Umbertide, Umbria, Italy

Mazzaforte - Main driveway to main house on right and cottages on the left.

The train trip from Florence to Perugia was uneventful and past pretty quickly. Our next stop was Umbertide  in the central Umbria region of Italy.  Our first lesson was the pronunciation of Umbertide =  Umbert- terday which is why we had so much trouble getting tickets and directions haha.  The first thing we noticed was the amount of graffiti everywhere at the train stations and  walls of buildings and even the trains.  Lots of bright colours used in writing and pictures.  There were a lot of dark skinned people – mostly Moroccans (we found out later) and lots of deep Italian speaking people.  We really were off the main tourist track. 

We were met at the station by Sally and the three kids, Izzy 17, James 15 and Caroline 14 and then met Simon when we got home.  The property consisted off three main buildings, all about 400 years old.  The main house was 4 levels and the Tobacco house and our apartment were two levels.  All set in about .5 of  hectare of gardens, swimming pool, fish pond and orchard.  They had two dogs of their own and another stray who was delightful and spent most of her time there as well.

Taking the dogs for a walk to the top of the hill

Tarke enjoying rolling in some snow

Life at Mazzaforte was pretty sweet.  Our first job was too clear away some felled pine tree which had been cut down by the forest council (I think).  That meant chopping it down small enough to carry and then carrying it 300m or so and then burning it.  Fireman Murray was in his element – there is nothing he likes better than to light a good fire.  I must admit it was quite satisfying to get that all cleaned up so quickly.  Simon then discussed with us our many work options and it was decided that some rock steps would be the best, especially with Murrays concreting skills.  The planning stage began with great discussions as to how it was going to look and the finish that they were after.  The sand and cement was ordered and was to be delivered the next day.  To fill in we shifted heaps of Iris bulbs and went for walks with the dogs.  These were no straight forward steps they were off the car park and down around a corner to the path.  So, two steps down then two steps like a fan to get around the corner then one more step and then in the end we finished it off with a pathway of about 12 - 15 metres.  It was made from two types of rock with the cement/concrete in between.  It turned out really good and it took a bit of getting used to working with slightly different products.  It took quite a few days and a couple of days we worked a full day so we could have a full day off.  We didn’t help in the kitchen that much because all our time was used up in the path but we did cook a couple of meals for them and offered to help when we could.

Clearing the felled tree

Shifting Iris bulbs

The path begins

Quick little lizards only about 200mm long

One day we took the train to a place called Assisi, an amazing old city built on a hill in the 3^rd century.  It is about halfway up Mt Subasio at 424 metres above sea level.  Narrow cobbled streets , lined with cream stone houses wound around and down the hill, you would be walking along a narrow bit and then suddenly you would come out into a huge courtyard with cafe’s etc,  all these narrow lanes would come out at some stage into one of these areas.  There was of course plenty of Basilicas to visit, art galleries and the like.  A place, so unique and full of history. 

Assisi castle at the top of the hill

typical narrow street

One of the many viewpoints

Di San Francesco Basilica

A viewpoint from the top of Perugia

We also visited Perugia and Ponte San Giovanni.  We happened to be stuck in ponte San Giovanni waiting for a train and we went for a walk and came across a huge market, beautiful fresh fruit and vege and of course clothes and shoes galore.  Brought some food and had a good look around. 

Perugia was nice city to visit, again built on the side of a hill, complete with the old underground city and heaps of history to go with it.  Very, pretty cobbled streets with expensive looking shops, and a mixture of young and old people, and people with machine guns.  It was the second time we had come across men and women welding machine guns!  Pretty sure both times they were outside a government type building or a bank.  Managed to get a sneaky photo without getting our heads blown off.   The views from the park at the top of the city were amazing, you could even see Assisi, which was so easy to pick out – a cream patch halfway up a hill. 

Yes - I am a really cute Pug !

On duty ...

Murray ended up by doing a few other handyman jobs as well, fixing some outdoor lights, and adjusting a shower door, looking at a water problem.   I must say it was very satisfying work, to be able to complete so many jobs and Simon was really good to work with.   Mazzaforte would be a wonderful spot to visit for a few days in summer, the gardens would be lovely, and that view well it is really neat both during the day and at night.  If you would like a closer look – check out their website www.mazzaforte.com

Nearly at the bottom

Final touch ups

Next stop was Rome for a few days.