Over the Hills to Umbria...

We woke up early and took a leisurely drive to Urbino. I didn't seem to capture much of the beauty of the day, but here are some random, weird pictures anyway. Our drive took us over two spans of hills, both beautiful, covered in fall foliage. It was a big day for hunters, and we saw a whole group of them unloading their dogs by the road. We were driving, so we didn't get a picture of 'em.

Later, at the top, I stopped to take some pictures of foliage on the hills of the Bocca di Trabbaria, which is what I think this wilderness area is called. I walked up a path to get a better shot, then heard a gunshot close by. I heard hunters on the cliff above me and reconsidered my choice of a white shirt at the start of deer season. Well, I didn't get shot and neither did the deer. I saw a large herd of them on the other side of the hill, nearer town and right next to the road. It looks like the deer know that it's the start of deer season too!

Urbino is a hillside walled town with steep streets. You park down at the bottom and then take an elevator up to the main level. (OK, you can walk too, but it's only 50 cents!) The main attraction is the Palazzo Ducale, a fine Renaissance palace with a collection of paintings. Of course it has some della Francesca, and a fine Raphael, but my favorite paintings were those of Luca Signorelli, who did those wild frescoes at Orvieto. He has such a modern way with line and design. It really attracts your eye.

I've loved Paolo Uccello on this trip as well, and here he's represented by... well... kind of a racist comic strip. It's fascinating how it tells a story, though I admit I was a little fuzzy on the details. The anti-Semitism comes right through, of course.

We had lunch at a lovely old-style restaurant Vecchia Urbino. I had something called guarciale, which turned out to be a fatty bacon, cut extra thin, so thin that you wonder how it kept its shape in the cooking. But fatty bacon doesn't really sound all that appetizing, does it? It tasted heavenly, with a crisp and lightness that just kept getting better and better. Next I had a spaghetti dish that--loosely translated--means "the kind of spaghetti that the common folk like done in our style." Again, excellent and seemed to come from the terrain.

I was going to mention the gelato we had, but their website crashed my machine, so my lips are sealed.

I do want to mention our hotel again. It's the best hotel ever. OK, maybe that's an overstatement, but we are absolutely loving it there. Susie, if you're reading this, please book more people into this hotel, the Vogue Hotel Arezzo. And don't judge by the website. Our room is better than anything shown online. Ask for the Manzoni room. You won't be disappointed.