FEMALE NOMAD AND FRIENDS

This week, I learned that the woman who wrote the book that inspired me to risk this adventure as a nomad, Rita Golden Gelman, has written another book….Female Nomad and Friends:  Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World.  Well, she didn’t write the whole thing.  It is, instead, a collection of stories from women (mostly) sharing some of their adventures (mostly travel).  She called for contributions from her seemingly thousands of friends around the world, and then she and a friend selected and edited the hundreds of entries they received.  I’m about halfway through the book, and there are some funny, touching, sad, scary, and inspiring short (mostly very short) stories here.

What’s more, the proceeds from the sale of this book are being donated to a special fund to provide vocational education to high school graduates from the slums of New Delhi, India.  If you follow this link……

http://www.amazon.com/Female-Nomad-Friends-Breaking-Around/dp/0307588017/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368797185&sr=1-1&keywords=rita+golden+gelman

……….and read the first pages of the book, you can learn the details of this philanthropic venture.  I would have purchased the book anyway, but I’m doubly happy because I’ve made a small contribution toward a better future for one of these children.

As an added bonus, there are also some recipes in the book from several different countries.  

ESCALATING SPOLETO

The rain finally stopped, so I hopped on a train to spend the afternoon in Spoleto, another delightful Umbrian town about 40 miles SE of Perugia.  A colony was first formed here in 241 B.C.  Imagine that!  It's taken 2,254 years for it to grow to a population of about 39,000.  Spoleto is built on a foothill of the Apennines at an elevation of about 1300 feet.  

This fortress rests at the top of the hill.  The train station, of course, is at 0 feet.  But no mountain goat muscles needed today.  See those things snaking up the hill?

They cover the 8 of these escalators that eventually deliver you almost to the top of the hill where the fortress sits.  There's an elevator that takes you the rest of the way.  I knew that before I got here, because you know there's no way I'd climb 1,300 feet of steps to get anywhere, except maybe into heaven.



There weren't many tourists in town today...there were only 6 or 7 other people wandering around the fortress, which dates back to 1370.  

This is an inside courtyard.  You can see that the 15th century frescoes are a little worse for the wear.

There was an inside room where the walls had been covered with frescoes, but most are so damaged you can't even tell what they might have depicted.  

There were parts of a couple where you could make out the scene.

Another that is much larger than it appears here.

The views from the fortress were stunning.  This is from the room where the above frescoes were.  

I don't know what this is, but it's very photogenic.  I love the red poppies that you see all over Tuscany and Umbria.




By now it's after 1 p.m., and I know all the churches will be closed for "pranzo", so I decided to find the ristorante that rated #1 on Trip Advisor.  And I did find it, but unfortunately, it was closed.  So I went in search of a trattoria that had a very good review.  It took me about 20 minutes to find it, because the town folk didn't recognize the street name.  The last people I asked were a work crew doing some street repair.  I approached 3 men who were standing together and asked if they knew where Via Flitteria was.  "Non lo so" (I don't know) was the response from all three.  I turned around and noticed a restaurant with an outdoor patio just down the hill a bit, and it was the trattoria I was trying to find.  This work crew was standing right below the street sign, which I didn't notice either.

Again, I forgot to take pictures, but I had a delicious lunch of pasta with wild asparagus and prosciutto and a decadent dessert of puff pastry filled with cream and topped with mixed berries.  At least the menu said it was mixed berries.  It looked like just one kind of berry to me.  When I asked the waiter what kind of berry it was, he said there were blueberries and cranberries and some other berry I didn't recognize.  Excuse me, but I know what a blueberry looks like, and there weren't any in that dessert.  So I don't know what the berry was, but it was delish!  And the bread was great--there was one kind with black olives and one with walnuts, a nice change from the usual plain white.

I did some backtracking to see the main cathedral of Spoleto--the Duomo.  There were several art students in the piazza making drawings of it.

It had a beautiful altar, modest by Assisi standards, but still impressive.

Soleto is a town filled with arches.  They're everywhere....in the fortress...

Opening the way to piazzas......

Curving above side streets..I don't think I've seen so many in any other place.

There were other churches I might have seen; and had there been time, I would definitely have taken the 3 kilometer hike to see this fabulous bridge.

But I didn't feel pressured to rush and see everything, because I was truly enjoying the relaxed pace of the afternoon and there was no disappointment that I missed a few sights.  

It's strange sometimes what makes a great impression.  These are the steps I walked down from the second floor of that courtyard in the fortress.  I could feel the wear of the millions of feet that trod down these stairs over the centuries.  You can see how worn and uneven they are.  It's the same shivery feeling I had when I saw the chariot ruts in the stone roads of Pompei.  There's history here beyond what we know in our country, and I feel connected to it when in the presence of what's been so carefully preserved through the ages by a people who deeply respect its traces.  

FOUL WEATHER

It's been raining in Perugia for three days, so I haven't made any side trips yet this week.  Tomorrow, I'm going somewhere by bus or train.  Monday and Tuesday, I just caught up on emails, did some research on little towns in Umbria, and watched a lot of movies on Youtube.  I watched BBC's six part Pride and Prejudice series, which is probably about the fourth time I've seen it, but I just can't get enough of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.  There's a scene when Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle are dining at Pemberly, and after dinner, she's turning the pages of the sheet music for Darcy's younger sister, who's playing her new pianoforte.  Colin Firth casts a perfect look of achy longing in Elizabeth's direction, and it's just too, too romantic.  There was so much unsaid in Victorian times.  It's no wonder there were so many misunderstandings.  

Anyway, I love Colin Firth and I'm happy his talent was recognized with an Oscar last year for his amazing performance in The King's Speech.  I watched him again in Bridget Jones, too.  I really wasn't in the mood for visiting museums, even though rainy days are really perfect for that.

After a couple of days of enjoying a sluggish existence, I got off my duff today and went to the Galleria Nazionale dell' Umbria.  The collection there was about 95% Umbrian religious art from the 13th through the 19th century.  

I spent a couple of hours wandering through the 30 plus rooms which are housed in the Palazzo dei Priori, a very impressive Gothic building.  

I wasn't that familiar with the artists represented there--maybe my niece would have recognized some of the names, art history major that she is.  The collection includes masterpieces by the Maestro di San Francesco, Arnolfo di Cambio, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Duccio di Buoninsegna, Gentile da Fabriano, Beato Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli, Piero della Francesca, Agostino di Duccio, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, a large group of paintings by Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino, in addition to works by Pinturicchio, Orazio Gentileschi, Pietro da Cortona, and Valentin de Boulogne.  (Anyone you recognize, Shelley?)

Anyway, I couldn't take pictures and I'm not feeling inclined to hunt for any on the Internet.  Just wanted to go on record as saying, I think I'm getting weary of religious art.  Too much of anything can be tiresome...except maybe gelato!

ASSISI--A PRAY FREE ZONE

I woke up to a beautiful day yesterday and decided to take a train trip.  Assisi is only a 20 minute train ride away, and that seemed to be a good choice.  

So I caught a bus to the train station and got on this train.....

...and sat in one of these seats and before I knew it, I was there.  




I went to the information station where I was helped by a man from the Bay Area in California.  He gave me a history lesson on St. Francis of Assisi, offered some good advice on how to navigate the town in order to avoid as much uphill climbing as possible (and you know how much I appreciated that!), marked up my map with his illegible script, and then charged me a euro for it.  

I caught a bus to the highest portal of entry to the town and proceeded downward to explore.  It was now around 11:30 a.m., two hours from when I set foot outside my apartment.  

My first stop was the Basilica di Santa Chiara, a 13th century church that houses the relics of St. Clare, friend and protege of St. Francis of Assisi.  St.Clare was the daughter of a count in Assisi and followed the example of St. Francis against her parents wishes.  She founded a community of women religious called the Poor Clares.

Because of a vision she had while bed-ridden, she was named patron saint of television by a modern Pope in 1958 and is also the patron saint of sore eyes.  

Her tomb is in this church, as well as a number of her relics.




I wasn't aware of it, but the town was in the midst of preparations for Calendimaggio, a three-day festival celebrating the arrival of spring.  I could see evidence everywhere as I entered the main piazza where performance events were to take place.  

There were bleachers on one side of the piazza, where I sat to take this photo of the building opposite, which was decorated with colorful flags.  It was lunchtime now, and most of the churches were closed for "pranzo" until 2:00 or 2:30 p.m., so I decided to eat in a trattoria in this piazza. 



I don't know why I keep forgetting to take pictures of food, especially unusual dishes like what I had for lunch--grilled cheese topped with bacon. This wasn't a grilled cheese sandwich.  It was a thick slice of local caciotta cheese that was grilled to delicious crustiness and topped with what the menu called "streaky bacon".  Grilled eggplant, zucchini, and yellow pepper were served on the side.  It was molto bueno.

After lunch, I visited Chiesa Nuova, a church built in 1615 on the site of the presumed birthplace of St. Francis, the home of his  father, Pietro di Bernardone.

This is said to be an original door of the home and is on a level below the church.

Another door, more decorative.

And the altar in the church...beautiful.  











Next, I headed for Basilica di San Francesco, the plum of Assisi.  It's at the bottom of the hill that Assisi is built upon.  

On the way downward, I saw more evidence of festival preparations... people in medival dress, like these three lovely girls. 

And lots and lots of flags decorating buildings along the way.  

Then it is before me, the magnificent Basilica di San Francesco.  St. Francis was the son of a prosperous silk merchant and lived the "high life" typical of a wealthy young man.  While going off to war in 1204, he had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life and subsequently lived in poverty.  

He preached in the streets of Assisi and amassed followers, including St. Clare.  His Franciscan order was authorized by the Pope in 1210. He is present everywhere in this town.  
I wonder what he would think of this namesake cathedral. It has an upper and a lower part, and both are pretty grand. In the upper part, there are several frescoes that tell the story his life.

Pictures weren't allowed here, and there were frequent reminders to keep silent.  I can't describe the grandeur of this place.  It's enormous and there's a lot to take in, not just with your eyes, but with your spirit as well.  I can't describe the feeling I had sitting quietly in one of the pews.  Maybe it was awe.

St. Francis' tomb is here.  His stone coffin is enshrined in an open space above the altar in the lower part of the cathedral.  In the early 20th century, his most faithful brothers were entombed in the corners of the wall around this altar.

St. Francis is one of two patron saints of Italy and is also the patron saint of animals and the environment.

My last stop was the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.  Here you see this chiesetta (little church) of Porzuincola within a grand church.  St. Francis was given this small 9th century church by Benedictine monks.

Here it is in the perspective of its enormous house.  Amazing!  Behind it, to the right, is the small hut where St. Francis died in 1226.  He was pronounced a saint two years later.  There are a number of his relics housed here.



I was very impressed that I didn't have to pay one euro to enter any of these grand churches.  I think there was only one I saw in Florence that didn't have an entry fee.  So it was a "pray free" day.

One regret--I didn't go up to the top of the hill to see what that building was.  I learned later that it's a fortress--Rocca Maggiore.  Maybe another day.

All through the day, I encountered panoramic views like this.  It was a really lovely day, and I think you can feel the spirit of St. Francis in the streets of Assisi.

On the bus ride back down to the train station, a "controller" came on board to check that everyone had a valid ticket.  I've experienced this maybe three or four times in Italy.  If you don't have a valid ticket, which cost all of one euro, you're fined 30.99 euro if you pay within 60 days, or 90.64 euro after that.  I wonder who picked those numbers?  One young man was removed from the bus by the controller, and, I'm assuming, was given a fine.  It wasn't a blessed day for him.

I wish I could have seen some of the festival performances scheduled for the evening, but it cost 40 euros for entry, and I wouldn't have been able to see much before the last train back to Perugia to make it worth that.  I was thinking of going back today, but, unfortunately for everyone in Assisi, it hasn't stopped raining since 5 a.m.

SURPRISE HOLIDAY

I had a number of errands to do today—buy groceries, go to Vodaphone to see why my Internet key doesn’t work, find a language school, go to the pharmacy, etc. etc. etc.  It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and my first stop was a café I found that has free Wifi.  I wanted to relax, have a cup of cappuchino, make a grocery list, check my email, and catch up with my several games on Words with Friends.  My next stop was the grocery store, which was closed.  There were four paper signs taped inside the door indicating that the store would be closed today—not sure why one wouldn’t have been enough—but I couldn’t figure out why. 

I continued on to try to find the Vodaphone store. 

When I got to the bottom of the hill, there was a crowd gathering by the bus station.  There was a band playing.  

There were lots of people with flags.  And there were more people with flags streaming off several buses that were stopped at the curb.  Clearly, this was a celebration of some kind, but I hadn’t heard anything about it.  I haven’t had Internet service since I got here last Saturday, so I’m a little out of the loop.

I couldn’t find the Vodaphone store that was supposed to be in that piazza, so I wandered back to the bus station, tried asking a couple of Italians about the holiday but didn’t understand their answers.  One woman motioned for me to follow the crowd that was streaming upward on the escalators to the city center.  So I did.  (Side note:  I've noticed a lot of people kissing on escalators here....people of all ages...not something I've seen elsewhere....is it just the passionate nature of the Italian people or vacationers amping up the romance?)

Shortly after I arrived at the city center, I heard a couple of women speaking English and stopped them to ask if they knew what was going on. 

I could see bunches of bright colored balloons lining the street leading to the main piazza and hundreds hanging over the piazza.  I was informed that today is Labor Day in Italy.  I learned that there would be a parade and a lot of speeches. 

I walked to the main piazza and got some pictures of the balloons.

And of the parade….leading it was the band I saw at the bus station.

Following them were several groups, representing different unions, each with a unique flag.

Some groups were in uniform, and there was even a group of pensioners with their own special flag.

On the way back to the down escalators, I found the Vodaphone store…closed, of course, as the majority of the shops and businesses are today. 

Clearly, I won’t get any labor done today, and I’ll be eating out!

P.S.  Since I haven't had Internet service for 6 days, I'm catching up on my posts.  I've posted five new entries today while doing my laundry.  YES, I have a washing machine!  YEA!

THE TRUFFLES OF TODI

Bernadette likes it so much here that she decided to skip language school and stay another day.  Our adventure for Monday was to take the bus to Todi, a town of about 17,000, built on two hills (of course).  It’s another walled city, and part of the one built in pre-Roman days still exists.  The most recent wall was built in 1244 and is mostly intact.  Archeologically, Todi’s origins date back to the fifth century B.C. and, like every town and city in Italy, it has been ruled by several different regimes over the many centuries since.  

There are no escalators or elevators to be found in Todi, so there was a lot of climbing up hills on this day.  

Across from the bus stop was this incredible Church of St. Mary of Consolation, which was constructed over one century, beginning in 1508.  The interior is in the form of a Greek Cross.

There were three polygonal apses and a semicircular one.  

There was wonderful statuary in each.

And a beautiful altar, of course.

Bernadette and I waited for a bus to take us up to the city center, but after 15 minutes, we decided we would try to walk up, having no idea how far "up" was.  I could do some whining about this ascent, especially about how I felt when a bus passed us by at about the halfway point, but  I'll spare you my misery. 

We passed by this impressive Church of St. Fortune on our way "up".  (I did not add these steps to my climb.)

And we enjoyed some beautiful views of the countryside during my frequent pauses.  

We finally reached the top of "up" and shortly entered the Piazza Grande, where the grandest of Todi’s buildings dominate the scene.  

There was the Palace of the People, which dates back to 1218 and is connected by a large staircase to the Mayor’s Palace.  

The Palace of the Priors, built in the first half of the 1300’s is similar in architecture.  

On the opposite side of the piazza is the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary. 

There was a craft show in the Palace of the People, and we looked at some beautiful woodworks, embroidery, and ceramics, and I almost bought a beautiful cashmere sweater for 200 euro.  Fortunately, I came to my senses, because what I don’t need are more clothes to add weight to my luggage!  I’m glad I didn’t have my ATM card with me, because I was very tempted.  Todi is an area with a plentiful supply of truffles, and we saw several shops selling "truffled" products.

We found an archeological museum, but didn’t go inside, because it was just a lovely day to be wandering the streets outside, which is exactly what we did.  After a couple of hours, I was famished, and we had lunch at a restaurant that had been recommended to us by a man at the train station in Perugia.  He was from Todi originally, and he had played soccer with the owner of this restaurant.  His nickname with the team was “the bomber”, because he scored a lot of goals.  

Unfortunately, the owner didn’t remember “the bomber”, but we had a lovely lunch on the patio overlooking the surrounding countryside.  

I was very tempted by the gnocchi in cream and truffle sauce, but I’ve been wanting to try a dish with boar, and there was a stew on the menu that looked good.  It was.

There isn’t a lot to see in Todi.  We wandered through the side streets for another hour or so after lunch, enjoying the charm of the narrow streets and arched passageways.  

We caught a bus to the train station at mid-afternoon and headed back to Perugia, arriving in time for Bernadette to pick up her bag at the apartment and take another bus to a different train station for her return trip to Florence.

It was really wonderful to have Bernadette’s company for my first weekend here.  I don’t know how I’m going to find my way around without her as my excellent navigator.  I imagine I’ll get lost a few times, but I’m very motivated to find those escalators and elevators again!