Exploring Perugia, with an unplanned side trip thrown in.
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Exploring Perugia, with an unplanned side trip thrown in.
On July 7, after an overwhelming breakfast (I could have spent all morning grazing on all the goodies, from boiled eggs to croissants, and EVERYTHING in between!!) Carol headed off to her meetings and I decided to explore. Gong gave me her bag of welcoming materials from the Conference, so after reading all my materials on Perugia, I headed out to catch the bus to get to the city center. I was taking the bus to the top of the hill, no more mountaineering!! And according to Gong, any #6 or #7 bus would take me into Centro Citta (city center, what Perugians call the old town). The first bus to come along was #6B Pila, so on I hopped; it headed toward the railway station, where it should have turned left and headed up the hill. But wait … it’s turning right instead!! I’m on the wrong bus, heading out of town! Well, I figured if it goes out, it must come back into town, so I just stayed on it all the way to Pila, which is a suburb of Perugia.
I ultimately was deposited at the top of the hill not far from Perugia’s main square. Went to the mercato to get some fruit and something for lunch, but by that time, most of the stalls were closed for siesta. I did find an open bread stall, a meat and cheese stall, and a grocer, so for €2 I got salami with ricotta cheese on a roll similar to a hot dog bun, and a peach.
After lunching on the steps of the town hall, I hit the old town again, and took some pix of things we saw last night. I also located a candy store and bought a bag of baci (kisses), a chocolate and hazelnut candy for which Perugia is famous, to bring back for friends and family.
Because Perugia is built on a rather steep hill, there are lots and lots of steps, and where there are no steps, there are inclines to negotiate. Running through one section of the city is the old aqueduct, which has been converted into a walkway to access the hill across from the Centro. Having come outside of the city wall, I decided to walk back down hill to the hotel. Except I didn’t remember it was that far to the hotel. Thank goodness it was downhill all the way. Did a ‘load’ of wash, put my feet up, but couldn’t get a power nap executed. Carol called, a cocktail party was in progress in the hotel lobby, so I went down and dined on heavy hors d’oeuvres and wine, then headed back to the room to crash.
