Perugia

After a long nights sleep we all woke refreshed. We headed down to the breakfast area at the hotel where we ate a hearty breakfast. We checked out of the hotel then walked to the Termini railway station which was less than 10 minutes away. We had planned to catch the 1053 train leaving Rome to Perugia. We however had a last minute change of plan and checked out the rental cars. At the Hertz counter we were told that all the cars were manual. At that point we are almost ready to head back to catch the train. We were struggling to communicate with him our needs. We decided to try budget avis instead. More queuing. The Avis lady was a lot better. She immediately offered us an automatic car on a good deal. We picked up the car from a nearby garage where the lift had broken down so there was more queuing again for only lift working. We collected the car - a brand new Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 d shooting brake. Very comfortable with the same controls as my regular car. We waited a while to get the GPS fixed then we were off driving on the streets of Rome. This is not for the faint of heart, driving on the opposite side of the road with crazy Italian drivers all coming at you from every direction beeping their horns. Fortunately it was Saturday late morning and there wasn't too much traffic on the road. John really had to keep his wits about him as we managed to get out of the center of Rome and onto the main highway leading to Florence. The local drivers all ignore the speed limits. The maximum speed seems to be about 130 km per Hour. At least that's what the GPS indicated. After a while we got used to the roads. About one hour outside of room we stopped at a roadside service area where we bought some supplies. We arrived in Perugia at around 230 that afternoon. The hotel is located on the outskirts of the town about 4 km . We could see the historic center of Perugia on the nearby hillside from the hotel. Perugia is the capital of Umbria.

The kids and John had a swim at the swimming pool. The water was very cold. After that we headed into the historic part of the city. It was a struggle to find a car park. After about a 500 m walk up steep steps and along narrow cobblestone streets we came upon a church where a wedding was being held. Further on from here we found an escalator. At the top of the escalator we emerged inside a fortress. We explored many of the cavenous rooms some of which had been used as a gallery to display art work. Above this area there are many grand buildings and a large plaza. After having happy hour drinks at a sidewalk cafe we ate at Al Tartufo. Not surprisingly given the name of this restaurant it specialized in the local truffles. I was informed by the restaurant owner that there are five different varieties of truffles that can be found near and around Perugia. Tonight we had black truffles. Delicious food. It was almost dark when we finished. We found our way down the hill to the car. Then back to the hotel and sleep. The next day we would be driving to Florence.Read more