I am in love with Perugia. Even on a rainy day, I just wanted to wander the streets and explore all the little alleys and stairways. It is just so beautiful and alluring. It's a maze, with hills and stairs and alleys and archways and bridges and escalators, up, down, curves. Just walking around, you're above everything, then below, then in the middle of it all. One of the hostel girls compared it to an Escher drawing/print-where the stairs go every which way but somehow you still find your way around.
It rained all day, so I spent most of it in museums. First stop-National Gallery -which was amazing. You would think that by now I'd be tired of gold leaf and madonnas and saints, but oh no, these paintings were just so beautiful. I spent some time there, then went to the Collegio di Cambio-an old bank with elaborate woodwork and frescoes all over the ceilings. Then I walked a bit, just to explore, until I found the cappella di San Severo with its fresco by Raphael. The rain calmed, so I wandered more until it returned, then I found a place for lunch. "Al Mangiar Bene," I had pasta with arugula pesto, the best pasta I have ever had - chewy, firm, perfectly al dente, and the pesto was delicious. Side of grilled veggies was cold and oily, but that pasta was to die for. I sat there for a long time, watching and being watched. When I left it was raining even harder, and my feet got soaked. I decided to check out another museum in order to hide from the rain- the museum belonging to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. The highlights were more gold alter piece paintings and a painting by Luca Signorelli. After that the rain stopped for a bit, so I just walked all through the upper part of Perugia, past the Chiesa di San Francesco(closed), along the old aqueduct, through the university area, to the Porta & tempio di Sant'Angelo, down Via Garibaldi, stopping to buy chocolate (I already bought some @ 2 other places) & gelato, & finally back to the hostel.
