Made it to Umbria…minus one spare tire!

We are sitting in a café in the very sleepy town of Pietralunga, Italy in the northern part of Umbria and not too far from our wonderful hillside farmhouse, La Rondinaia. Today marks the beginning of our fourth destination, a much needed reprieve from five days of travelling and the bustling city of Rome.

Let’s backtrack a little bit to Sardinia. Last time we checked in, we had just arrived and had settled into Alghero. We thoroughly enjoyed this old city: it’s a relaxed, seaside town with a bit of Spanish spice, beautiful beaches, a vibrant cobble street downtown, and the best restaurant we have tried yet! After spending the day in & around town, we showed up for our dinner reservation at Al Tuguri (they had turned us away the night before, so we had to go back!). It had received a number of rave reviews, and in fact had many compliments about its vegetarian fare. Al Tuguri definitely did not disappoint. The highlight of the night was Sarah’s flaming flan! (and no,Craig’s not entirely obsessed with flaming desserts…).

Thursday morning started very early, as we tried to repack for our flight to Rome. Did we mention we were flying on Ryanair? Yes, they do have cheap flights, but it comes with some sacrifice and special clauses. Definitely read the fine print before flying. Why you ask? We almost had to spend $500 for one piece of luggage....we’re not joking. Apparently, they charge 20 Euro per kilo over your allotted luggage weight. You also cannot change that amount once you’ve checked in on-line. We live and learn. With some puppy dog eyes, and determination, we were able to negotiate the price down substantially (playing the honeymoon card can sometimes work wonders). Fortunately, we and our luggage made it safely to Rome.

We rented our car and navigated (go Sarah, go!) our way into the heart of Rome. We thought our luck and fortune couldn’t have been getting any better, when we scored a parking spot not far from our hotel and from the Vatican. That evening, we walked through the historical streets of the city, taking in sights of St. Peter’s square, the Piazza Navona (ooh, good cappuccino!), the Pantheon, the Senate, Forum, and Colosseum. Believe it or not, we even stumbled upon a movie shoot (a German production about the Pope during WWII) and Sarah got to be part of the scene (see picture below :)).

The following morning, we found a fantastic café (the best chocolate croissants!) and fueled ourselves for a tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. We marveled at Michelangelo’s handiwork, but couldn’t believe that he had done it all by paint-by-number! In all seriousness, it is a most impressive work (500 meters squared of painting on his back for 4 years), and he captures so much of the splendor of God. We were able to spend a significant amount of time taking it all in.

While we were at the Sistine Chapel, our hotel owners (a very sweet older couple) had graciously offered to watch our luggage (so we didn’t have to keep it in our car)…which brings us to the title of this blog. We discovered, much to our dismay, that our car had been broken into (although we admit that they did a very nice job—we couldn’t tell from the outside). What did they steal? What did they get away with? The felt liner of the trunk, one spare tire, and two squares of chocolate. We hope they enjoyed the chocolate.

So, minus one spare tire, we escaped Rome and headed to the much more secluded region of Umbria. It has been a nice change. We were greeted at the farmhouse by a welcome package including spinach lasagna and sparkling wine, and enjoyed the quiet serenity of the Umbrian hills.

Arrivaderci! But first, a short summary from Craig: