driving adventure to La Capitana, near Maggliore in Toscano.

Gary needed a break, so I drove and Beth navigated.  We had a great drive, some of it over windy country roads.  The drive was nice.  We did really well with most of the drive.  The GPS and google maps failed us during the last ten miles. But Paulo came to lead us to La capitana.

What a beautiful old estate.   Beth and I had a big room upstairs with our own bath.   It was quiet and very rustic.   The arrival to La Capitan marked the beginning of our official yoga retreat.  We had more yoga and more time to visit.   The yoga was excellent, but the room and floor were cold.   

On Friday morning, Beth and Gary and  I walked down to the winery that we could see from La Capitana.  What a treat.  We met a nice young man who showed us around the winery. We saw the grapes being crushed and the vats and barrels.  Then we had an official tour from a lovely young lady.  The building was built to look like a ship, as the winery is near the sea.     The barrel storage room has a ceiling that looks like waves.  

Friday afternoon Beth and I drove to the sea.  We had a short visit, then back to La Capitana.   We had another nice dinner and more time to visit with our group.   

On Saturday Beth and I took off after breakfast for a great drive.  Our first stop was Saturnian, where we saw an amazing natural spa.  Then we stopped in town for a snack and we found a shop where I bought a nice wool jacket.   Then off for more exploring.   Our next stop was Pitigliana, which was built on top of rock cliffs.  Amazing!  Then Sorvano and Sorana, then home.  We shopped in a little shop with some ladies who spoke no English, but were delightful to us anyway.     We enjoyed our explorations of the area.

Sunday was our last day with the yoga group.  After morning yoga, we had breakfast, said our goodbyes, then took off for Florence.

More pictures from this part of our trip in the next post.

Spello to Trevi

We had an easy morning with yoga on the patio followed by breakfast.  Then we explored Spello and took a bus to Foligno, where we had lunch, then started our "short" 8 mile hike.  The countryside is so beautiful!   We had a wonderful evening and dinner in Trevi, a quiet old town.   These old hill towns with their original buildings and old walls are amazing to see.   Most of them are World Heritage sites.

We had the nicest group of people!   Thomas and Paolo, our leaders,  Govanna, Rosella, Paolo's wife and longtime friend, Charlie and Teresa, Mark and Cathy, Marie and Rob, Karen and Jay, and Lissi!    During our hikes and afterwards we had lots of time to get to know each other.   

Hike to Spello

This was our longest day of hiking.  We took off at 9:30am.  Our first stop was at Eremo Delle Carceri on Mt. subasio, where St. Francis spent most of his time.   It was a beautiful and peaceful spot.  The eremo reminded me of the wonderful Buddhist monastery I visited in Thailand several years ago with its peacefulness and gorgeous mountain views.  After a long day of hiking, including an unplanned detour by Beth and Gary and I, we arrived at Spello!

Sunday in Assisi and spa day

Our yoga retreat starts today and we are meeting our group little by little.   Beth and Gary and I spent some time at a beautiful spa in the basement of a new hotel.   It was lovely!   See the old roman ruins that were found when doing this modern day renovation.   Many buildings are built over old ones, and ruins are sometimes preserved.   The hotel we stayed in was renovated inside a medieval building.  They left a few nice touches when they modernized.

We had our first yoga session on Sunday evening and then dinner with the group!     

Around Assisi

After a really nice dinner we had breakfast at our hotel then decided to hike to the fort guarding the town.   This was quite interesting and included a 360 view from the top.   We walked through a narrow tunnel and up spiral stairs throughout the fort!  We were awarded with great views!   Walking around Assisi involved lots of hills and steps and got us in shape for our hiking!   We will be hiking part of the Camino de Francesco, a vigorous hike from Assisi to Poreta.

Off to Assisi

beth arrived last evening and we had a nice walk and dinner.   Up Friday morning to visit Maria Maggiore Basilica, then off in a cab to the airport to get our rental car.   We had a long ride to the airport as our taxi driver did not know where we needed to go.   Then a little wait to get our rental car.  We then had our own driving issues, but finally got our directions straight and we headed toward Assisi.   Our two hour trip took five hours!   Most of it was lovely and interesting.  We stopped for lunch in Narni, a little town we wandered into.   We had a great lunch and did a little exploring.

Off to Assisi.    Assisi is amazing!    This is the first of several old walled towns we will stay in.   Such a change from Rome!

Rome, day two.

Gary arrived yesterday evening and we had a nice dinner and stroll around our neighborhood.   Next morning we were up early and off to the Coloseum.   Very amazing!   Both Gay and I listened to Rick Steve's audio tours which were really good!

Then we took a long walk through the city.   We ended up at the Parthenon with a large number of other tourists.  The Parthenon was also amazing.   We enjoyed Rick Steve's audio tours for both sites. This was another hot day!  After lunch we went back to wait for Beth and have a nap.

A new adventure in Italy

I am in Italy.   My first stop, and partially independent one, was Rome.    I arrived on time after getting some sleep on the plane (I had an unexpected Business Class upgrade).   So, I took a very brief rest and took off to see some sites.  My first stop was the Basilica of Maria Maggiore which was right down the street from my B&B.  This was an amazing church, very ornate, largest church in Rome dedicated to Mary.    Then I got on the Metro and did the evening walk , the Dolce Vita stroll, down the Via Del Courso to the Spanish Steps and through an upscale shopping area.   The Spanish Steps and the whole area were very crowded.  It was a nice evening and I rode the Metro back again and had a nice dinner at a sidewalk cafe near my B&B.   I got a good nite's sleep and was ready for my visit to the Vatican City to see the  Pope's Wednesday address.

I left early(I thought) to get to Vatican City to pick up my tickets to see the Pope.   Well, it was not early enough.  After two security checks, I got my tickets and returned to St. Peter's square, and all the seats were gone,   I guess they give out more tickets than they have seats.   Anyway, I stood in the square, watching the crowd, and waited for the Pope to appear in the pope mobile.  He came out and went around the square.  That was pretty cool.   Then there was a rather lengthy ceremony in Italian, with lots of cheering.    And then the Pope left.   

Next I went to the Vatican museum.   It is so opulent and amazing, but also so crowded and hot, that it is hard to say it was enjoyable.  There are way too many people there and you basically are pushed through the museum.   I was definitely pushed through the Sistine Chapel!   The spiral staircase leading out of the Vatican museum was something!    

Then I went back and stood inline for an hour and a half to get into St. Peter's.   The church is huge and very dark and ornate.   Lots of beautiful marble and statues are everywhere.   The most impressive thing to me was Michaelangelo's Pieta.   I did get to see that well and took a few good pictures.