There was a little market in one of the piazzas this morning, I wasn't going to buy anything b/c I'd have to carry it around all day, but I couldn't resist a gorgeous loaf of bread and some fall apples. I also watched some sort of religious procession-a bunch of men in purple robes carrying a large image of Mary, followed by a full orchestral band. The group was from South America I think, speaking spanish.
I explored the lower part of Perugia today, walked past the Rocca Paolina, peeked into a church having mass. Walked past some giant arches & found the massive cathedral that I see everyday from the hostel - San Domenico. There was some splendid stained glass, but the interior was very bare and minimal. People were just showing up for mass, so I continued on my way. I walked to another church, San Pietro, also viewed from my hostel, but it was having a service as well, so I sat in the park behind it and drew. I caught the last part of mass, a choir singing. The music was beautiful, as was the church - ornate decorations & alter, frescoes everywhere & giant paintings. I headed back the way I came toward the center and went for lunch - pizza and a beer. The pizza was delicious! Napoli style-doughy, chewy, blackened crust. Awkwardly ate by myself again. I don't mind, but wow do people give me looks. It is not normal for a woman to be eating alone in a restaurant in Italy. There were some people gathered at a table next to me and a little girl asked her mom "perche' sola?" And the mom seemed like she was struggling for an answer. I felt uncomfortable and left soon after that, along with the leftover pizza that the waitress placed in an oversized pizza box. As luck would have it, it started to rain when I left the restaurant, so I had to balance my bag of bread & apples (from the morning) on top of the pizza and hold an umbrella. No I could not go to the hostel because there is a lockout from 11 - 3:30, but I couldn't walk around for 2 more hours like this, so l went to this cozy little coffee shop where I could sit and hide from the rain and write for a while. Relaxing, I haven't done that in a long time. There is a chocolate shop with awesome gelato (where I went yesterday) next to the coffee shop, so I went in there on my way back to have this ridiculous pistachio gelato-sandwich, so good, but way too much indulgence for one day! Dropped my load off at the hostel, then walked - another visit to the main church (San Lorenzo), back to the Chiesa di San Franceso (still closed), past the University again, along another lookout point, down to the Universita per Stranieri campus and then back up for more beautiful views of Perugia.
