Hunt for the wild boar

We haven’t seen Noah’s Ark yet. That said, it has been a fairly rainy venture this last week, and we can count two days of sunshine sandwiched by multiple days of steady wetness. We have elected against braving the elements, and have chosen the easier path of simply relaxing at La Rondinaia (hence, the sparcity of blog updates). We have filled our time with reading (Sarah’s approaching page 650 in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables), card games (she edged me out yesterday!), a "very refreshing" dip in the pool (brrr!), witnessing a gorgeous rainbow right in our backyard, and our biggest adventure yet: getting food at the local grocery store (when they’re open). We’re hoping to go to the nearby town of Urbino today, known for its Renaissance architecture.

Filling in the gaps from when we last left off, we’ll pick up with the title of this blog. On Monday, we decided to stretch our legs a bit after being cooped up at the house. We trekked down a different nearby road, and were fortunate enough to take in a great sunset along the way. On our way back, and having almost reached the house, we heard a rustling in the nearby brush. Thinking it was simply a deer, we waited for it to run away, but it didn’t. In fact, the rustling got louder and closer. Craig started throwing rocks (big rocks!), and heard a loud grunt. We decided to make a run for it, and made it safely back to our abode. We’re pretty convinced that it was a wild boar, and at least one reputable source says that they can get up to 400-500 pounds (thanks, Ron). It’s a good thing Craig has a good arm to have scared it off, because otherwise Sarah was prepared to do hand-to-tusk combat. We’re sure he would have ended up like this other guy:


Among our less wild adventures, we got out on Tuesday and Wednesday to visit some charming towns nearby (sunny days!). Our first trip was to Gubbio, a very well-loved medieval city tucked into the Umbrian hillside. We arrived on market day, and were impressed with all of the various wares being sold (like pots & pans & leotards). We sampled some of the local culinary delicacies like truffle cheese (blech! neither one of us favors it) and golden plums (our favorite find yet and four thumbs up!). We checked out some of the local artistry, and climbed the winding streets to take in some wonderful views of the valley. Our next stop that day was Assisi, a similarly charming and well-preserved town. We loved walking the off-beaten tracks and alleyways nestled between monasteries and convents. We saw the inspiring frescoes within the Basilica of Saint Francis, saw his tomb, and learned of his life’s works and miracles. He was a busy guy! On our walk out of town, we stumbled upon our favorite find of the day: a tiny one room chapel to Saint Francis which had actually been his birthplace and early childhood home.

Next day’s stop: Deruta, pottery capital of Italy, and Perugia, home to the Eurochocolate festival and intricately disorganized roads (more on this later). It had been recommended that we peruse one particular ceramics shop & factory in Deruta. When we found it, we were greeted by a tremendously friendly gentleman, Michael, who walked us through the centuries old history and process of ceramic production. Deruta became the pottery hub 1000 years ago because of its abundance of clay soil, wood, and water. It was also far enough away from Perugia (the bigger city), that in case of fire, pottery making wouldn’t burn the city down. Our other fun little adventure while shopping for pottery involved a bit of serendipity: we caught Antonio Margaritelli, a maestro of very traditional ceramic making (he makes his own paints out of the same raw metals used in 16th century pottery), just as he was entering his shop. We loved his work, and purchased one of his plates; he ended up driving us to his studio where we had a thoroughly enjoyable tour and were impressed by his passion and collection of antique remnants.










Earlier in the day, Michael had suggested that we head to nearby Perugia for their October chocolate festival. YUM!! Of the items we sampled, the most interesting were chocolate stout beer and a liquid chocolate beverage (see video below). After dinner in a wine grotto (Sarah got her cheese fix), we got back to our car and attempted to head out of town. Craig prides himself on having a good sense of direction, but Perugia put his internal compass to the test. After zig-zagging back and forth through the old town (anyone remember the old Pac-Man games?), and one closed highway on-ramp, we eventually gained our freedom and were back en-route to Pietralunga. Oof!

It’s been such a blessing to see and enjoy Umbria. We have loved sharing our story with all of you via the blog, and have enjoyed receiving your comments and prayers. Big smile from both of us, and lots of love!

Sarah and Craig