A Rainy, Restful Week in Perugia, 8.08.05

We have been home from Paris now for one week. We promised ourselves that we would do nothing but rest and relax after a whirlwind 10 days there. August, we had been told, is the quiet summer month here in Perugia as many of the locals take their vacations and shops close. There are fewer students around and the streets have less people. It's been a nice change for us. As I've said before, students come and go in the apartments above and us and some months have been quieter up there than others. At the moment we believe the apartment must surely be empty because we have not heard any movement. I must admit that at times we have had neighbors up there - young students away from home possibly for the first time - who like to stay out very late partying and then come home in the wee hours oblivious to anyone else's existence but their own and clomp around and talk loudly when the rest of us are trying to sleep. Fortunately this did not happen every night during those months but enough for us to resort to occasionally banging on the ceiling (with a broom stick!) and usually that got their attention.

Where do we go from here?

We have now been here for four months. As with most things, it feels at the same time longer and yet it seems to have gone by so quickly. There are still so many things I want to see and do, I want to be sure to do before we leave Perugia, some time this fall. We still don't know where we are going, crazy as that may sound to you and I wish we did. We want to take a trip down to Sicily in early September (everyone tells us to wait until then as July and August are crowded with tourists and quite hot) so we can scope things out before deciding if that is where we will go. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, who has spent any time in the south of Italy, please let us know what you think. We are afraid Perugia will be too cold for us all winter and so we want to go further south. It will be cold down there in Sicily also, but not like up here in the mountains. If you know anyone living down there who could help us in our search, please let us know. In the meantime, our friends Art and Barbara have given us the name of a friend of theirs we are waiting to hear back from and we are doing our homework on the Internet etc.

Fog and Rain

We had the most amazing storm last night! Bob ran out to get a pizza to bring home from one of our favorite pizzerias with a wood-fired oven, and very close to our apartment. When he got back, he was breathless and grabbed his cameras, leaving the pizza on the table and shouting at me as he ran towards our view that it was raining and the fog was incredible! I grabbed mine - and my big umbrella - and followed him down. He was right. The fog was hanging in the trees of the park and completely enveloped the valley below. It was getting close to sunset and the clouds were gray and rolling. We stayed out there watching a shooting, under our umbrellas, trying to capture the beauty and drama of the storm, as the fog rolled and alternately shrouded, then revealed, the hills and the city under its blanket. Finally the rain became too heavy and we were forced to go inside, but it was quite a show.

Hibernation

This week truly was a relaxing one. I spent all day Monday writing about Paris and a lot of time during the week going through all of our photos and deciding which ones to post. The weather has been stormy a good part of the week. It was hot when we got home on Sunday but then it grew dark and cloudy and we've had rain on and off all week and cool enough to need a sweater in the evening. And, as it has been all along, it's warmer down in the center (just a few minutes walk from our door, but often it feels like another climate zone!). For two days after we got home I don't think I even ventured down into the garden. I felt like I was hibernating! But also I realized it was the first time since long before we left Phoenix (for months we were packing and getting ready to sell the house and all of that), that we were not running off somewhere, doing something. There have been days here and there, of course that we spent at home, but as a whole it has been a busy time. So we slept in, stayed home, read and relaxed all week. I did get down into the garden, did some sketches of the flowers there with my markers and just doodled around.

Coffee with Sergio and Rita

On Tuesday or Wednesday we were invited to our landlords' apartment for coffee after lunch. Lovely people, they only speak a little English and with our limited Italian, we were a little nervous about just sitting around a table with them and how the conversation would go. Other times we have spent with them have been with other people, or driving in the car seeing sights with other activities interspersed so you didn't feel like you had to keep a conversation going. But I shouldn't have worried. It was very nice, we found many topics to talk about and Sergio even said he would help us when we go to buy a car, offering to take us to places he knew and help us through the process.

Thinking about Cars

Buying a car will be our next big step. We have enjoyed very much (mostly!) using public transportation. It has been as easy to get around as we had hoped it would be and we were able to go many, many places. But with the expectation of leaving Perugia, we are sure we will need to have a car to explore other places off the path of the trains and buses and are ready to do that. Our kids are coming to visit in October and (fingers crossed) our friends Art and Chris from Phoenix in the fall also. We could rent a car, but it's time to have one of our own now. Sergio and Rita will be leaving for a week or so on their vacation, but when they return we will look in ernest. Any of you out there who own Italian cars and have any advice, we'd love to hear from you. Obviously we want something reliable, not too expensive or too large, but large enough to be able to carry us and our luggage (or the luggage of friends or family who come to visit) We'll keep you posted and let you know how it goes.

I know I have rambled on and on and I hope I haven't been too boring or long-winded (don't laugh, of course I am!). I write this journal really, so that whoever is interested in our adventure (from the exciting to the mundane!) can follow along, but mostly as my personal diary of this time here in Italy. I love hearing from all of you and want to know what you are doing in your lives also, so please do keep in touch.

Ci vediamo,
Rosemary & Bob