Resting in Umbria and walking the wall in Dubrovnik

Well! It's been a while since the last chapter and we've since moved onto Croatia, which is even more beautiful than I could have imagined!

Assisi was stunning and it was nice to have a long stay in a quiet town, where we did just as much sleeping as we did sightseeing! Mum, you'll be pleased to know I saw my first bonafied 'stregga nonna' only she was minus her magic pasta pot, but she had the outfit, the walking stick and a fantastic face full of wrinkles when she smiled.

We visited the Basilica of St Francis, which is very ornate (surprising considering he denounced all worldly possessions when he was alive). Although I thought the basilica of Santa Chiara (St. Claire) was the prettier cathedral - very simple, but with beautiful frescoes (only of female saints - no St John - a first!) on the ceiling of the dome and the tomb below houses both the robes of St. Claire and St Francis. You should see St Claire's Chemise - it's huge! Either she was a giant or nun's used to wear massive undergarments!


Main square in Assisi

We also hiked up to the Rocca Maggiore and looked through the ruins, the view of Umbria is spectacular - the area is an eden of olive groves and vineyards (prettier than Tuscany I thought) and much cooler. The food in Umbria is delicious and they don't skimp on the servings either - lots of truffles!


Jay and I with the Umbrian landscape in the background

The journey from Assisi to Dubrovnik was long and arduous! Firstly we were stuck in a train carriage with the world's craziest elderly Italian couple. Then when we got to Bari, we discovered our 'deck' tickets for the ferry meant quite literally that we were sleeping on the deck! We met another couple of Aussies and made camp in an indoor recreation area. I guess it all makes for good stories!

Dubrovnik didn't dissapoint though, the old town is amazing, the streets are polished marble - you can slide from point A to point B! It's hard to imagine that only 15 years ago the city was under siege and that so many of the old buildings were badly damaged, as almost everything has been repaired, although we noticed a few... very sad. We took the walk around the city's massive walls in the evening - which has been one of my favourite walks so far, the view is fantastic!

We also took the ferry out to Lokrum Island, which has an old abandoned monastery and we wondered through the ruins, it's lovely and leafy with beautiful beaches!

Anyway - enough for now! Will post some pics soon.

All the best,
Luc.

Sunshine and stairs in Riomaggiore

We arrived in Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre towns on Thursday. It is stunning here - a must see for anyone travelling to Italia! It's also the first place we've visited where we feel like we're seeing the real deal, Rome was a big crazy city and Florence was so touristy. We found our check in office only to be marched back towards the station and up a hill towards our block of flats. We were then taken up 5 flights of stairs (67 stairs in total) with our backpacks, even our guide was puffing by the time we reached the top!



Our room is lovely and has a little kitchenette, which has saved us lots of euro! For everyone at work, the pocket knife has come in handy many times over, so thanks to Fiona et al - it has been a very useful gift! The view from our flat is amazing, it looks right over the ocean and we're about 300 metres away from this amazing pub called 'bar et vini' hanging off the side of a mountain, which is the best spot for a cold beer on a hot afternoon. Needless to say, we've spent much of our time there!



Yesterday we headed out along the track that runs through each of the 5 towns. The first section between Riomaggiore and Manarola is stunning and easy on the legs, it's called via del'amore (Lover's Lane - roughly translate) and there is one section with this cute statue, where travellers have put padlocks on a fence - all very cheesy but nice. Manarola is a pretty little town like Riomaggiore, sleepy and slow, the way the coast ought to be!



The next section between Manarola and Corniglia is a little steeper, but still a good walk. The killer bit is the stairs that go up to the village. We made it up the top only to find there was an air conditioned bus that could have taken us up there - never mind - it adds to the experience I s'pose.

Jay kept on walking to Vernazza, but I opted for the train as my nice white skin was turning lobster red and my legs we're still complaining after the stairs up to Corniglia! Vernazza was a bit bigger, but a nice place to stop and have lunch, with a pretty beach. Tried to work out how to eat a Scampi, which is like our prawn, but with a hard shell and claws.

Went swimming in the afternoon - beaches are rocky with beautiful aqua water and soo warm. Found ourselves a comfy rock to lie on and after a little hesitation, dived in!

This morning we took the train to Monterosso, which is the largest town. It lacks character though and is like an over priced resort, so we quickly headed back to Riomaggiore. Will probably spend the rest of the arvo at the pub!

Promise to post photos soon. Can't connect camera here to computer, so will try in Venice.

Love to family and friends - keep the emails coming - it's nice to hear from home.



Lucy.