Assisi

We left Urbino early and headed towards Assisi with a detour through Gubbio on the way. 

Again in both towns we had to deal with steep roads but it was all so beautiful, we put up with the aching calves and dreamt of our hot bath back in Lohhof. 

After our lunch, coffee and walking stop in Gubbio we headed for Assisi.

We plugged the hotel into Boris (Becker - our GPS navigator) and away we went.  Unfortunately Boris doesn't take into account the narrowness of roads and once again in Italy we were very thankful for having such a small car.  As you can see from some of the pictures we only just made it.

Assisi is beautiful.  Many years ago when I met Father Paul in Rome he said I must go to Assisi so 12 years later I made it.  He was right.  We both loved this town.  We walked up and down and up and up its many cobble stone roads in both rain and shine and couldn't stop saying "Look at that".  On the first night we visited a few churches and saw the Baptismal Font where both St Claire and St Francis were baptised as well as St Claire's tomb.

The next day we went to St Francis' Basilica - WOW, it was pretty amazing and huge.  Not really what you would expect for a Saint who took a vow of poverty but it is what his followers built in the 13th and 14th centuries.  His tomb was very appropriate but the rest although awe inspiring was very big!!  We spent approximately half the day there and then wandered back through town, stopping for lunch on the way.  We also got to visit a Roman ruin which the town's central piazza is built on top of and around.  Tired and full of pizza and wine we then had a Nanna nap.  Feeling guilty it was then time to walk up the steepest roads to the fortress at the top and then a walk through the whole town before having more food. 

 

Loved Assisi - would recommend it to anyone.  If you are not totally bored by this and wish to see more pictures then click here.

San Marino and Urbino

Boxing Day and we headed south to the Republic of San Marino, which is a small separate state.  It was a very steep climb to the top but well worth it for the views.  There were lots of tacky stalls and shops on the way to manoeuvre through to get to the 11th and 13th century fortresses.

We then headed off to Urbino (the birth place of Raffaello - his image is everywhere) stopping on the way for a picnic lunch - which had to be inside the car as it was too cold but the views were great.

 

Urbino is a very beautiful and the streets very steep and narrow.  We spent 2 nights here and collapsed each night after all the walking we did (also all of the food we ate and the prosecco we drank!).  

In Italy in all of these amazing cobble stoned medieval towns it is incredible to see some Italian women in high heels walking precariously around and also the number of fur coats.

To see more pictures of ours from San Marino and Urbino, click here.

Christmas Day - Fanano

Christmas morning and we woke up late. Got to speak to family via Skype which was great - hard to believe it is so cold here and 35 back home, it was good to be able to catch up.

Here are the views from where we were staying:





We then went for a walk around town before heading back to Nonna's place for lunch.



Outside Nonna's place where we had lunch:


Lunch was great - a long lunch starting at 2:30 with lots of different food and wine, more guitars and lots of merriment.

Of course Christmas would not be Christmas without a trip to the hydro-electric plant that Giannmarco built.

Christmas Eve - Fanano

We drove about an hour and a half up to Fanano where Malcolm's friends Gianmarco and Christina live to join them for Christmas. Christmas Eve is the main meal here and is usually fish as you are not allowed meat on Christmas Eve. The dinner was held at Nonna's home with many cousins wandering in and out throughout the night.



After a long dinner with many types of food (appetizers then pasta, then large polenta dish with fish, mixed fresh fruits and sweets) out came the guitars and the singing began until around 1:30 then off home to sleep it off in time for Christmas lunch.

EATaly - Bologna

Wednesday and Thursday morning we spent in Bologna which is known as la grassa (the fat one) as it is celebrated for its cuisine. Shops are full of meats, large rounds of cheese and home made pastas as well as lots of fresh produce. The coffee is fantastic and costs less than $2AU for an amazing cappuccino.
Bologna has a medieval centre, renaissance towers and 40 km of arcaded porticoes which made it easy to walk around.
After a very big and long lunch with one of Malcolm's friends we headed to Fanano for Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Lake Garda

After leaving Austria we head towards Italy through the mountains. Everywhere is covered in snow but it is great to be in Italy. We decided to take a detour to Lake Garda on our way to Bologna. It was very beautiful and very cold. We had pizza overlooking the lake and reminded ourselves how good the ingredients and food are in Italy. After a late lunch we went for a walk and then headed to Bologna along the Autostrada. We are staying at our friends' (Krantz and Silvia) apartment in town.

Austria

We finally got to leave at 16:00 on Monday night. We drove for 2 hours until we got to a small town called Schwaz but there was no room at the inn so after trying a few places we drove to another town called Wattens which is the home of Swarovski crystal. The town was small but well lit up. We had dinner in an Austrian hotel. The problem here is that unlike Germany and Italy you are allowed to smoke in restaurants and smoke they did. We were the only non smokers in a full restaurant. The food was great and like all good German food - large portions!!

The next morning we drove to Hall in Tirol and spent an hour or so having breakfast and walking through the town before heading off to Italy.