Perugia: Thursday

On Thursday I woke up at the bright and early – if not chipper – hour of 6:30am to go on a solo walk.  It was wonderful to have the city all to myself – I only saw a few other early morning walkers, and the flow of traffic didn’t really start picking up until about 7:30am.  I explored new parts of Perugia, including some really steep hills and stairs.

When I got home Mom was just rolling out of bed, and we called the Hubby to breakfast (scrambled eggs with fresh mushrooms and pancetta cooked at the apartment!) around 9am.  Afterwards we walked two blocks over to the National Gallery of Umbria (Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria).  There was no photography allowed in the exhibit halls, which is a bummer because there are some beautiful works housed inside.  The place is just huge – it has 23 galleries of art from Umbrian artists dating back to the 13th century through the 16th.  This is a picture of the building itself, courtesty of Wikipedia.  The Fontana Maggiore is in the foreground to the right of the museum.

Later that night we had drinks at La Terrezza again, and then we relaxed and played some Italian Uno at the apartment.   As you might guess, Italian Uno is just like English Uno, except the directions are in Italian.   Which makes making up rules more fun. 

Iz in yur Italian Uno, makin up teh rulz.

Perugia: Thursday
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Perugia: Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday we went exploring.  It was our first full day in Perugia, so we started at the apartment and radiated out.  We went grocery shopping and browsed a street vendor selling ceramics at Piazza Danti.

Food from the Alimentari

Ceramics for sale on the steps of Cathedrale San Lorenzo

We discovered that Perugia is a narrow oval of a town; you can walk for a very long time in one direction, then take one side street and be not too far from where you started.  It’s hard to tell where’ll you’ll end up because the streets twist and turn in haphazard, multilevel, maze-like routes – some roads lead you uphill, some roads lead down.  Some of the streets go underneath buildings and are hidden in the corners of other streets that look like dead-ends.  Also, you can meander down a very gradual hill with lots of twists and turns for thirty minutes, and then get back home in five minutes by taking one steep stairway.  The entire town is hills, hills, hills and many people walk everywhere (according to the Tourist Information office).  You could eat pizza and drink beer for breakfast, lunch and dinner and never gain weight in this town!

There are frescoes located all throughout the town, tucked in back alleyways and displayed prominantly along busy streets.

A small fresco displayed above a modern clothing store in Perugia’s Centro Storico.

A close-up of the same fresco

A fresco seen on Via Ercolano

Wednesday we decided to follow one of the local walking tours that took us to the far edge of town.  We followed a gradual hill up to the Keep of Sant’Angelo – a giant castle-looking structure – and found a beautiful temple (Temple of Sant’Angelo) hidden at the top of a hill behind stone walls and a lush green garden.

The Keep from Corso Garibaldi –  the largest of Perugia’s medieval city gates (14th century)

The Keep as seen from the Temple Garden 

 

Me in front of the Temple of Sant’Angelo, the oldest church in Perugia (5th-6th century)

 

  Inside the Temple – the main center

In order to save a little space, I am condensing the following pictures  into thumbnails.  You should be able to click on each picture to enlarge them if you’re interested. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

L to R, top to bottom: temple ceiling, around an inside wall of the temple, wall fresco, fresco and cross, burial tombs(?), church bells, baptismal chamber (located off of the main gallery), side room, side room (sorry, I don’t know what these side rooms were used for), prayer candles.

On the way home we were treated to an excellent view of the Etruscan Arch (Arco Etrusco).

The Etruscan Arch – shot on the way home from the Temple of Sant’Angelo

The Etruscan Arch – shot earlier that morning

The Etruscan Arch – inside wall

And here’s a few shots from later in the evening and Wednesday night:

Roof tiling from the edge

Perugia: Tuesday and Wednesday

Perugia: Gluten Free Dining

Yesterday we meandered through the San Pietro area.  One of the highlights of the trip was finding this random crepe kitchen, Le Cre.  It was tucked near the end of a tunnel-like alley next to the Pozzo Etrusco, an ancient Etruscan well.

I noticed the word “glutine” in a few places around the shop and then I saw a newspaper clipping with the words “gluten free” in the title along with a picture of the place.  The bar tender saw me pointing and saying “gluten free” and she nodded.  She pointed up and at the ceiling and in that moment I learned one of the loveliest phrases of my trip thus far: Senza Glutine.  Directly translated it means “without gluten”.

She spoke a fair amount of English, and was able to explain that the senza glutine side of this particular kitchen has been dedicated to gluten-free food preparation.  She told us that there were a few GF restaurants in the area, and that they were very prevalent in Southern Italy.  So it was that I enjoyed a crepe in Italy.

We nom nom nom on a nutella e crema senza glutine crepe

On Wednesday we ran across another luncheon place that had a senza glutine section on the menu, so I was able to enjoy PASTA in Italy 🙂

Thatsa lotta pasta carbonara – and it’s gluten-free!

Tonight (Wednesday evening) we stopped back at Le Cre for one final crepe dinner.  The owners close up Le Cre for the summer on Friday, so even though we’re surrounded by bars, paninitecas, pizzarias, tavole caldas and ristorantes, we decided to vist them one more time. 

One of the cafe staff makes my senza glutine crepe

Salami, cheese, whole marinated “spicy” button mushrooms, lettuce, mayo on a GF crepe

Mom said she needs a short break from “Italian food”.  Tomorrow night – sushi!

Perugia: Gluten Free Dining

Nightlife and An Atheist in Perugia

The Hubby and I went out about Perugia this evening.  We left the apartment at 10:30pm and headed to a couple of bars that we had discovered earlier in the day.  We stopped at La Terrazza,  a quiet, snazzy, classy place with what I can only describe as “experimental” music playing over the speakers.

At La Terrezza bar

Then we headed to an Irish tavern named Shamrock’s Pub, where we met a bunch of English-speaking students from the Foreigner’s University.  Next we stopped and sat on the steps of the Piazza Quattro Novembre (THE fountain in Perugia) with all of the rest of Perugia’s nightlife – the steps of Cathedrale S. Lorenzo were packed with people drinking birre, smoking, laughing and generally having a great time.

At the Piazza Quattro Novembre

And then we strolled up the busy touristy street of Corso Vennucci, where the Hubby bought some gelato.  On the way back we ran into a guy who was standing with a small group of people  and wearing a shirt that said Kill Your Idols with a picture of Jesus Christ wearing the thorns and gazing upward.  I approached him with my phrasebook in hand and asked “Mi scuzi, ateo?”, which means “Excuse me, atheist?”, although with my broken Italian (did I say broken?  I meant non-existent), who knows what I really asked him.  He and a girl standing next to him looked a little worried, but I grinned and pointed to myself and said “Atheist!  I’m an atheist – ateo americana!  I didn’t expect to see too many out atheists in Italy.”  He grinned, and his friend grinned.  He said in heavily accented English, “You like my shirt?  It’s a very important message.”  To which I replied, “Yes, yes, I like it very much – may I take a picture with you?”  And there we go.

And now off to bed at the wee hour of 2:00am local time – 7pm Minneapolis time 🙂

Nightlife and An Atheist in Perugia

Happy Giant Leap Day!

From wikipedia:

The Apollo 11 space flight landed the first humans on Earth’s Moon on July 20, 1969.  Launched from Florida on July 16, the third lunar mission of NASA’s Apollo Program (and the first G-type mission) was crewed by Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility and became the first humans to walk on the Moon.

Cool stuff, huh?  Go space travel!  In 1969 can you imagine what they thought we would accomplish in space travel by 2010?  One of these days the Enterprise will come to

be…

Buzz Aldrin poses on the Moon allowing Neil Armstrong to photograph both of them using the visor’s reflection.

Happy Giant Leap Day!

Rome and Perugia – Monday

Mom brought her netbook and the apartment has hardwire internet. Yay – I can save my euro and avoid the internet cafes!

The eight-hour plane ride from Detroit to Rome was sucky just because I couldn’t fall asleep and I was too tired to watch movies or read. But the ride itself was very nice. The 747 had taller ceilings, wider aisles, bigger chairs and more space between seats that I have ever had for my intranational flights. We were served free alcohol, hot dinner and breakfast (I skipped the egg muffins, but it’s nice that they were available), and there were nine flight attendants for the whole plane, so it was easy to get assistance or information when it was needed.

Arrival at Fiumicino Airport, Rome

Okay, I was very excited to be in a foreign land where a different language is spoken, but damn is it intimidating! A lot of people speak un poco English – perhaps a little more than I speak Italian! So far I’ve had one guy at the biglietto (ticket) booth at the ferroviaria (railroad) pull the “if I speak loudly and slowly in Italian she’ll understand me” routine ( and I might have, if he hadn’t been behind four inches of protective plexiglass).  The guy at the Perugia bus station gave me a disgusted look and an emphatic “no” replete with hand waving when I asked parla inglese?, and I had a really hard time communicating with the landlord; I wanted her to tell me what apartment number mi madre was in so I could ring the bell to let her know we had arrived, but she thought I wanted to make una prenotazione (a reservation) and kept telling me in broken english “we are full, no vacancy”.  Luckily I’m stubborn, have thick skin and don’t mind pestering people to get the information I need!

We made our transfer to Perugia alright, but we did get off at the wrong station once.  Happily, the train hadn’t left the station by the time we realized our mistake and we were able to get back on!

Sign over the ferroviaria tracks – I think it translates to “Danger – pirates!

Perugia

Once in Perugia the Hubby and I had a harrowing taxi ride up to the Centro Storico (Historic Center) where we are staying.  There aren’t lines per se on the road, and all vehicles drive in whatever open space they can find.  Forget about turn signals – I don’t think the cab we were in had them.  Car horns they have, and use abundantly, but without (much) malice (usually).  In the small alley-like streets of the old town, people squish against the walls when cars come by.  Our driver actually tagged a guy’s arm with the passenger-side mirror.  They both swore at each other in minor irritation and then appeared to forget about it.

Perugia is beautiful.  Everything is stone, the tiles on the roofs are all the same reddish, lichen-stained colors and patterns, and there are stone arches everywhere.  We went for dinner at Da Peppone last night and learned that scaloppe is not a seafood when listed under carne on a menu.  I took a couple of photographs on the point-and-shoot as we walked through town – this place is like the MC Escher stairs from The Labyrinth, except without the upside down stairs.  The alley/streets are very steep in some cases, and little alleys criss-cross and connect through, between and under different commercial and residential structures.

View from our apartment at two streets branching out and up

Perugia Rooftops

Rooftop tiles

Via Appia – an old acquedotto

Via Cesare Battisti

More Perugia today – we’ll be exploring the Porta San Pietro area.  Ciao!


Rome and Perugia – Monday

Ciao!

The Hobby and I have just boarded the 747 (our first!) that will deliver us to Rome in approximately 10 hrs. 

We’ll arrive at Fiumicino airport at 10:25am (ish) local time.  Once there we will take the train to Stazione Termini in Rome, and then we will purchase train tickets to Perugia.

Depending on the availability of WiFi or other internet access, I’ll post updates – and photos! – as possible.

Arrivederci!

Ciao!

Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group

Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group Brunch Experience

The Uptown Cafeteria and Support group, or “The Cafeteria” is located in Calhoun Square, right across from Stella’s Fish Cafe.  The Hubby and I decided to make our first visit to The Cafeteria on a lazy Sunday morning when we could have the place to ourselves.  The Star Tribune recently did a piece on this trendy new Minneapolis hotspot and everytime we’ve driven by the place has been packed!  The rooftop – SkyBar – is supposed to be excellent in the evenings, but we didn’t get a chance to explore upstairs at brunch.

The cafeteria has garage-door windows that are raised up in nice weather; diners are inside but exposed to the sidewalk and the Uptown crowds walking by.

The picture above is from our table by the windows- it really was empty when we stopped by!  The food was simply alright.  Our eggs, bacon and toast were typical fare, and the potatos were too oily and heavy to be enjoyable.  On the plus side, the servers were very pleasant and attentive.  But there’s no doubt that The Cafeteria’s main attraction is its unique style.

This close-up photo of the bar really doesn’t do it justice – the bar is very long and has room for a lot of patrons.  I like the combination of liquor bottles and beer taps, top-shelf liquor cabinets and fancy flatscreen TVs set against a greasy spoon-style countertop and chairs.

The hallway to the bathrooms and kitchen is “wall-papered” with actual cafeteria trays.

The bathroom decorations are fun.  The Hubby took the picture on the left and the pic on the right is from the women’s room.  I think the women got cheated – we should have pictures of cafteria men or women glaring at us on the backs of bathroom doors while we pee!

I did not get a picture of the booths or the awesome walls covered in shag carpeting.  As I said earlier, our food was just meh.  But I love the ambiance and I’ll be back to try their evening fare, and definitely to check out the rooftop bar!  The Cafeteria seems like a great place to bring some friends for before or after dinner drinks!

What: Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group
Where: 3001 Hennepin Avenue Minneapolis, MN
When: Quiet brunch on the weekends, trendy crowds and yummy drinks in the evening.
Website: http://www.uptowncafeteria.com/

~~~~~

Uno giorno fino a Italia!

One of the gorgeous cities of Cinque Terre

I’m going here, to Perugia

Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group

Due giorni fino a Italia!

Last night was a crazy game of pinball through Minneapolis and the south metro as we shopped for last minute trip items.  You’re welcome for our support of the economy yesterday.

Park Nicollet Clinic – Pick up new contacts, allergy meds.

Opitz Clothing Outlet – I have passed by this St. Louis Park store many times.  They always have “Everything under $10” racks out front and I thought maybe I could get some cheap digs for Italy.  This store was a nightmare.   The clearance racks out front were picked over, and the sales stopped when I walked in the door.  Inside was crowded with noisy people and rows of clothing racks that had been placed too close together.  I felt like I was in a second-hand store, but everything was EXPENSIVE!  $40 for a pair of jeans?  $60 for that blouse???  Seriously, it was like an overpriced Salvation Army – lousy selection for outrageous prices. 

Apple Store – I want a USB power converter so I can charge my iPod without a computer in Italy.  Ain’t paying $30 for it though.  Forget that. 

Wells Fargo – Authorize credit cards for spending in Europe, find out about international card usage fees (3% for POS and $5 to take money out from an ATM!!!! – We’re considering our alternatives). 

Walgreen’s – Look for a “good” neck pillow for the 10-hour plane ride for the Hubby.  No luck.

First Tech – (non-Mac Mac store) Look at other options for iPod charger.  They had a cruddy-looking off-market charger for $20, but we couldn’t find voltage/watt/amp capabilities on the cord so we decided not to get it. 

AAA – Found the Hubby’s neck pillow, silk under-clothes wallets, electrical outlet adapters for continental Europe.

REI – Look for classy walking sandals.  We found nothing that we liked under $70…boo!

Best Buy – Last chance look for a USB power converter.  No dice.  The cheapest one we found was $25.  We’ll charge up at internet cafes if we have to.

Famous Footwear – Look for classy walking sandals.  We found nothing…booo!

Herbergers – Still no classy walking sandals that were cute, comfortable and affordable…booo!  But, the Hubby did find a couple of very lightweight button-up shirts for the trip.

Target – No cute dresses for me…boo!!!  Hubby found another shirt and a pair of super light “golf” pants. 

Taco Bell for a disappointingly late “dinner” – blech. 

The evening ended with a solemn vow to never go shopping again and us collapsing from exhaustion.

Due giorni fino a Italia!

Freaked about Fashion

…and pickpockets and scam artists and people cutting the bottom out of my backback and crowded trains and…woah, woah, woah.

Ah, the internet!  The leader in unsubstantiated claims, dramatic horror stories, and one-sided viewpoints!

The Hubby and I spent waaaaay too much time last night browsing the interwebs and getting worked up about being American tourists in Italy.  We learned that we wear grubby, unattractive clothing in our day-to-day dress, that we’re going to be pickpocketed by children, mothers with babies and sleazy men, that the Hubby  is going to get drugged and dragged off to a den of prostituzione where he’ll be forced to buy high-priced drinks for women and get conned into sleeping with them, and that I’m going to get groped by every man on the street (Damn, I’m good!). 

So we’ll be on guard for pickpockets and scam artists.  We’ve got our tiny over-the-shoulder bags for the camera and other small semi-valuables, under-the-clothes hidey spots for our passports, credit cards and the bulk of our cash and we’re only packing one backpack each for our clothing.  In Rome we’ll try to avoid highly-packed trains and obvious distractions by potential theives.

All good.

But I really do need to go shopping!

I had planned to bring a couple pairs of jean shorts, several t-shirts and Teva sandals for daily wear, and one simple black dress with cheap but cute strappy black sandals for a nice evening dinner.  The Hubby had planned two pairs of cargo shorts, several t-shirts, Teva sandals and his favorite baseball cap for daily wear, as well as a pair of black slacks, a short sleeve dress shirt and leather dress shoes for dinner. 

No, no, no – what were we thinking!?  All the websites are saying that if we dress like this we’ll be pickpocketed, scammed, and beggars will trail us like rats after the pied piper.  Oh, and the nice, non-scamming Italians will scorn us, sell us crap products at higher prices, or just ignore us.  Le sigh.

I have business casual clothing that could pass, but they’re a little on the business side and are all made of heavier materials appropriate for Minnesota’s four seasons of fall, winter, spring and air-conditioning.  I only own one cute sundress that might qualify as Italian “casual wear”.

I hate spending money on clothing.  Some of my favorite dress pants are from garage sales and second-hand shops.  I just don’t see the point in spending $50 (and higher) on a pair of jeans that I could get at the Salvation Army for $6!  Target’s 30-75% clearance racks rock, and even boutiques and higher-end department stores have kick-ass sales now and then.  I don’t buy used-looking clothing, I just don’t buy this season’s $100 shirts because I can always find something similar for $20. 

It’s not that the Hubby and I dress like slobs – far from it!  Some of our clothing are just American phenomena, I guess.  Like day-to-day donning of baseball caps, tennis shoes, t-shirts with logos/designs and jean shorts.  I also learned that tight pony tails are looked down upon as sloppy and the last resort of someone who slept through her alarm clock.  Makeup isn’t just for special occasions in Italy (but colored fingernail polish is), and almost every website we visited said that I need to have a large scarf that can serve as a shawl – not only for cooler evenings, but because many churches in Italy require covered shoulders for men and women. 

So, our “fancy” outfits still alright for dinners, but we need to rethink our daytime attire.  Aside from my one summer dress, I have a pair of light black pants and a pair of dressy, flowing capri pants which should be fine for most days, but I need one or two lightweight, summery blouses, and a pair of black and/or brown comfy walking shoes that will match all of my outfits.  The Hubby needs a pair of stylish light-weight pants and/or tailored khaki shorts and a pair of loafers.  I guess we’re going with what I would consider preppy/yuppie style for most days. 

But I’m still packing a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt, just in case everyone is wrong 🙂  We’re Americans, people are going to be able to guess that we’re Americans and we won’t be ashamed to be known as Americans.  But as one site suggested, to lessen our chances of being ripped off, and to avoid unwanted, unflattering attention, maybe we don’t be those Americans – loud, rude, sloppy, expecting the world to conform to our needs and desires.  I bet that a smile and kind voice can go a long way in the fashion capitol of the world.  

Even if I’m dressed like an American. 

~~~~~

Italian language practice:

Tre giorni fino a Italia!

Buon giorno!  Come sta?  Me?  Molto bene, grazie.  E lei?  Buono.  Arrivederci! 

And of course, the most important questions:

Mi scuzi, parli inglese? 

Dov’e il bagno?

Sono allergico al frumento.

This picture from space of Italy at night is way, way too cool.  I found it at an awesome-looking blog called  Dad2059’s Webzine of Science Fiction, Science Fact and Esoterica

Freaked about Fashion