July 7th and 8th (So quite a while ago) we had our last group cultural trip, and the only one outside of Tuscany. We went to Perugia, the capital city of the neighboring Umbria region. It wasn't quite as intensive of a cultural experience, but still very enjoyable.
At night, we set out to explore the city. We found dinner that was passable, but not the best. The best thing about the night was probably the street performers. There was a jazz festival for the next day, and the streets were filled with buskers, from jazz to juggling to a clown who made up for a lack of skill with a loud and slightly abrasive personality. We had a lot of fun just walking through the streets and people-watching, before finishing out the night in a bar overlooking the valley.
The next morning we boarded another bus to Assisi, to see St. Francis’s Basilica, and the church of St. Clare. Since it was Sunday, we could hear the worship service as we went through the tour. We saw a great many frescos, and our guide gave excellent perspective and information on the things we saw. I spent a lot of time on this trip wondering how he knew so much, because he took us everywhere, and seemed to know a great deal about everywhere we went. The basilica was gorgeous, and somewhat ironic, given that St. Francis preached poverty for monks. I’m somewhat fascinated by Catholicism, so I had a really good time.
A lesson from the trip as a whole: forget diamonds, frescoes are forever.
Following a very pleasant lunch, and another deathly hot bus ride, we arrived at our final cultural trip destination: the Perugina chocolate factory. YUM!! If you’ve ever had a Baccio, this is where they are made. We took a production tour (not hugely exciting), and tasted the many free product samples (really really exciting). We were then presented with free gifts (crunch bars, so kind of exciting), and packed onto the bus home to Siena, for what was probably my laziest weekend of the entire trip.
We arrived in Perugia on Wednesday, and spent that morning touring the city with our umbrian guide, Alessandro. We saw many old buildings, from both the roman and etruscan periods. Much admiration of fortresses and churches, and the views are beautiful! Like Siena, Perugia is built on a hill, so there are places where you can see the whole valley. It was a very relaxing tour, not only because we had a good guide, but also because the streets in Perugia are about twice as wide as the streets in Siena. It’s amazing what a difference the visual space made in the feel of the city.
After the tour, we visited a bakery that had been active since the mid 1800’s and enjoyed tiny fruit tarts before lunching at a restaurant that clearly wasn’t prepared to handle a party of out size.
In the afternoon, we boarded an ungodly hot bus to visit the small neighboring town of Bevagna. Bevagna is home to a medieval crafts fair, so we toured the workshops and saw silk spinning, wood painting, candle making, papermaking and an apothecary, where the traditional manufacturing techniques are preserved. It was very interesting, but I was so tired that I almost fell asleep at one or two points. Bevagna is in general a sleepy town: we saw very few people.
At night, we set out to explore the city. We found dinner that was passable, but not the best. The best thing about the night was probably the street performers. There was a jazz festival for the next day, and the streets were filled with buskers, from jazz to juggling to a clown who made up for a lack of skill with a loud and slightly abrasive personality. We had a lot of fun just walking through the streets and people-watching, before finishing out the night in a bar overlooking the valley.
The next morning we boarded another bus to Assisi, to see St. Francis’s Basilica, and the church of St. Clare. Since it was Sunday, we could hear the worship service as we went through the tour. We saw a great many frescos, and our guide gave excellent perspective and information on the things we saw. I spent a lot of time on this trip wondering how he knew so much, because he took us everywhere, and seemed to know a great deal about everywhere we went. The basilica was gorgeous, and somewhat ironic, given that St. Francis preached poverty for monks. I’m somewhat fascinated by Catholicism, so I had a really good time.
A lesson from the trip as a whole: forget diamonds, frescoes are forever.
Following a very pleasant lunch, and another deathly hot bus ride, we arrived at our final cultural trip destination: the Perugina chocolate factory. YUM!! If you’ve ever had a Baccio, this is where they are made. We took a production tour (not hugely exciting), and tasted the many free product samples (really really exciting). We were then presented with free gifts (crunch bars, so kind of exciting), and packed onto the bus home to Siena, for what was probably my laziest weekend of the entire trip.
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