Now, VRBO's are a bit of a crapshoot, although you can look at photos, read reviews, and ask the owners questions before you commit. The VRBO in Bologna was tiny, without parking, but very compact and generously stocked with staples. Casale i Perugini is about 15 km outside of Perugia (we knew that going in) in an old country house that the owner's grandfather bought in about 1955 and restored. Our apartment is nearly as big as our house back home. Certainly, the dining room is larger than ours, possibly larger than our living room. Two bedrooms (one has 3 single beds), enormous foyer (where we can put the bikes), kitchen, and very large balcony complete the suite. There is a dishwasher, but no soap (in either kitchen or bath), and no staples at all. And the hot water is either cold or scalding hot with pressure varying wildily. Free parking in the farmyard area across the road. The owner gave us a hand-drawn (xeroxed) map of where the nearest markets, bus stops, pizzerias, etc are, but it is so far out of scale, that when we decided to walk to the market we soon found ourselves walking at least 2 km along a rather busy road, and then back in the gathering dusk. Next time, we'll drive.
Yesterday morning, the plan was for David and me to take a ride before Nina woke up, perhaps ending around 2 or 3:00. But of course, having had to pack the bikes into the car, we had to find everything and untangle David's chain, which had gotten itself into an impossible place when he folded the bike. Plus, we had to figure out not only the route (around Lake Trasimeno), but also how to get there to start it. At first, we thought we'd ride, but then it was getting so late, we decided to drive. Google maps and the GPS had two very different ideas about how to approach this task, and we decided to see what the GPS had to offer. Ho boy, had we followed that on a bike, we'd still be riding TO the lake, and would never have done today's ride. It took us up yet another steep switch-backy route (with cyclists, tho), and down again into a town with very narrow streets. Since we had navigated to that town, rather than the next one, we were now without guidance, and ended up driving in a few circles and through some mighty tight turns for our too big car (Opel station wagon) before we found the town where our ride was to start. We continued along the route until we found a reasonable place to park, and then I marked a waypoint, so we could find our way back.
The ride around the lake was nice, once we found our way to it. Although this is a fairly major tourist destination, at least for Italians, the roads were sparsely traveled, and we saw many farm houses in various states of decay, including one near Castiglione del Lago that we decided was our next fixer-upper project. I'm sure it would be a nightmare, but it was so romantic. The roof looked okay and the walls were pretty much intact, but it appeared to be totally abandoned. Off in the distance was one of those ubiquitous farm buildings that appear almost organic as parts of them seem to be melting back into the soil, while others seem to be in everyday use. The lake itself is only about 36 miles around by the road, with a remarkable amount of farmland abutting the lake itself. Towns are scattered at intervals along the lake, but they're not very large. Castiglione del Lago has a 13th century castle high up on a hill, surrounded by walls. Just inside the old walled part, there is a nice pedestrian area with plenty of shops (many open even on a Sunday) selling local specialities. We got some great pastries (savory as well as sweet) in a pasticceria/paneteria, evaded the woman trying to give us samples of salumi, and ogled the olive-wood cutting boards, cheese grater trays, etc. Back on the bikes, we passed through Passignano, where Mike Eaton and I started our Umbria Tour in 1996 (http://www.grizzlypeakcyclists.org/trips/Italy9610.html) and we even found the car again. This time, we allowed the GPS to use highways, and we got back to the house in no time.
Dinner at a so-so pizzeria/restaurant followed a rather nice aperitif with our fellow guests at Casale i Perugini. The rest of the guests are Austrian and German, so I got to practice my German (much, MUCH better than my Italian). Dinner was eminently forgettable. After dinner, David and I plotted out a route up above Capocavallo that looked promising, with no strade bianche (unpaved roads) according to Google maps.
This morning, we headed off for the ride, climbed up to Alta Capocavallo, and came to the intersection with the road to the cemetary, where Via Vasco de Gama was supposed to head off the hill. We found a paved road toward Alta Capocavallo, the unpaved road that dead-ended in 100 m or so at the cemetary, and an unpaved road up the hill. We tried the paved road, but that also led to a dead end. We asked a driver who happened by, and he said go back to the cemetary and go uphill. We talked to another driver who came down the unpaved road and asked how far it was unpaved. Up to the friars, he said (I think). Hmmm. Well, we'll give it a go. We had to walk a fair bit of the road because it was in terrible shape and quite steep. Then we came to a more level bit, but still unpaved. It seemed to be going in the right direction, although the GPS had long since given up showing us any road at all. Then a paved road appeared on the GPS, although it, too, was unpaved. Finally, we came to an intersection with a paved road and found that we were exactly on route. So much for Google maps and GPS. At any rate, it was pretty much downhill from there, and soon we found ourselves back at the apartment, having gone a mere 11.6 miles. But at least it leaves us plenty of time to explore Perugia.
No comments:
Post a Comment