On Saturday we went to Spoleto. We hiked all the way up to the top of the town and then up even higher to the old castle-fort overlooking Spoleto and an ancient Roman aqueduct below. There Joey gave us a very informative tour of the medieval Rocca, including such characters as Abraham Lincoln and Genghis Khan. We made our way back to Spoleto via an elevator that we wished we'd found earlier.
Our timing was off again, and most of Spoleto was closed. We managed to find one little cafe where Mallory, Joey and I drank beer and thawed out while we waited for naptime to end. We found an open shop and bought ricotta and truffles. Then the shop next door opened and we found more truffles and cheese in there. Owned by the cutest old lady who pointed at a photograph of a little girl, touched her chest and said, "Me Na-na," the store was full of great souvenirs which we were happy to buy. Then she recommended to Joey (our translator) the restaurant across the street for wine tasting and appetizers. We happily obliged, and she waddled over to unlock it with her key. Nana turned on the lights and headed to the kitchen, where she prepared our antipasti.
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| With Nana. She's in Fodor's travel guide - she showed us. |
We left Nana and wandered back to the car, stopping to find dessert along the way. Unfortunately it was too early in the evening and the restaurants we tried weren't willing to give up a table for people only eating dulce. So we spent the rest of the night at Casa San Gabriel drinking wine and playing cards.
Sunday we decided to lay low. It had been a packed eight days and we all needed a break from the toaster. Dad and Joey got up early and brought back pastries, which we shared with Mom and Mallory after Mass. Later in the afternoon, Mallory, Joey and I went for a long hike to try to mitigate maybe one of the cannoli. Everybody except me played cards late into the night - I needed a little quiet time and headed to bed early - we were going to Florence in the morning!For my Spoleto pictures, click here.
