Part 2
Next visit was to Gubbio, a very well preserved toen with remains dating back to Roman times. The day we picked happen to be market day which leads to absolute traffic chaos at the car park next to the roman amphitheatre. The Italian art of parking is like nothing I have seen before but I soon got into the swing of things and squeezed into a tiny space half blocking in 2 cars but I did not worry and 50% of the cars in there were blocked in totally! We had a quick look around the market before heading up into the town proper. Gibbio, like most defended towns in the region, has been built on a steep hill. In Gubbio’s case it is a very steep hill indeed and I would think twice if visiting on a very hot day or if you are not reasonably fit.
There are a number of major buildings to visit including Palazzo dei Consoli, Duomo, Palazzo Ducale, etc. From most places in the town there are stunning views over the surrounding countryside but this is some what spoiled in one corner when you look over the sight of a very large cement works!!!!
If eating try and avoid the establishments close to the main sites, instead head towards the the north west corner to find cheaper and better eating. We then wanted to try out the furnicular railway that takes you to the top of the mountain behind the town, Monte Ingino. This is in fact not a rail way at all but a very basic cable car with open baskets that can accommodate 3 people at a push. So nothing ventured nothing gained we bought tickets and got pushed into the baskets for the 5 minute ride to the top. Interesting ride as you soon realise it is very easy to open the door to the basket! At the top you have to excit the basket whilst on the move. The views are far reaching and the church at the top is a lovely setting. Here you can see the large wooden Ceri that are carried through the streets and then up to the hilltop church in May as part of a festival. Given how steep the hill is it is no mean feat.
Images of Gubbio here:
Wanting something different for the next day we headed towards Lago Trasimeno, a very large shallow lake between Umbria and Tuscany. In the morning we headed to the “beach” at Passignano so the kids could burn of some energy on a pedalo for a few hours and swim in the luke warm water. It is pretty cloudy though.
After lunch we jumped on a ferry out to one of three islands on the lake, we headed for Maggiore Island. This was a fishing community but has a mainly tourist based economy and about 8 cafes/restaurants. In the past the island was famous for the lace that the ladies produced and St Francis stayed there for a short period of time. It is very very quite and a small so a couple of hours is plenty of time. Some of the older female residents do sit out infront of their house on the only street making lace that you can buy if you wish. The lake crossing is short and pleasant.
One of the high lights of the trip was our visit to Assisi. I ummed and aahhed a bit about going as I was concerned about how busy it may be and had heard of people turning away as they could not find anywhere to park. But we took the chance and headed over for mid morning. The car park at the approach to the town at the bottom of the hill was indeed full but we followed the road up the hillside to the centre of town and as luck would have it we found a parking space at the very top right next to the pedestrian area and only a few minutes walk from the The Basilica of St Claire . This was a real bonus but we still did not have time to visit the The Basilica of St Francis and the Sacro Convento. We did plan to come back another day to complete Assisi but did not find the time in the end. I did find the walking very steep here though, especially up to the The Rocca Maggiore but the views made it worthwhile though the skies did threaten a thunder storm at any moment!
The final town we visited was Cortona, again I was worried about crowds, especially the number of Americans thanks to the impact of the book Under a Tuscan Sun by American author Frances Mayes. Indeed as soon as we arrived and parked, again luckily towards the top of the town, American accents could be heard all around. This was the busiest town we visited by a long way and we even struggled to find somewhere to eat and had to wait until 3pm before we could get a table. The town itself is nice but I found it far more commercial and less to my liking. The crowds did not help one bit.
That was enough culture so we then intended to relax around the pool for a few days, but we did nip out one evening to a local winery in the Niccone Valley, La Fattoria I Girasoli di Sant'Andrea. On Monday evenings you can book a wine tasting session of their wine and an English speaking tour of the establishment and vineyards. The tour is either taken by the New Zealand wine maker or an English Guide.
The evening starts with a tasting of Olive Oil and then moves onto the 3 wines made by the estate and one from New Zealand. These are matched with local Umbrian appetizers. You are then taken around the wine making facility and the vineyards to return for a 4 course meal with matched wines. The evening was very pleasant but the food was not as good as local restaurants in our opinion. You can elect not to have the meal and I would do so if I returned.
The rest of the holiday was spent around the pool relaxing or nipping out for lunch or dinner in local restaurants. Our hosts have put together and extensive handbook of local information in each apartment including a list of some 20 odd restaurants with a write of each. This proved very good and we had some fantastic meals in local places which were very reasonably priced. We did not pay more that £55 for four people and prices were normally in the £35 ball park. The quality of the food was excellent and they were very happy to accommodate the children with simple pasta sauces if nothing on the menu suited them.
Over all I found the Umbrian countryside and sites very beautiful and very interesting and it is an area I would return to. It was a very pleasant holiday with no down side, even the return flight home was reasonably painless only delayed by about 2 hours even with all the security checks. Though the checks were a complete farce to be honest and plenty of liquids were taken into the cabin of the airplane!
Driving was interesting at times but not too stressful, you soon realise it is best to fit in with the Italian style of driving rather than fight it and then you get along fine, though I refused to overtake on blind corners no matter how much light flashing went on behind! I think driving with a certain “verve” is the best approach.
English is not widely spoken so language can be a bit tricky at times but we muddled by with a bit of French thrown in for good measure.
Shame it was only two weeks to be honest but if I stayed much longer the waist band of my trousers would have to give a bit due to the great food!
Jerry
