Perugia and Gubbio and back to Perugia

 From Milan we took the train to Perugia in Umbria. Perugia has narrow, winding medieval streets - some with architectural leftovers still attached. This arch way just sits on a corner, going nowhere anymore. But it frames Tom nicely as he studies the map in the drizzle and shows the typical pink and white striped marble construction.  Perugia had many museums, big and small and we usually had them all to ourselves. One of the best was The Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria , in what used to be a gigantic unfinished convent.  One of our favorite displays was a blueprint, carved in marble, of an ancient family burial plot.

 We saw hundreds of sarcophogus (sarcophogi?) carved with representations of their owners, or with scenes from mythology/religion. Some of the larger sarcophoguses (?) had been turned into horse watering troughs, and then later rescued by the museums. 

 We kept finding little museums that weren't in our guidebooks. These accidental finds were full of unexpected treasures. One of the most fabulous was the Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello Foundation's library, museum and textile collection . The lace and embroidered fabrics are from the Embroidery School founded by the family in the early 1900s.

 From Perugia we took a day trip to by bus to Gubbio, which was probably Tom's favorite place.  Lots more big, mostly empty museums and duomo for us to wander through. And there were lizards everywhere! Usually going somewhere fast, but this is one that held still for a second for a photo. It is hard to tell from the photo, but the lizards didn't bend like the lizards of Texas - much more sinuous and with rougher skin - I think, like I said, they moved fast!

Gubbio's food is very good - this restaurant is in a building that apparently dates from medieval times. We have lost its name, but if you walk from Corso Garibaldi to Via Cavallotti (a very steep street) it will be on your left and it is the second restaurant. 

All of Gubbio is steep (so is Perugia) it is all uphill - I swear there is no downhill in this part of the world. 

And the very worst and most terrifying steepness (I was terrified, Tom wasn't) was this funicular - a single person standup ski lift kind of thing that DOES NOT STOP. You hop on (I don't hop well), you get dragged off by big men at the top. It was horrible. I pitched a fullblown panic fit and we found a cab to take us back down. At the top was a view that was not worth the terror.

 Back to Perugia to have more steepness.

 And lovely views of the medieval wall and valley below as the many church bells all rang out and dinned at each other. Perugia is so steep that there are several outdoor public escalators to get you up (and down, I suppose). One of them went from near our hotel up to the medieval underground part of Perugia then up some more to the next level of the town.

One afternoon we realized we had just enough time to dash madly over the ancient aquaduct (now a walkway) to get to the Orpheus mosaic found when building a university . 

And we were so unhappy when we got there to find the site had closed early. However a grad student walking by saw us peering in the window and opened the door for us.  It is a wonderful floor and the university has worked hard to preserve and conserve it.

 A few more views of Perugia before we took off for Assisi. The big square in front of the cathedral is where locals and tourists gather to see, be seen, go to church and have an apertif afterwards. For reasons we never figured out, a gigantic modern art "painting" made entirely of flowers and plant material showed up Sunday morning.

 There was every mix of styles and fashions imaginable that Sunday morning in Perugia.