Prison?
A rather sad picture … made in Assisi.
Mary behind bars (if she is Mary, I am not well introduced in this subject so I might well be wrong …). On the up-side … she is nicely standing in the spring sunlight.
Guided tour of Assisi every Thursday morning
Last Thursday we were invited for a guided tour in Assisi. The ‘Guide in Umbria’ are organizing these tours this summer every Thursday morning, starting at 10.30 hours. The price is 7 euro (including 2 euro for the ear piece you get so everybody can hear the guide also in the church).
The tour is a real delight, both for children as well as adults. Easy to understand yet full of information you will not easily get from a guide book. It is also very interesting for children and the guides will make sure to point out more details that capture the imagination when children are present (surely also nice for adults).
After the Basilica di San Francesco we walked up into the centre, getting some beautiful views of Assisi along the way and lot’s of information about the town and life back then.
The tour ends in the centre, with lots of tips of what still to see and do.
The guided tour of Assisi will take place every Thursday morning from the beginning of June to the end of August. The price is 7 euro for adults and 2 for children (children only pay for use of the ear piece radio transmitter). It begins at 10.30 hour and you meet at the Basilica ‘inferiore’ (the lower church).
Below some pictures …
Civita di Bagnoregio – La città che muore
Today we my colleague and I went to Lake Corbara, visiting a house to add to our Umbrian vacation rental portfolio. Since we were in the area, we made a short touristic detour to visit Civita di Bagnoregio, a small gem of Etruscan origins. Not any longer Umbria, but very close!
Civita di Bagnoregio is also called ‘la città che muore’ (the dying town) and when you look at the pictures, you will understand why. No cars can enter. A narrow bridge connects the dying town to the rest of the world.
The little town is still home to several people and a few cats. The cats keep an eye on you. The moment you sit down on one of the several terraces in town you will find yourself surrounded. The cats made a healthy impression, so either somebody is taking care of them or tourists happily share their meals (since the cats took such keen interest in tourists, I guess the latter … ).
If you are in the area of Orvieto, do drive over to Civita di Bagnoregio, this stubborn little village, or what remains of it (during the ages lots was lost to erosion already) is absolutely worth a visit.
Early spring … some more pictures
Tough pruning job!
Yes, meters up in the air, this chainsaw got caught in the tree.
We had to ‘prune’ these huge trees because one had fallen and was uncomfortably leaning on another one. Unfortunately however, also this tree is about to fall. So action was required!
Two guys from the village who have dealt with these kinds of problems before, arrived with a … (excuse me … no idea what you call one of these in the picture below, maybe platform, but not sure?) and started working immediately. The first cut they made resulted in the above situation. Luckily they had a second chain saw and managed to get the first one out.
The leaning tree was dangerously tense and every so often, after more work done, it would fall further making the most horrific sounds in doing so.
In the morning they managed to top all the trees and bring the fallen one down without any damage. A real neat job.
Now I need to find somebody who would like to take the wood away (for free!). If you know anybody within a few days from now, do let me know!
Asterix and Obelix in Umbria?
I passed this huge rock on my way up, but I did not really notice.
On the way back however, I was impressed. Truelly an impressive rock. Made me think maybe Obelix passed by!
