Wish I were back in Umbria...

Well, it's nearly a month now since we returned from Italy, and I sooooo wish we were still there. The trip was amazing--and not in a "we-did-so-many-exciting-things" way. I think it was more the mood that was amazing. It's been a long time since Tord and I felt so relaxed and so happy to simply "be". Coming home to Stockholm was very difficult. Stockholm feels so drab and cold in comparison. This could, of course, be due to it raining nearly every single day since we returned home.

Let me tell you why it was so wonderful to be in Italy...

After a hectic and sticky day in Rome, we boarded a train bound for Spoleto and arrived in a beautiful Umbrian hill town that just felt magical. From the balcony of our hotel room, we had a spectacular view of the verdant hillside and were lulled by the heady scent of bird cherry everyday. We drank far too much red wine, ate too much parmesan cheese and sausage spiced with truffles, climbed the steep and narrow streets of the city and stumbled on so many gorgeous sights.... I could have easily spent another two or three days there.

But we had another place to visit...Assisi. And Assisi was lovely, even with so many tourists milling around and all the hubbub with the Pope's imminent arrival, Assisi was a city that charmed the pants off us. We trudged up the steep Pilgrim's Way (sweating, swearing, and dying of thirst) only to be dazzled by the sight of the Basilica of San Francesco. Like Spoleto, Assisi was full of narrow lanes and surprising vistas. The food was delicious...our hotel room at the bottom of the hill--modern, comfortable and overlooking a piazza that seemed to host a block party every night.

And then there was Perugia...yet another hill town, this one with a population of around 160,000. It took us a while to find our hotel and the air was thick and syrupy. Our hotel, just outside the old city walls and positioned with an outstanding view of Assisi in the distance, gave us a well-deserved respite with its rooftop pool and terrace. We overdosed on Umbrian art, sampled local cuisine and took la passegiata every evening.

And everyday I dreamed of how it must be to rent a house in Italy and spend an entire summer there. One day I hope I can do that. I am so tired of wet and uninspiring Swedish summers, especially when I've already had to suffer through a long, dark and even less inspiring Swedish winter.

By the way, the picture above is mine. It's a view of Perugia from our hotel's rooftop terrace. I wish I were there now...

I love Umbria...