Today dawned cloudy and gray, but I was feeling peppy and ready to go.
I loved this house with the cascading flowers. It was in Cesilli, population 130, near last nights digs.
The long and winding road, as the song says. It rained just enough to make me begrudgingly wear my rain gear. Today's hike was a piece of cake compared to yesterday. There was some up and some down but overall it was on the flat side. I needed a fairly easy day.
The river was rushing noisily downstream due to yesterday's heavy rains. I loved the sound of the water as it swirled and gurgled beside me. The river accompanied me all day and played its relaxing melody. What a treat!
I was fascinated with the large hole in the rock. I am sure that it must be a cave.
I made pretty good time today. I kept watching the lonely looking castle percariouslyu perched on the side of the mountain.
Another closer view of the same castle.
I stopped in Ferentillo for a much appreciated Coca-Cola Zero and I realized on the top of the Ferentillo side, there was also a castle. The two fortresses sat directly across from each other with only a narrow valley separating them. I wonder if they were mortal enemies and fired across the valley at each other.
I walked in-between these two mountains.
I am looking with my neck as far back as it would go, looking up at the cliffs. This is a popular rock climbing area and when I sat enjoying my Coca-Cola Zero I noticed photo after photo of individual climbers on its face . Looks plenty challenging to me.
Another door for Mary. This one was about 5 feet tall at the tip of the point. I do know that the knights of old were fairly short. Did you know that Portugal has the shortest men in the world? Just thought I throw that in.
There is a castle in Arrone where I am staying, but it is much higher up than my hotel.
I got a chuckle out of this. The church here is dedicated to Saint Marie of Assunta. I think that in English the sign above the candle translates to "Maria of the Crazy."
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta has a plain wide facade dating from the 15th century.
The high altar had beautiful frescos, some of the oldest in Umbria.
And this little chapel is dedicated to Saint Maria of Assunta.
As I was looking for my hotel, which was surprisingly hard to find, when I saw this little welcoming tribute to the peregrinos passing by. That would be me!
I decided, after a brief rest that I had to walk to the top and see the castle village.
The oldest part of Arrone, the castle was built at the end of the 9th century by a Roman nobleman.
Looking down from the Castle of Arrone.
The Ciesa San Giovanni Baptista di Arrone, or the Church of Saint John the Baptist of Arrone, dating from 1413 was high on the mountain. I happened to be walking behind two Italian men when we came to the church. One of he men knocked on a nearby door and a woman with a key appeared. The leader of the two men cordially invited me to have a look inside. What a nice surprise gift.
The ancient frescos are of the Umbrian school and the church is one of the most important monuments in the Castle of Arrone.
The Castle of Arrone preserves the original mediaeval alleyways. They appear to be mostly residences. It was so much fun to wander the narrow passageways and peer into crooks and crannies.
Surprisingly, the clock had the exact time as my Garmin watch.
There were several of these beautiful trumpet plants scattered throughout the village.
The Italian flag waving proudly.
So on my way back to the hotel, I spotted this pastry shop. I pointed at two things that looked interesting and took them back to my room for an afternoon snack. I practically rolled on the floor in ecstasy from the first bite. The one on the left was a cream puff filled with decadent chocolate hazelnut mousse, and topped with dark chocolate cocoa. The crisp tart on the right was filled with silky Braverian creme, and topped with a variety of fresh glazed fruit. I have officially died and gone to heaven.
Luckily dinner started at 7:00. I ordered a white wine and this wine was way more than it looked in this photo. It was at least an entire bottle. If I drank all of it, someone would have to carry to my room.
My first course was tagliatelle with tomatoes and peppers. I thought maybe it would be spicy but it was not. I didn't miss the spicy because of the intense flavor of the tomatoes.
My main course was fresh caught local trout. I am not so fond of leaving the head on fish but at least the eyes were not looking back at me. I love trout and this was clearly a fresh cold water trout. A squeeze of lemon just sent it to perfection. I declined dessert because I ate my dessert before dinner with the two outstanding pastries.
I couldn't resist snapping this last photo. The dining room was full of men, no wome, except for me, and more kept coming. Each table had two large bottles of orange Fanta plus water and after all it is Italy -- wine. I couldn't figure out what they had in common but they clearly were one big group. Some were older --some were younger. They didn't strick me as cyclists. Maybe the local meeting of Rotary or Kiwanis? In any event, I enjoyed watching men being men. Lots of joking and posturing but once the food came, all was quiet except the scrape of forks.
It was a glorious 15.4 miles. Until tomorrow!
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