Gubbio & Spello

Our last day in the car and off we went to Gubbio, about 40 kms away. First up we headed to the funicular we had heard about to get a view from above. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves into. Each 'car' was actually a 2 person birdcage. Just a metal frame with a mesh see-through floor. (this pic is not us as you may have guessed) It is apparent they were built to also be able to take people and their ski's in winter. (this area is completely covered in snow in winter) Undaunted we braced ourselves and went for it. I figured if I didnt look down and just looked at the view it would be fine. Fine it was.. and great it was. It goes up on quite a steep angle but it was worth it as the view over Gubbio old town as well as new town and the valley beyond was absolutely worth it.

Also from the top we spotted this Greek Theatre. Approx 200-300A.D. We also noted other ruins in big open parklands near this one.

Gubbio also holds a festival like Assisi but it is held a week later. Here is some of the flags they have out in preparation.

We really enjoyed wandering around this town and visited an amazing palace.

Mark took this pic of me and the hill behind which the funicular goes up. If you look at the pic of the palace and the 2 dark arches on the upper left of the pic, I am sitting in the one on the right.

A quick bite of lunch had us off to Spello. What a damn cute town. Much quiter than all the others we had visited but just as lovely. It would be a fab base for a future stay in Umbria.

We had to have the car back by 6pm so through peak hour in Perugia (and only getting lost once) we found the car depot again. We headed back up the hill to the Perugia old town for a drink on the steps of the church, a bit of blogging and then some dinner. We had checked what time the trains for Assisi left (an hour apart) and when we headed to the minimetro to go down to the train station, imagine our surprise to find it stops at 9:30pm!!!!! and it was now 10pm!!! BUGGER!!!!

We were not at the top of the hill but at one station below so as I knew from past unfortunate experience it was not too far to walk.. It was off on foot hopefully to catch the train. (Yes G & E & L... that bloody walk down that hill again... at least this time without luggage). We missed the train by 2 mins. The next was not for 2 hrs at this time of night so we forked out 40 euro for a taxi. BUGGER!!!

OK... Michelle, you asked could I say a bad word about Italy. The answer is YES.. a BIG resounding YES... and it is .. the public toilets.. there are no seats, there is never paper, and often the bowl has a big scoop out of the front. I was so excited to find one with a seat yesterday only to find that it was not attached and I nearly slid off onto the floor mid-pee. the fun of public toilets in italy!!

We have just arrived in Rome with lots of laundry to do and nothing clean to wear. We hoped our apartment would have a washer but alas no. There is one only a couple of blocks away so here we are with a load of washing happening and taking advantage of the internet cafe 2 doors up while it goes through.

As Michelle mentioned on one of her comments, possibly we may not be able to blog so much when the kids are here. We will be travelling at a quicker pace on some level and I am not sure how it will be, besides busy. Therefore, our blogs may slow down... We spoke to them today, both are finished work and Mitchell doing a Uni exam tonight before they fly out tomorrow. Both are excited and eager to get here. After they have seen and heard of Mark shopping fun they are asking if they also will have time to shop.... Time will tell.

x D & M