Sleeping in

I can't rightly remember the last time I comfortably slept in.   That kind of sleep-in where you don't feel there is anything to get gone, and so even though you wake at the usual hour, you linger in bed until sleep overtakes you again, only to wake 20 minutes later surprised that you had just nodded off.  That has been my last few days.

We are more or less keeping close to Italy time.  Late mornings, late dinners.  We've been sitting down to eat dinner around 8 and watching the light slowly fade, counting the bats coming out for the evening hunt, and listening to the frogs beginning their chorus.  It's a restful way to spend an evening and I am developing an appreciation of the Italian lifestyle.  

Typically, people head to work between 9 and 10, take their midday meal around 1:30, shutting down the shop or leaving the office for at least 2 or 3 hours, returning between 3:30 and 5, finally closing for the evening around 7 or 8.  This is especially true of the area where in now, which is largely rural and where the towns are smaller and more traditional in their lifestyle.

Last night, we joined other guests at the b&b for a typcial Umbrian meal hosted by the owners.  There were 18 people in all, and no one other than us spoke much English.  We joined a couple of other families with children between the ages of 3 and 11, and a very affectionate couple who spent more time nibbling at each other's ears than nibbling on the food.  There were some awkward moments where hand gestures wound up being the most effective form of communication, but all in all an enjoyable evening.  The food was tasty and plentiful, with multiple courses, including 3 antipasti.  It was all good, but my favourite were the potatoes with eggs and rosemary.  It felt like we had crashed a family dinner party, and I spent much of the meal trying to catch the occasional word in the table conversation.  By the time I had finished my 3rd glass of wine and the moscato and biscotti came out, I was convinced that I knew exactly what was going on.  Until my dying day, I will swear they were talking about the carabinieri blockading the road because of a goat dancing with a giraffe!  And no one can prove otherwise.  The kids even managed to makes friends with the others there, playing a variety of games outside after dinner with only the occasional child popping in to ask "Coment dise"?

Other than that, we've just been hanging out.  Yesterday morning, we visited a local Saturday market in Perugia that was set up in a large parking lot.  It was pretty typical of the temporary markets I've visited here, produce and clothing stalls being the main staple of the market.  There are a couple types of clothing stalls - cheap, mainly light, some of it designer knock off clothing which you can try on by stepping into the vendor's van parked behind the stall, and stalls with mountains of second hand clothing priced at 1€ a piece scattered across tables.  There last were by far the more popular stalls among women shoppers.  There are also several kitchen trucks selling porcheta sandwiches, one of which was served with grilled onions and peppers, and was really rather mouth watering (yup, we tried it).

While most of the stalls were identical, we were a little taken aback when we rounded into one line of stalls to find live poultry for sale - chickens, chicks, ducklings and a variety of other edible birds that you could take home in a cardboard box for a few euro.  The kids begged, we explained that they do not allow live poultry on the plane and that they'd be confiscated by CBSA. 

Hovering over the market was a futuristic monorail with what looked like a horizontal cable car running along it.  We hadn't heard of any reference to this previously, but it turns out that this Minimetro runs from this massive parking lot to the center of the old town.  Given that we had a train lover in our midst, and really no other plans, we took the train back into the old town of Perugia for lunch.  The Minimetro only runs for 8 stops, most if it above ground, so it wasn't a bad way to get a bit of a bird's eye view of the city (albeit a low flying bird).  We ducked into a little trattoria just as the sky opened up and a booming thunder storm settled over the town.  Once again, the stone walls made for dramatic crashes and booms as the thunder rolled across the valley and rocketed between the buildings.  Dry and cozy in the trattoria, we left only after the rain lightened.  

By the time we got back to our little cottage the rain had stopped and the blue sky was filled with swollen cottony, but very white, clouds and no sign of any rain having ever occurred.  I went for a run, while Kohji and the kids went for a walk.  Needless to say, there are no flat runs around here, so my Ottawa valley legs (which have not really run in over a month) were not exactly happy about this little venture.  There is, however, something special about seeing a place while jogging through its roads and lane ways.  Whenever I travel, I try to get a run or two in, as it gives me the opportunity to see a place in a unique way.  In this instance, I ran through olive groves, along vineyard fields and up to the gates of stone villas hundreds of years old.

Today being Sunday, we decided to join Italians in their day of rest.  So, we made liberal use of the pool, leaving only at lunch to find the only bar open in the nearby town of Petrinagno (our first microwaved meal in all of Italy, but what could be expect on a Sunday afternoon).  

It's been nice to just enjoy our surroundings and not push on to the next destination.  It is uncharacteristic for us when we travel, and it took a couple days for us to get in the groove, but today was probably the kids' favourite. Poolside all day, microwaved hamburger paddies for lunch, movie in the early evening after pretty much swimming all day.  Today was their idea of a vacation, and it gave me my chance to finally not loose at a game of Uno!

Final shot tonight captures the spirit of the day.  Good night from near Assisi.