Monday April 24, 2023
We are up early as Carol wakes me so I can do my packing that I should have done last night. I also have to map out the route to our hotel. She has prepacked some of my stuff which helps and I finish my mapping and packing my last minute items which go in my day pack. We are barely finished when the owners father in law is at the door to help us with our bags but we decline. We did get a nice to go bag as promised and we are out the door just past 0700. We head out and take a slight veer in the wrong direction but correct and come out in a small piazza we were shooting for but not from the street we had planned. From here it is a straight shot to the train station and we get there in plenty of time. Our first train today is a fast train and Gwen has treated us to first class. It is rather nice as they give you water, coffee, or juice, cookies or chips, and a very nice smiling boun Giorno. It is a little over a four hour ride to Rome so we settle in. As usual, I start writing for my journal and Carol settles in to continue a book she has been reading. We arrive in Rome about 10 minutes late but we had an hour and fifteen minute change so we do not care. First task is to buy our regional train tickets to Spoleto. We get in line at a machine and it does not seem to be working so we switch to another next to it. That also is temperamental for people so we go to a different area to try there. This time things work and with our tickets in hand, we search out the area where regional trains leave from. We find the entrance so now we look for a place to sit as it is too early to go through the security area. Dave is hungry so we end up sitting at a famous Roman restaurant known as Five Guys. When he finishes his burger, it is time to go to the tracks. We pass security and a few minutes later our train shows up on the board saying track 2 est(east). We are by tracks 20 to 30 where it seemed all the regional trains left from. I ask a girl where track 2 est is and she points to the other end of the station. The train just showed up 15 minutes before departing and now we have a long walk to it. We get to the other side of the station and arrows point the way which is even farther. I can not believe how far this track is and it is not even in the main station area. By the time we get on the train there is only a few minutes left before it departs. Kind of crazy because if you couldn’t move so well you would never make it once it shows up on the board.
Arriving in Spoleto an hour and a half later, it is starting to rain. We have a 1.2 mile uphill walk to our hotel and by the time we get our rain gear on, it just lets loose with torrential rain. We wait a little to see if it subsides and when it doesn’t, Gwen had flagged down some poor soul she thought was a taxi driver. He wasn’t but he was nice enough to go in a small room where driver was hanging out. We are whisked to our hotel, almost getting in an accident on the way there. We get out and just as we go into the hotel it starts hailing. The cab ride was nice nut we probably missed out on a great, Remember when we walked in a hailstorm in Spoleto, story. After we are all checked in, we head out to Palazzo Collicola, a short distance away. The rain has subsided but the sloping cobble streets are slippery going downhill, so we move a little slow. We reach the Palazzo and buy a Spoleto Card which will save us money on the sights we are seeing. The palace is a museum of contemporary art which is not our cup of tea. There are some nice rooms and we have fun with a display of dresses and outfits from back in the day.
By the time we leave there is no rain and patches of blue breaking through. We walk uphill until we come to the Spoleto Cathedral. The outside reminds me of one we had seen in Orvieto on another trip. The cathedral was built on the remains of the Church of Santa Maria del Vescovato which was destroyed by Federico Barbarossa who also starred in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie with Johnny Depp. The original Duomo was built in the 12th century and has beautiful pink stone, 8 rose windows and gold mosaics on its facade. There is a bust of Pope Urban VIII above the entrance and 15th century frescoes by Filipino Lippi with the stories of the virgin inside. One chapel holds an autographed letter by St Francis but it is behind bars and pretty dark so you can not see it. There are also many grave markers on the floor of the church. It is a beautiful church with lots of interesting things and history.
On the way back to our hotel, we walk under a Roman arch. We discover it is the arch of Drusus built in 23 A.D. and was the entrance to the Roman Forum of Spoletium. It was commissioned by the Spoleto senate and commemorates Drusus Minor the son of the Emperor Tiberius. Very cool. This evenings restaurant choice is Osteria Dell Enocoteca, a small place with a very nice interior. We get casarecce pasta with ricotta cheese, sausage, and truffle and pappardelle with cinghiale (wild boar). The winner of tonight’s pasta contest is the casarecce. It is out of this world. Not that the wild boar and pasta is not great but the casarecce is amazing. A short passagietta back to our room helps with the digestion. Time for bed. Expenses Train Bari to Spoleto 61.90E Spoleto Card 16E Cab Ride 7E Dinner at Osteria Dell Enocoteca 40E Aurora Boutique Hotel 70.96E. Walked 6.4 Miles
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