My (future) house in Umbria...

Me in Todi

So this weekend marked the final weekend of Orientation...which we celebrated by touring Umbria!!!

So whenever I return to Italy to do whatever it is I do to get to return to Italy, I'm living either in Roma or Spoleto.

We started out bright and early Friday morning getting on buses (four huge tour buses) and traveling to Todi. Todi is a medieval town with wonderful vistas, glorious churchs (with connections to St. Francis of Assissi), and a long walk up a hill to get to it.

We then went to Spoleto - we never got an official tour of the city but it is the one I explored the most because our hotel was located there (yeah, I got to stay in a four star hotel called the Hotel dei Duchi...which I recommend should you ever be in Spoleto).

Anywho, Spoleto is a wonderfully musical town. The Roman Amphitheater located there is still used, opera is huge there, and this awesome little bar called Tric Trac had live jazz both nights we were there.

Imagine it - sitting on the steps of Piazza del Duomo, just in front of a beautiful cathedral built around 1200, beneath a castle, listening to jazz, sipping a glass of wine. Awesome. We did that both  Friday and Saturday nights.

Saturday we went to Gubbio. This is another medieval town that has a very special festival every year. At this point medieval towns (though awesome) were getting a bit less exciting...especially since to get anywhere in Gubbio you have to climb up...However, I purchased a very pretty necklace there.

Following this (and some lost students) we went to an olive oil tasting - BEST BUFFET FOOD EVER. We were late (we arrived when we were supposed to be leaving) but still we toured the olive oil mill and then the food...We thought that the food brought out was what we were getting, which would have been fine because it was amazing and delicious and wonderful, but no!!! It was only the antipasti (first) course! We had a pasta course, a meat course, and fruit for dessert! It was so wonderful and the hosts were so nice. The moon was almost full and you could see stars...che bella.

I bought some olive oil. It was voted the best tasting in Italy.

Finally, Sunday. We left our hotel and traveled to Perugia, home of Bacci chocolates. Yum. Then we went to lunch. Which was a wine tasting. At a vineyard. Which was the best meal of the weekend. And best wine. And best dessert. And yum.

Jealous? You should be. I'll never get to go on another trip like this.

Coming up:

A day in the life of a student studying in Roma...
What I'm reading...
Trials and Tribulations concerning Insurance and Banks
Did I make it to Venice?

Love,
Mari