After a day of exploring Florence, it was off to Perugia, the capitol city of Umbria, a province directly to the south of Tuscany. The train ride featured spectacular views of mountains and rolling hills for roughly 30 minutes, before the fog prohibited seeing more than five feet out the window. This made us a bit weary, both of missing our stop, and of having our plans to explore a seemingly spectacular hill town derailed (hopefully not literally) by the weather. When we arrived in Perugia, this was the view:
I should add that with the Cathedral bells ringing in the background, I felt like I was in London (see you there in FIVE DAYS!).
Surrendering to the thick, musky fog that the snowman from Rudolph would easily dub "Pea Soup", we headed for a caffe to sample more hot chocolate. Now, the hot chocolate in Firenze is good, and is arguably better than anything you can get in the states. But Perugia is a city known for its chocolates and sweets. Predictably, the cup of "ciocolatta calda con banane" was even more delectable than it's Florentine counterpart:
But the hot chocolate didn't dissipate the fog. So we proceeded to walk up and down the medieval streets of Perugia, over cobble stones and under Etruscan arches, until we found this place:
Frenky Banana, the 70+ year old restaraunt owner, donning a three piece red suit complete with pocket square, promptly escorted us to our table. Immiediatly, we noticed that above the table hung a picture of him and Don King, the American legendary boxing promoter. There were many other pictures of Frenky Banana next to legends of boxing. It turns out that this man, who was now cooking us Tortellini and Lasagna, is a former Italian boxing champion. The parallels with the movie "Rocky Balboa" were simply unavoidable. What a character! A seventy year old man with the ability to swiftly knock your teeth out or cook you a hand-rolled, hand-stuffed plate of Tortellini con Carne!
Following lunch, the sun came out. So naturally, the first place we went was an indoor art gallery. The Galleria Nazionale d'Umbria is the region's most comprehensive art museum, featuring works from Perugino, the native early Renaissance painter. Perugino's style is perhaps most identifiable by his floating baby heads. Whenever Perugino paints a religious figure, they are inseparable from a heavenly chorus of baby's heads randomly flying around! The other amazing part of the museum was the setting. Housed inside of the medieval Palazzo Priori, the museum retains its medieval character with modern innovations to give you a perfect balance of the old and the new. Throughout the galleries are spectacular views of the Umbrian hillside and the medieval buildings that surround the palace.
Finally, the time came to walk through the Perugian streets, soaking in its medieval character and delighting in the sunshine that had finally blanketed the city surrounded by fields that would be best described by Sting and the Police. Up and down some steep hills, we heard accordions, watched as storekeepers opened their businesses and swept out the steps, and saw many cats (Il gato e sopra la macchina!)
This tale ends, once again with gelato. Specifically, the same gelato I had enjoyed so much in Florence the day before. Right next to a scenic outlook where once can look on to snow capped mountains and centuries old towers was GROM Gelato. It was too perfect of a way to end the trip.
Or was it?
No, it was not. Because just as we were about to leave for the train station, we heard Miley Cyrus' epic composition "Party in the USA" blaring from an American bar. When one hears Miley's moving melodies and heart wrenching lyrics, it's simply impossible to resistjavascript:void(0) the urge to "nod your head like yeah."
Perfect end to the day.
Spring break 6 days away.... English speaking world here I come!9
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