I believe our time is really winding down both actually and mentally. This was to be our final day to get up and go for the normal day’s travel. Off we went to the Umbrian town of Spoleto about 90 minutes away. Upon arriving we were totally baffled by this mid sized town. It was like we were rookie tourists all over again. Ann was driving and after successfully getting through the gates of the old town things began to degenerate.

The streets were, of course, Medieval narrow but complicated by the immense amount of reconstruction going on with seemingly every building in the historic center. This created three problems for Ann on these one way streets. First, the streets were narrower than usual with the scaffolding. Second, the important signs were behind these reconstruction projects with covered facades for the workers. And third, what little parking was available was made littler by the reconstruction. I might add that the town was teeming with people and not tourists. Poor Ann drove up the winding streets wondering if the car would get stuck between buildings and then finding no parking wound down the narrow streets to also finding no parking places. When we reached the portal out of the old town walls we looked at each other and said that we had “done” Spoleto and we moved on.

This took us to the tiny town of Trevi, perched precariously (Well maybe not precarious since it has been around since Etruscan times) on the side of a mountain. Trevi, I believe, was closed today. The museums were closed, most restaurants were closed and it being 1:00 pm everything else was closed for lunch. Fortunately the restaurant on the main piazza (a tiny piazza) was open and we had lunch. We both had antipasto only. Ann had stuffed black celery. Black celery is a delicacy of Trevi and is only available in October. It is very dark green with a stronger celery flavor. A long rib of the celery including part of the heart is stuffed with a bread crumb and an herb mixture and heated with a red meat sauce. Ann thought it was very interesting and tasted delicious. I liked it too. I had warm scamorza (smoked mozzarella) with thin slices of prosciutto. Having specific regional Umbrian food was the best part. Even if it was Italian food…

We then came home, exhausted from doing very little. Travel fatigue is beginning to overcome us, I fear.

On the bright side, we are now seeing first the signs of fall. The leaves are beginning to turn and the green view out the windows is tinged with yellow in the trees and grapevines. The sage color of the olive trees mixed with the turning leaves makes for a tapestry of colors on the hillsides. Warm, sunny, 75 degree days continue but the lows have dipped into the low 50s.

Lesson for Day 36: No matter if it is a delicacy, stuffed black celery will never taste better that celery stuffed with peanut butter (Either smooth or chunky Jif, of course) – a true American delicacy.