Gubbio, Perugia, Assisi

Since the boys are on holiday (until January 7), we decided to take advantage of a few days free from school/soccer/life requirements. So we scooted south until we left Tuscany and entered Umbria. We squeezed in a visit to Gubbio, taking our time to walk the streets stairs. We found a gorgeous park and poked our heads into the baroque-heavy church.

Next was Perugia, where the boys enjoyed the hotel pool before we headed up into the city. We walked the streets during the passegiata, getting a feel for the long descending stairs, finding the infamous 5k aqueduct (now a footpath) and selecting individual Perugia chocolates for tasting (Caleb found one with marshmallow, Anthony chose strawberry, James' was studded with hazelnuts and mine was filled with caramel).

We cannot help the pull to buy souvenirs, Anthony has a rapidly growing collection of painted tiles (with city names---and now one with St. Francis' prayer) and Caleb seeks out the gems/mineral stores in each city. In Gubbio he purchased Bizno---a rock that grows with straight lines and is metallic/shimmery. I bought a tiny little ceramic creamer---I couldn't resist the tiny bird motif.

On day two we woke up to snow and cold. Fortunately we had explored Perugia the night before, so we gathered out belongings and drove to Assisi. My only regret is that we didn't have more time in Assisi (had to return for soccer games that same night). Assisi is touristy for obvious reasons, but the city has embraced that fact and in many ways beautified their city (due to the time of year and the weather, we were lucky that the tourists had slowed to a mere trickle). They have an impressive parking garage, lovely cafes, numerous well-kept shops and quite a few art galleries.

We fell in love with one artist's work, and would have loved to have purchased a piece. Perhaps one day we will order one; check out Massimo Cruciani.

Anthony summarized it well: Assisi was special because of their unique churches. They have 'a church inside of a church,' and a 'church on top of a church.' Which is true! Assisi's original tiny little hamlet church resides inside a large cathedral (this is below/outside the city). It was surreal.

San Francesco is the church in Assisi (it includes one church on top of another), where you can still go at midnight to experience the monks' cantor. The 'bottom' church is glorious, well-kept and beautifully frescoed. This original church, Caleb noticed, was in the shape of a Greek cross. It was built by the Franciscan brothers; the church on top is more traditional in shape and height, with frescoes depicting St. Francis' life. We bought little wooden crucifixes, postcards and snapped photos among the flitting snowflakes.

Lucca, Civita, Orvieto, Montalcino

Yes four cities! We are just now realizing how much we packed in when Oma and Opa were here. Besides soaking up the Christmas festivities, and fitting in some great museums (Bargello, Pitti Palace, the Duomo Museum) and seeing some glorious churches (Trinita, Duomo, San Ferdinando), we also managed to drive to a few cities. Here are the highlights:

Lucca.
I confess, our memories of Lucca are influenced by walking around with very cold, very wet feet. It snowed! And it was very slushy and well, we don't have great shoes for snow. But despite the numb toes, we loved Lucca. Holiday lights adorned the city, a little ice rink was set up in the piazza, we popped our heads into 3 churches and generally followed our noses. I was taken with the 'cute' shops which means kitchen goods and ceramics... we ate a cozy mid afternoon meal, found a full-blown Christmas market (and bought sweaters for 10 euros each), window shopped during the passegiata and then warmed our toes by the car heater all the way home (while snacking on chocolate).

Civita di Bagnoregio.
Ugh, how do I even start? For James, this is one of the most nostalgic cities in all of Tuscany... Italy... the world. He spent two summers in this antiquated, raindrop-sized hill-top town (seriously---the only access is by a footbridge). The first, as an architecture student for University of Washington; the second, as a graduate assistant for the same program. This visit was my first, as well as a first for Anthony, Caleb and James' parents. It was small, quaint, surreal. It was easy to imagine his affection for this little hilltop town.

Orvieto. 
We have visited Orvieto before, and loved it just as much the second time around. We revisited some favorite spots (Duomo, ceramic shops, streets); we stopped in too many ceramic shops, the boys bought rubber band guns, and went to mass at the Duomo.

Montalcino.
I have been craving a visit to this town: so far, it makes my favorite wines in all of Italy. We have tasted the gamut (not super-high end, but a variety per se) of wines from around Tuscany and I find this region's wines to be consistently sublime. The Brunellos are expensive and worth it. The Rosso's from Montalcino are more obtainable and still a safe bet for satisfying your palate. Wines aside, the town was lovely! We walked the wall on top of the tower, peered through streets, and found some lovely shops and a nice dinner.

En route.
I couldn't leave out our little side trips. En route from Orvieto to Montalcino, James was magnetized to a tower a top a hill: so we took a tiny detour in the name of discovery. Sadly, the last little gate to the tower was closed. But the tiny town was adorable, full of little nativity displays, adorable small streets and shops and wreaked of authenticity (what is a tourist?). We think Radicofani was a Medici strong-hold.

We were enthralled with the Tuscan landscapes, stopping on more than one occasion to snap photos. We rolled down windows to oooh and ahhhh. There it was: the picture in your mind of Tuscan landscapes, with rolling green hills, cyprus trees lining the sky and a token villa standing on top of it all.

Among the many detours and photo-ops, we also stopped [all too briefly] at BATHS. I will be honest, it is a goal of mine to visit 'baths.' There are token hot-springs, resorts-with-hot-springs, cities-boasting-hot-springs speckled across Tuscany. And I mean to visit at least one while here. And by visit I don't mean the 20 minute photo-op-drive-by-wistful-yearning-see-how-the-rich-live we achieved this time... It was beautiful, romantic, with paths strewn about for when you chose to stroll instead of bath. And beautiful cafes for when you decided to dine instead of bathe... Very nearly the definition of luxury; some day I will have to return to Bagno Vignoni for an overnight visit.

Sometimes we are busy with school and career routines, writing, fretting, doing this or that. But despite real or imagined pressures on our lives (and trust me, there are both), we never regret a day trip, overnight trip, spontaneous diversion or even a simple 30 minute walk out our own door. And often that is reason enough to frolic.


If you want to see more, peek at our photo albums:

Lucca
Orvieto, Civita, Montalcino

Babbo Natale and La Befana

We had a lovely Christmas, and filled up our tree with hand-crafted ornaments and our ceiling with paper-cut snowflakes. We ate panettone---the Italian Christmas cake---and visited our nearby Christmas festival many times over the course of 3 weeks (where we bought metal sculptures, slippers, bratwurst, minerals/gemstones, a hat, Dutch cheese, larger than life pretzels, bags of candy, mulled wine, German-made wooden nativities and apple strudel). 

We exchanged names (6 people---our family of 4 plus James' parents---drew 2 names each), and set a 10 euro limit. Half the fun was being sneaky, then wrapping everything with paper, bags and string we had on hand. We went to mass at the Duomo on Christmas eve. And it wouldn't be Christmas without a visit from Santa Claus. Anthony and Caleb each found a stocking 'hung with care' on a nearby window. It was full of chocolate and fireworks (big deal here for New Years eve!), little soccer clocks, paints and brushes, and tiny little glass fish.

But here in Italy, Santa Claus goes by Babbo Natale. And we are convinced he collaborated with La Befana (the "Christmas Witch" is pictured on the stockings). If you are a child in Italy, you may very well have visits from these two holiday icons. On Christmas Eve, Italian children hope for a visit from Babbo, and his female counterpart is likely to visit on January 6.

Legend has it that La Befana (meaning: Giver of Gifts) was an old Italian grandma-type, happily cleaning her house, when three men showed up at her door. Yes, the three wise men. Myth says she took them in and fed them. As they left---to continue their journey to find the Christ child---they invited her to join them. She stayed, apparently to tidy up her home (think: broom).

Not long after they left, she regretted that she had not joined them. So she left---broom in hand---to catch up with them. She ran so fast, looking and searching for them... eventually she was zooming on her broom. To this day, she leaves little gifts for girls and boys on January 5, the eve of the Epiphany.

The name Befana is also rumored to be a mispronunciation of the Italian word epifania which stands for epiphany. La Befana fills childrens' stockings with candy or a lump of coal. It is also believed that she sweeps the floor before she leaves. Many households leave her a small glass of wine and a small plate of goodies.

Thanks to La Befana, Babbo Natale, and an extended visit from James' parents (Oma and Opa), our Christmas was full of wine, plates of goodies, little gifts, stockings and I confess... a bit of sweeping.

(P.S. if you want to peek at our Christmas Album, you can find it here).
(P.P.S. please forgive this tecnorati code: PJ4MSZPANCRJ)