Well that was confusing. I took a train from Firenze to Terontola to transfer for a train to Perugia, since there were no direct lines. Got off the train @ Terontola, only to get back on the same train to go to Perugia. Now to figure out how to get to the hostel when I get to Perugia. Oh the adventures!
Of course I arrived in Perugia before the hostel opened for check in & had to carry my backpack around the whole time. I guess I could have used that extra time in Florence to do laundry since I can't do it here. Damn it. Perugia is a very beautiful and interesting city. I wanted to go to the Universita' per Stranieri here to learn Italian so I've been interested in it for a while. I knew I'd like it but not this much. To get from the train station to the center I took the minimetro, this tiny little silver bullet-like rail car that hovers on tracks above the city, and goes through all these tunnels. It feels kind of like riding space mountain in Disneyland. Then I had to take a series of escalators to get up to the city center. I wandered and found Piazza IV Novembre, the center, and sat to rest & eat. Then found the hostel (closed) so I got gelato, though I was rather disappointed with it. Too bad I didn't look around first since there is a better spot down the street. I walked around a little to familiarize myself with the area, then rested my aching back, and finally was able to check into the hostel. After getting situated, wandered down to the bus station to figure out some possible day trip plans. To get there you have to take more escalators and you go through this old stone underground building, really cool. I also found some view points that overlook the city and surrounding Umbria, absolutely gorgeous. I ended up going to the grocery store to make a salad back at the hostel, also bought some chocolate since there are chocolate stores everywhere. Perugia is a temptress with its beauty and its chocolate.
