Umbria

So Alex and I left Florence in our rental car and hit the very curvy roads to Umbria. Great timing as it poured rain for the first few hours.

We stayed at this cute little "agriturismo" hotel overlooking the valleys around Perugia. Agriturismo hotels are growing in popularity and are basically little B&B's housed in farm houses across Italy. Ours wasn't an actual farm but it was absolutely stunning. The little Italian gentleman who served us fresh croissants and tea in the mornings really made the whole experience.

Every view from every hilltop over the next few days looked like a postcard.

Example numero uno. The colors look like a painting...or I should say, you see why so many artists and photographers try and capture these scenes. The dusty green of the olive trees with the deep evergreen of the Italian cypress trees is my favorite. Throw in some pink limestone buildings, terracotta roof tiles, and the purple blue hills in the distance. Gorgeous.

Basically you have gorgeous valleys filled with olive groves and wheat fields. Every few kilometers you stumble upon another medieval hill town. Over our three days we visited Perugia, Assissi, Solomeo, Deruta and Orvieto. This is a sort of classic view from the towns...narrow dark alleys and then all the sudden you get this amazing pastel sliver view of the surrounding countryside.

Most of the cobblestone streets are just wide enough for a tiny Fiat to squeeze through. Alleys are lined with adorable balconies, small pocket gardens, and large archways.

Alex and I both agree that the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi is the coolest and most beautiful church we have ever been in. Begun in 1288, the church holds the remains of the saint along with many other religious relics and beautiful frescoes by Giotto, the father of the Italian Renaissance. The frescoes told the life of the saint and were prefectly preserved. It makes you realize how paired down some of these other churches are. When these things were built they were over the top. The church and the artists were master storytellers and marketers. They created beautiful, almost perfect images for the overwhelmingly illiterate people to interpret. Its hard to imagine what it would be like to walk into one of these churches before the era of photography and other forms of accessible art. I'm sure they were utterly and completely blown away. The lower part of the church held artifacts from Saint Francis' life (including his robes!) and a very well and moodily lit crypt where the saint is interred. 

Views from Assisi. The whole town was in perfect condition. I think the roads were re-done recently, so the site had a tiny bit of a Disney World feeling rather than the somewhat gritty feeling of it univeristy-town neighbor of Perugia. Alex and I were sort of laughing because the little we read about Saint Francis was that he devoted himself to a life of simplicity and poverty. Assisi's entrepreneurs obviously aren't follwoing the same path. The shops in his native town are now overflowing with wines, pastries, gelato, and of course every type of Catholic souvenir you could ever imagine. But it is still possible to lose yourself in the quiet solitude of the tiny paths and alleys in Assisi and it is wonderful.

Under the Umbrian Sun. Eat your heart out Diane Lane.

Our first full day we took advantage of perfect weather to enjoy a hike through the countryside around our hotel. We did have a great local trail map but once again I have to give credit to Alex for his navigation skills. It's actually funny I took this pictures because our trail had no signs. We made our way through private farms and past no trespassing signs. On one odd occasion walking by a totally isolated farm house blasting techno music. Random.

Me sitting by an ancient watering well along the path.

Alex crossing a field of wildflowers. At this point I was convinced we were lost and I was ready for the Italian farmer to start shooting at us.

But then I turned around and all my cares slipped away...wow. I want to move to this very spot. 

Poppies and little white wildflowers. You just sort of want to stop and like jump in there and take a nap.

Heading out on a hike with no plan and very little sense of direction is quickly becoming my favorite thing to do. A fun adventure and a really awesome day.