Highlights Assisi and dinner in Cupromontana

We had breakfast in the guesthouse then checked out and headed for the train to the airport. On the way Katherine and I talked with a man from the UK who had a daughter living in Prague. On arriving at the airport we rang the depot for our car and were collected by a man who had visited NZ, including Collingwood, and was very keen on rugby. He is a flanker and a great Highlander’s fan.

John listened to the car instructions, then within 10 minutes we were ready to go in our brand new Peugeot 3008 SUV (‘Car of the year’ for about 3 consecutive years). We struggled initially with the navigation screen and other settings but were soon on our way to get some petrol about 1km down the road. We filled up without any problem but then struggled to engage the automatic transmission. I’m sure the staff must have been bemused as we tried all sorts of options before stumbling across the trick of pressing the brake and holding a silver button on the gear lever simultaneously. Once we were sorted we headed for Cupromontana.

Plan A had been to have lunch at Assisi, but we were all hungry at the same time and stopped at a random roadside place. With a bit of pointing and guessing we all got something tasty that we wanted and it was very quick as well.

We approached Assisi from a different angle to usual so missed the lovely outlook. We found a park below and after a bit of a climb we then walked through the town as far as St Francis Bascillica. On the way we clicked that we had not got the right clothes on to go in, but Katherine was happy to enjoy the quaint town and the great views. We now are keeping 2 skirts and 2 scarfs in the car in case we want to go into a church again, although Katherine in particular says she has seen plenty and usually enjoys the outside more.

We contacted jane and Ian as we left then did the drive to their place through all the tunnels (about 40!). I had forgotten about them but John hadn’t. The road is being upgraded which did slow us down but not by too much. John was very impressed by the performance of the car and all the various ‘bells and whistles’.

After a quick supermarket visit to get food for breakfast and snacks, we all went up to the square in Cupromontana for an evening meal. We went past a board with photos of the recent Corpus Christi festival which this area celebrates with great floral displays.

We sat in the outside area of the restaurant which had just reopened for the summer. Jane explained to Katherine that the area had been full of small houses until about the start of WW2. They emptied over time, then the area was cleared, leaving the outline of the original narrow streets and church marked in the paving stones on the ground. There was a map of the original area on a board nearby, with details of some of the original buildings.

We ordered a communal meal which we enjoyed over a couple of hours as the sun went down. There was a lovely glow to the buildings in the twilight.

We were home about 11pm, ready for a good night’s sleep in our lovely cool rooms.