Perugia and Venice and Home

PERUGIA IN UMBRIA

Perugia seems like home to us. Jill went to school there and we know it and know our way around. It is a relaxed place and you can do a lot or do very little, depending on your mood for the day. It is also very old dating back to the pre-Roman Etruscan era. Some of the city gates were there during the Punic Wars when Hannibal invaded Italy (Rome) with his war elephants. It is also a large university town with several universities including some specifically for foreigners. Jill went to school there during the summer of 2004. The place has become somewhat notable because of a murder case involving foreign students but crime is rare and it is also a little-known gem that attracts relatively few tourists apart from the occasional tour bus that stops for a couple hours to allow tourists to buy the famous Perugina chocolates.

Our arrival was uneventful. We got a taxi that amazingly got us up into the old historic part of town directly to our hotel at Piazza Morlacchi. Auberge Morlacchi is a small family-run hotel or pensione that is well located for getting up to the main parts of the town as well as to some other places within easy walking distance.The hotel also has a resident dog, Jesse, who is a youngish collie-mix sort of dog with a easy-going and friendly disposition. All hotels should have a resident dog like Jesse. She won our hearts as soon as we saw her and she took to us as well. Jesse would roll over to have her belly rubbed whenever we came into the room. The couple running the hotel also had help from an elderly 'momma' who couldn't speak English but wanted to talk anyway. She watched TV and got excited about the soccer games -- this was the beginning of the World Cup tournament. Our room was on the main floor but Donna's was up a few flights of stairs. The rooms were nicely furnished, roomy and clean. Ours was quiet but Donna had some street and construction noise. The hotel had been completely renovated within the last year and was very comfortable.

After riding all day in the train we were anxious to get out and walk. We headed out into the back streets of Perugia and revisited some of the places Jill knew from her time in Perugia. We walked from one end of the main town to the other and it brought back memories as well as new experiences for Donna. Perugia is a special place that isn't well known. We stopped and got some horrible microwaved pizza for Jill and Donna and I got an equally horrible microwaved sandwich of some sort. This was our worst meal in Italy by far and we soon had to get something else to expunge the memory and taste. We decided on Gelato!! We found a gelato shop close by and each of us got a different flavor and then roamed over to the overlook at the top of the city wall. The view is very pretty, like a a picture book or painting, and you can see for many miles. Assisi is clearly visible on a neighboring mountain side. We continued on our exploration going to the old fortress and Jill found the little shop where she wanted to buy a patchwork purse. On our way back we stopped for an early supper on the Corso at a sidewalk cafe (Ferrari) and we relaxed and watched the pre-game TV stuff leading up to the first Italy game later in the evening. We had good food - I enjoyed some risotto with veal and Donna and Jill had pizza and pasta and we had a local wine, a Sangiovese.

After we ate we went back to the hotel briefly and then headed back out looking for another good spot to watch the game. Our timing wasn't good because most of the places close by were filled so we ended up art the Blue Bar on Corso Vannucci and were at the back of the crowd so we saw a lot of heads but there was a 2nd TV that we could see from the neighboring bar and we were OK. The crowd was excited and whenever something happened in the game you could hear people shouting all up and down the street. Paraguay scored first but Italy tied the game which brought out lots of cheers and applause. We stood up and cheered like real Italians. But the game finished in a 1-1 tie -- not the best outcome but it was OK. The crowd seemed to be fairly happy with a tie and it was still very early in the tournament. I had a beer and the others had soda or coffee but we headed back to the hotel where we met the elderly Momma who was watching the TV. She had watched the game and we tried to talk to her but she couldn't speak any English so it was mostly smiles and only a few words. Later Jill heard her telling the hotel owners that she tried to talk to us but all we said was "Si, Si".

Jill didn't sleep very well but I had a good sleep. Donna said she could hear the people outside celebrating and that kept her up for a while. I woke up in time to hear the morning church bells at 7:15 which I really liked. We met for breakfast and were happy to get coffee and pastries and some bread. I learned to like Nutella on this this trip so that was part of my breakfast sometimes. They have Blood Orange juice that we really liked.

Our plan for the day was to roam a little farther and have lunch at the little pizza place across from Jill's apartment. Jill led the way through the streets up to the main piazza and Fontana Maggiore and we took time to explore the interior of San Lorenzo - the main cathedral/duomo. The church is very old but unfinished on the outside. The interior is definitely finished and very decorative. There are auxiliary chapels and a baptistery in the rear of the church. The place is in need of repair -- upkeep on all of these old churches must be hugely expensive and there are several renovation projects underway on other churches. San Lorenzo, as the largest and primary church in the town, could use some attention, especially the stonework on the floor.

After leaving the church we headed around the front on our way to the little street (Via Bartolo) where Jill's apartment was and we stopped to look at some of the vendor stalls set up near the church. Mostly local pottery and majolica. Jill pointed out her apartment and the pizza place across the street where we wanted to eat lunch. We continued, dodging a few cars in the narrow street, and finally got to the Etruscan Arch -- one of the ancient city gates that dates back before 300 BC. The arch was built by the Etruscans in pre-Roman days and was later modified somewhat by Caesar Augustus. The city wall is very impressive with stones as big as refrigerators piled up about 70 feet.

We went past the University for Foreigners and continued up the narrow street until we came to a small piazza with a few people siting out enjoying the day. There, sitting with some people at a table, was Jesse, the dog from our hotel. She must have been out with the Momma for the afternoon. She certainly recognized us but seemed disappointed that we didn't stop to give her the usual belly rub.

Out next destination was the Temple of Sant'Angelo, an old church that dates back to about 400 AD but probably has an older history as a sacred site back to Roman days. The church is round with several small side chapels and a baptistery radiating off the main circular sanctuary. The church is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel -- the warrior angel and has a statue of him in one of the chapels. There are several burial crypts in the floor covered by stones bearing ancient war-like family crests that probably go back to crusader days. We found an engraved stone plaque on the wall that shows a date of around 850. The church is not an active parish church but is used for special services. Students come here to relax on the grassy lawn....there isn't much grass in old Perugia. I find this to be a special place for me -- very much connected to very early Christians and a very quiet and contemplative place. As we were getting ready to leave a student group came in with a teacher giving a lecture on the building...in Italian, so we didn't benefit any from his talk. It was raining when we got outside so we took refuge under some Black Cypress trees and I found a few pine cones to add to my collection.

We stayed dry under the trees for a while and then ventured out once the rain slowed to a drizzle. We went to Porta Sant'Angelo, the gate in the city wall located close to the church and found a small museum that focused on some early city history and the various city gates. We climbed up the steep stairway to the top of the tower and were able to look out over the Umbrian countryside as well as back into the old city.

It was afternoon so we decided to head back toward the pizza place for lunch. Everything shuts down, more or less, at 2 PM for several hours so we needed to get there before the closed for the afternoon. We sort of got lost on our way back and probably walked a little out of our way but eventually found some familiar landmarks and got back on track. Jill and Donna went to Quattro Passi the pizza place, while I stopped at the street vendors and bought a small majolica bread dish. I caught up with them at the pizza place and we each ordered a different pizza -- all were very good. Donna asked for a local beer and got one from Belgium -- not local but very good.

There was a photography exhibition at the national museum featuring the work of Steve McCurry a National Geographic photographer. His photographs were largely focused on war and the destruction that war brings to the land but especially to the people. While his work was amazing in a technological and talent sense I couldn't really enjoy it on that level because it was so depressing. He has sort of a mission in his work to show the destructive forces of war and he does a great job of it. Out of over 200 pictures I think there were maybe two or three that were not depressing or at overly somber.

When we came out of the exhibition we needed something to clear our heads and what does this better than gelato??? This time I got some melon flavored gelato that tasted like cantaloupe...yum.

We walked up to Piazza Italia and caught a bus to go down to the train station where we purchased our train tickets for the next day. Donna changed her plans and was staying in Perugia a few more days but was taking day trips to Assisi so she got her ticket for the next day's adventure. Jill and I got our tickets to go to Venice the next day. We got early trains so we can head out together in the morning. We ran across the street to a large COOP grocery store and picked up a few things including a chew bone for Jesse. When we caught the bus back up the hill it started raining and then it became a downpour with thunder and lightning. People were getting soaked running to and from the buss at each stop and the water was running down off the hill in torrents. We finally got back up to Piazza Italia and made a dash for the covered portico near the escalator down to Rocca Paulina...as did everyone on the bus.

The rain let up and we headed back to the hotel and rested a while. We gave Jesse her present and she put it in her special place but didn't eat it....saving it for later when she and Tomas would watch the World Cup games, no doubt.

We rested for a while and then headed back out to find supper. We wanted to eat at Ristarante Del Sole but had to find it. We were successful and got a table that took in the beautiful view over the city and into the surrounding hills. The we got the usual bread and finally got some olive oil for the bread but chose not to use it. The food was good but not great. I had veal grilled with olive oil and rosemary and a side of vegetables au gratin. Jill got a pasta with wild boar sauce. Donna got eggplant parmigiana. The local wine was Langarote Torre de Giorno (chilled white), which was good. I think we had better food there on our last visit.

Of course it was raining again when we left the restaurant so Donna put on her rain coat and gave me her bright pink umbrella. I tried to share the umbrella with Jill but she was moving too fast for me. We wanted some coffee so we stopped at the Cafe de Perugia, a sidewalk cafe under a canvas canopy, and ordered coffee and watched the World Cup game - Brazil vs. N. Korea. We were pretty much alone -- the crowds of last night were discouraged by the rain and maybe the obvious outcome of the game -- Brazil won. We walked back to the hotel in a light drizzle (with the pink umbrella) and were greeted by Jesse and the owners. We let them know that we needed to leave early in the morning and would need a taxi. Donna had already made arrangements to extend her stay there since she couldn't get a room at the place she wanted in Assisi....the hotel owner made a few room switches and everything worked out OK.

VENICE

It was hard to believe that this was our 8th day in Italy. We got up and were packed and ready to go on time. We had one last breakfast with all three of us together and then the taxi arrived and we all headed off to the train station. We had a little bit of a wait but we went out to the platform and waited. Donna's train came first and we saw her off to Assisi -- not a long trip....maybe 15 or 20 minutes at the most. Our train arrived about 30 minutes later and we climbed aboard and headed to Florence. We caught a EuroStar train from Florence to Venice that went through Bologna and Parma on the way. Again it seemed like we went under the mountains. It started raining a little as we headed north and it was a steady rain by the time we came across the causeway to the Venice train station. We clambered off the train and headed toward the front exit and out the doors to the spectacle of Venice. There is no transition -- you come out the doors and there it is -- canals, boats, churches, bridges, shops and peddlers, and ancient buildings. With the rain, there were many people taking refuge under the front entryway to the station...including some local police who didn't want to get their pretty uniforms water spotted.

We dug out our umbrella and my rain jacket and headed out into the rain. The hotel was only a short walk away up main 'street' and then down a narrow calle. We walked along dragging our luggage and went right by the little calle and had to double back a few hundred feet and finally got to the hotel. It -- the Stella Alpina Edelweiss -- was a nice hotel, the most expensive one of the trip and probably the highest rated. We checked in and went to our room. This hotel had the electricity rigged so that the lights wouldn't work without a special car that we had to plug into a slot. We encountered a similar arrangement on the last trip when we were in Rome. You are supposed to pull the plug on your electricity usage when you go out. We did sometimes.

Since it was early afternoon we decided to head out to St. Marks (Piazza San Marco) so we got organized and hit the street with our trusty map. Jill bought her own umbrella -- bright yellow -- so now we had two. The rain hadn't thinned out the crowds very much and we fell in with the flow of people through the back streets and across the various canals. We were amused for a while by a dog that seemed to be on the same quest that we were. At first we thought he was by himself but he was actually following his master who was about 15 to 20 feet in front of him. We followed that dog almost all the way across Venice. At one point he had to stop and take a dump right in the middle of the pedestrian flow and he was looking around at everyone with a look of warning (Attenzione! Attenzione!) so they didn't step in his poop. The rain was letting up so by the time we got to St. Marks it had stopped.....but the piazza was flooded and people were confronted with the dilemma of staying on the dry part or wading into the ankle-deep water. Most of thr tourists tried to stay dry at first but many were wearing sandals or clogs and they went right in to the water. The rest of us ended up taking off our shoes and socks and wading in barefoot. Jill and I got to be subjects for a guy taking some sort of video film of people walking in the water.

The piazza is impressive but it was pretty crazy, too. The Basilica is undergoing some repairs to one of its domes so there is a scaffold and some screening around part of it. The huge bell tower also has construction work going on to strengthen the foundation and keep it from sinking. The water in the piazza wasn't from the high tide but it came up the storm sewers. The piazza is lower than much of the rest of the island and rain water runs into the storm sewers and then bubbles up and out in the piazza...not by plan but that's how it had degraded over time.

There were hundreds of people in the piazza and we decided to walk on a little farther out to the Grand Canal and then go find the garden that Jill remembered. The boats in the canal are constantly moving in every direction in what seems to be total chaos but they don't collide and they all seem to get where they are going. It is like a huge bumper car ride but nobody gets bumped. I'm sure there are rules and right of way protocols but it isn't obvious when you watch it. We walked along the "riva", the broad pedestrian roadway that runs along the shore. We crossed several canals and kept heading toward the tip of the island. Pretty soon the throngs of tourists started to thin out and we started seeing local Venetians out for a stroll with their dogs or jogging. Venice is the only place in Italy where we saw joggers and it seems like it would be the last place where they would be. We eventually found the garden -- actually a tree-filled park with a shady walkway and some park benches. This was once the Doge's garden but there were no traces of a garden other than the many trees and the benches. It was pleasant, dark and cool after the rain and very different from the rest of Venice which is entirely paved and people are constantly moving and in a hurry.

We walked down a few streets -- there are streets with no canals running down the middle -- and got into some local Venetian neighborhoods. We eventually got to the old Venetian Arsenale where their military and naval activity was carried out beginning in the 1100s. This was a major shipbuilding facility and they could build a ship in a day using prefabricated components. We continued walking and managed to get lost a couple times but finally made our way back to the Riva. We found a nice sidewalk cafe (Il Nuovo Perle) that looked out on the water and had a very nice supper and enjoyed the slowing pace of the day. We continued to see local people coming out to enjoy the evening including a mother with two kids learning to ride their bikes (complete with training wheels) on the grand pedestrian walkway where Venice looks out toward the Adriatic. We also watched a few fishermen trying to catch fish from the seawall. They had a lot of company as people would stop and ask what they were catching or look into their pails to see what they had. We finished our supper and decided to head back to the hotel. The hordes of tourists were gone and we were unsure of how to get back. We retraced our steps from St. Marks but realized that we had no landmarks to follow because we were just following the crowd and also our umbrellas hid some of the details. We wandered around trying to follow the directional signs that pointed the way to the train station but we still got lost and had to double back a couple times. We finally got to some familiar areas and made it back to our hotel. We were tired and he walk back seemed much longer than our initial walk over to St. Marks...even considering getting lost. We got to the hotel and spent the evening watching World Cup games.

Next morning we had breakfast at the hotel -- pretty good one. We headed back out hoping it wasn't going to rain and reassured by the desk clerk that it was only going to be cloudy. Our first stop was back at the train station to get our tickets for the trip back to Milan -- actually Somma Lombardo near the airport. It was a complicated route and we ended up having to make two train changes and that was the best option available.

We wanted to see the Rialto Bridge so we wound our way through the back streets and calles and eventually found a few signs that directed us toward the bridge. There were a lot of people at the bridge...tour groups and vendors...and it seemed a little more cramped and closed in than I expected. The Grand Canal is very busy at this point and there is a very wide variety in the types of boats going by. Gondolas were mostly moored along the edge but a few were moving along the canal. Motorboats and larger vaporettos and some commercial and service boats were all mixed up together in the canal.

We headed back to St. Marks and this time it was dry and there was no evidence of the high water of yesterday. We took some pictures and got in line to see the inside of the basilica. The line moved pretty fast and we were inside in just a few minutes. The church is decorated in gold leaf and many paintings. There are arches on top of arches and each turn provides a spectacular view. It looks much more "Byzantine" than any of the other churces we have seen, partially because of the multiple domes and all the gold decorations. The basilica has suffered badly from water damage, primarily to the floor which is sinking in places and has a wavy appearance with lower spots alternating with raised areas.

It was getting close to lunch time and we decided to eat at one of the outdoor cafes there on the piazza at St. Marks. We chose the Aurora Cafe next to the Campanile di San Marco - the main bell tower. We found a table looking out on the piazza and enjoyed the show. Tour groups were going back and forth like ducklings following the Momma duck. Occasionally we would see a lost tour guide wandering around without a group. There were also lots of people not part of a group and some others with baby carriages and some in wheelchairs. Venice is not ADA compliant and I have no idea how someone could get around in a wheelchair. At one point we saw people carrying a red-faced person up the stairs at one of the canal bridges and they were followed by several other red-faced people carrying a wheelchair.

Our waiter finally arrived and we ordered a Sprite and a Coke. Jill got a chicken pattie sandwich and I got a tomato and black olive bruschetta. The food was 8 euros each but the sodas were 7 euros each. That is about $9.50 for a small soda. We were paying for the entertainment of sitting on the piazza and it was very nice. Thre was an orchestra playing at the cafe next door and we enjoyed the music. At one point they played the William Tell Overture and it was perfect background music for the various tour groups crossing the piazza. There were not many people sitting in the cafe and we had a hard time getting our bill....I guess they wanted us to stay as long as possible to make the place look busy. We did get to sit and enjoy the non bells, first from the city's clock tower and then from the campinile.

We headed back to the hotel and made a stop at the Academia Bridge along the way. Many of the places we visited are places mentioned in the mystery stories that I read and I enjoyed seeing what they looked like. Jill wanted to stop at the Coin store (sort of an Italian Penneys) so we struck out for it...or at least where we thought it was. I took us a while to find the store and we had to double back a few times but we finally found it. Jill looked at the clothes and had several things picked out but eventually decided that she could find similar stuff at home or on the internet. It was beginning to rain once we got back outside and we left our umbrellas at the hotel. We managed to stay under protective awnings and in some doorways so we didn't get too wet. We stopped in a book store and I got a cookbook and then we went into a ceramic shop and I bought a small wall plaque. We worked our way closer to the hotel but would get a litle wet when we had to cross the canals.

We got back to the hotel and rested for a while. My feet were beginning to hurt and were swelling up a bit. We rested some more and my feet started to feel better so I dried my shirt with the hair dryer and we started thinking about supper. Jill wanted to go back out and tour the old Jewish ghetto which was really pretty close to our hotel so we decided to do that and then find a place to eat close to the hotel. The ghetto was pretthy easy to find and we went through some residential neighborhoods along the way....mostly they looked like apartment complexes and were not very old...probably date from the 1980s or so.

The word "ghetto" is a Venetian word meaning "foundry". Back in the middle ages the residents of Venice became alarmed at the increased financial power that the Jews were having and they were afraid that they would have too much voice in the government so they forced them to move to the site of an old abandoned foundry and live in a guarded enclosed area. Jews were free to go as they pleased but had to be in the ghetto and under guard each night. The guard was for their protection as well as to keep them confined. Napoleon abolished the ghetto requirement in the early 1800s and the Jewish population was free to live where they pleased. WWII, the Fascists and the Hollocaust made things much worse and current estimates are that there are only 500 to maybe 2000 Jews still living in the Venice area. The ghetto of today is just another neighborhood of Venice and there are only a few reminders of the hard times of the past. One reminder is the barbed wire strung along part of the common piazza area and there were some structures that looked like guard towers. There are some Jewish businesses in the ghetto and a kosher restaurant as well as the only synagogue in Venice, which seems to be a tourist site or museum as well as a place of worship. We were tired and didn't explore much of the area and were soon walking along a canal heading back to more familiar terretory,

We had some problems finding a good place to eat but when we found the place it was a good choice. We both ordered gnocchi with pesto and I got a nice pint of draft beer. The Italians are not known for their beer but I had some very good local beer....but I'll never know what kind it was. We enjoyed our gnocchi and then decided to have a dessert since this was our last night in Venice. The desserts were wonderful gelato-based concoctions that were excellent. Mine had a vanilla gelato base with three cream-filled brioches on top and then topped again with frozen chocolate sauce. I had this with a cup of espresso and felt like I was in heaven. We enjoyed our dinner and then headed back the short distance to the hotel where we relaxed and watched some more World Cup soccer games. We did a little packing for the next dayh's trip and then went to bed.

TO SOMMA LOMBARDO AND HEADING FOR HOME

Our next day was mostly consumed by travel and moving into or out of hotels. We had a good breakfast at the hotel and checked out. We walked the short distance to the train station and got on our train heading to Milano. The trip was closing the large circle we started when we left Milano on the way to Bra and we had covered a lot of miles in those few days. At Milano we had to catch a second train heading out into the suburbs and what appeared to be some run down industrial areas. At another small station we transferred to our last train that took us the final short (12 minute) leg of the trip to Somma Lombardo.

The trip to Somma Lombardo was long and tiring considering we were only coming from Venice. Once we were off the train we didn't know where to go to find the hotel although it was supposed to be on the same road as the train station. That gave us three roads to choose from and we chose the wrong one. I managed use my limited Italian to ask a local lady for directions and she was happy to give directions -- which I understood (mostly) and Jill understood even more. So we backtracked and finally found the hotel just where the lady said it would be...200 meters up the other road on the left. We checked in and got to our room and pretty much collapsed. We had not eaten since breakfast and were hungry but there was nothing open since it was that quiet (naptime) time of the afternoon when most of the service operations close down for a few hours. We watched a World Cup game and rested for a while. The adjoining restaurant was scheduled to open at 7 PM and were there pretty quickly after they opened. We both ordered pizza - which was really good - and I had another Italian beer. The waitress-manager-owner didn't speak English but we were able to communicate without any problems. We headed back to our room and wantched some more soccer. Soccer wasn't the only game on TV...we watched bocce and some kind of billiards played by hand without a cue.

Next morning, day 11, we had a good breakfast at the hotel....one of the best of the trip. Our checkout was painless but we discovered that they charged 22 Euros for the shuttle ride to the airport - 10 minutes away. That seemed steep and they said nothing about a charge for the shuttle until we checked in....nothing in the reservation or web page information. OK - we just wanted to get to the hotel on time. They got us loaded up and then there was some confusion about who was going to drive. The old man who was the driver decided he didn't want to drive so a young woman was pressed into service and she did a good job of getting us to the airport. We allowed plenty of time so we were not worried. the Airport - Malpensa - seemed to be inefficiently set up so that international passengers had to parade around from pillar to post but that might be partially because of the location of the Delta Airlines desk. The security check went OK and we made it to the gate with time to spare.

We were flying during the daytime and we were pretty much awake for the whole flight to JFK in New York. They had a good selection of in-flight movies and I enjoyed a movie called "The Last Station" about Leo Tolstoy. We flew over France and saw some of the channel islands (Gurnsey?) as we crossed over the English Channel. Our flight was pretty uneventful....food was served and it was the same stuff we had on the flight over. We were a little confused at the JFK Airport after we went through customs because we had to go to a different terminal for our next flight. We expected that but then we had to take the little terminal train and then trudge out the door and cross a busy street to get to the final terminal where our gate was. That seemed a little bit much and there were no helpful directions on where we needed to go. We got to the gate and had to wait a long time before they were ready to board our flight. We were about an hour late leaving JFK on our waw to Memphis.

In Memphis we were already running very late and were afraid we would miss our flight to St. Louis. We ended up running through the terminal because, of course, the gates were not anywhere close together. We sprinted up to the gate and mede it just in time. We got to our seats and had only a few minutes to spare before the plane left the gate.

In St. Louis we discovered that Jill's suitcase didn't make it. We had last seen it in New York but they (Delta) couldn't tell where it was and thay didn't think it made the trip to Memphis. We saw my suitcase being loaded on the St. Louis flight in Memphis (somehow it beat us to the gate) but didn't see Jill's and just assumed it was already loaded. So Jill made a claim and they said they would find it and get it to her home in Jefferson City within a day or so.

We ended up having to take a taxi to our motel because the shuttle wasn't running but the motel paid the cost. We ate at the adjouining Dennys and then went to our room and went to bed.

We headed back to Jefferson City the next day and were home before noon....the end of a wonderful trip.