After two days in Venice and empty wallets we travelled by train to Assisi via Florence. I don't know why I chose Assisi. We had five to six days to spend somewhere before we caught up with friends in Florence. Assisi caught my interest because it was in Umbria, a new area for me, and I guess because I was raised a catholic and St Francis held a special place in my learnings about saints and significant figures. For me St Francis did not represent a religion but a way of living. Assisi reflected that so beautifully. The city of peace and one of three main pilgrimage sites for catholics around the world, Assisi is set high on its own rocky mountain beautifully laced together by ancient streets, repaired after a significant earthquake in the 1990's. The view down over Umbria is magical, and like India, when the light is right, one cannot take a bad photograph.
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| The view from just in front of our apartment. |
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| Selfie with Ada mid way through a long walk. |
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| Geraniums were de rigueur everywhere. |
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| Just out of church and time for a giggle! |
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| Early evening light over Umbria. |
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| An aperitif, prosecco, acqua con gasse and a biscotti...perfecto. |
I found the main sites to be overwhelmed with tour groups and the noise and bustle they bring with them. You know, thirty people listening to one person who holds a talking stick with a fake orange raccoon tail on the top.
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| Ada enjoying one of many cheese platters! |
We walked through the countryside along pilgrimage paths, ate what became an educated and amazing variety of pecorino cheese and enjoyed the peace that came from people doing day trips and leaving dodge before sunset. Back to the cheese...a standard meal was a platter of perfectly shaped triangles, three varieties of pecorino with two little bowls, one for honey and one for a jam, preferably a pear jelly. Strange until you have tried it!
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| Fascinated by a branch covered in hundreds of pieces of gum! |
It took a lot to get Lucy out of our comfortable little apartment and into the town. A trip to il Rocco was one such occasion Just look at the joy my girls get from such significant sights. Oh, no thats right, it was just another castle for them. The thing they enjoyed most was finding a tree branch covered in hundreds of pieces of chewing gum! The next most significant event for Ada and Lucy was a lunch time meal we took at a little restaurant with a magnificent view over the Umbrian countryside. Suspicions were raised when the menu did not reflect what was available but when all meals arrived in 'freezer to microwave to table plates' I realised we were duped. Grosse and expensive! But a good laugh too. Do not go to the cafe at the top of Vicolo San Lorenzo!
And then to Florence, as expectation mounted. Tomorrow we would see our dear friends, Katrina, Mya and Elena. Shopping first though and Lucy was keen to locate Sephora and anything else big brand. Forget the Duomo, David, The Uffizi or anything else that resembles education and culture. She was on a mission and that mission was in the form of a list that required ticks next to each item. I felt sorry for me!
Still, I did not let her determination dampen my joy at being back in one of my fave cities. I continued Chris and my early morning tradition of a run (or walk) and went out exploring before the tourists hit their well worn paths. The streets of Florence and the popular tourist haunt of the Ponte Vecchio look so peace filled before 8am.
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| Early morning in Florence. |
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| The Ponte Vecchio before it gets wall to wall tourists. |
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The Galileo Museum had enough stimulation for all ages.
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The Museo Galileo was not crowded and after my shock of being charged adult prices for Lucy...must carry her passport...we really enjoyed the place.
We chose a well rated small hotel to spend the majority of our time in Florence. Hotel David was perfect for our needs and we thoroughly enjoyed cocktail hour each evening as we watched Ada devour the olives, and anything else within reach! It was such a delight to see good friends after a few weeks away from Mumbai. The girls bonded happily, although the destination was not important to them at all.
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| At the Uffizi. Do they look bored? |
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| Ada has taken to photographing her favourite meals, just like her Mamma. |
The real holiday started when we got to il Paretaio (http://www.ilparetaio.it/). This was what our girls really wanted. Three days of horse riding in the Tuscan Countryside. I mean really...all those stories of how beautiful the Tuscan vistas are does not prepare you for how beautiful they truly are! Our choice in Horse riding places was rewarded from the moment we arrived. The girls were in Girly Heaven...not the Lucy Sephora inspired kind but the Horsey kind. Everything was very professional on the horse riding front and the girls knew the rules right from day one and enjoyed their five lessons immensely. I really have not seen Lucy so happy being given instruction and working hard to do her best. Both Lucy and Ada rode Espoir. A lovely gentle horse that rose to the needs of both an eight year old beginner and a fifteen year old aspiring rider. Ada cried and cried on leaving Espoir behind.
Il Paretaio was full of returnees. Everyone seemed to know someone who had been before and for good reason. The food was marvellous with the cooks catering to every kind of dietary requirement one could imagine and providing variety to boot. The accommodation was comfortable and the Equestrian Centre impressive. The pool was an essential for the girls as it was hot but relief also came a couple of times in the form of spectacular late afternoon thunder and lightening storms.
