Italy!!

We flew in to Rome bright and early. As we were landing at Fiumicino we could see crowds of people already on the beach at 8 o'clock in the morning! After collecting our bags we waited for the car person to collect us and drive us to the parking lot where we were picking up our hire car. The traffic outside the airport was heavy. There was a long line of cars taking scores of Romans to the beach. The traffic was barely moving as the cars crawled "al mare". Luckily our driver knew an alternative route.
Once we were in the car it was straight onto the autostrada to head north to Todi....they drive very fast here....we were there before we knew it. Our house was a few minutes drive out of town so once we unpacked the car we headed out to explore.

Todi house.

View of Todi from house.

Some of the hill towns in Italy have a "funicular", which is a cross between a train, a tram and an elevator that takes you straight up the hill instead of driving. Todi has one of these so we parked the car at the bottom of the hill and up we went.

We're in the funicular, it has glass walls so we can see everything.

The funicular track.

We wandered through the town and explored the medieval streets, churches and piazzas. It was a warm Sunday afternoon so it was quiet and peaceful.

Daniel in downtown Todi on a warm Sunday afternoon.

Just a pretty house in Todi.

After hearing the bells toll we went back to the house for a swim......

It's cold! says Daniel.

.......then out to dinner at the ristorante Rosa dei Venti in the hamlet of Fiore. Fiore is a little town not far away from our house, the name means "flower" in English. The best part of this restaurant is that it's outside and has a playground. Daniel really liked the swing but he ran into a little bit of trouble due to the proximity of the hedge.

Madeleine where's my thong??

This is the restaurant I love, look at the chimneys on the house behind me.

It is much warmer here and we were able to pack our winter clothes away for the rest of the trip. Tomorrow is market day in Marsciano so we plan to stock up on fresh Italian produce for our stay in Umbria.....