Biking Walking and Eating across Italy

 Spello, called Hispellum by the Romans who settled  in about -260, sits on a ridge of land jutting out from the flanks of Mt Subasio, overlooking the Umbrian plain. At 1290m, Subasio is the tallest point nearby in the Appenine mountains. Starting just above town, and encompassing the bulk of the mountain is Parco Del Monte Subasio, which is cobwebbed with a network of well marked hiking trails . Spello to Assisi  Our first hike, along the Via Frances (VF on the sign posts), follows the footsteps of St. Francis on his pilgrimage route to/from Rome in 1209.  I looked for his footprints, but didn't see any.  Perhaps the overnight rain washed them away.  The path consists mainly of a single lane gravel road that runs north along the slope at the point where the olive orchards give way to the forested slopes of the mountain.  In this section, the path runs through an olive Grove.  As the olive groves gave way to suburban housing on the outskirts...

When the citizens of Spello rebuilt the aqueduct that provided water to Spello since ancient times, they included stones carved with sayings of well known people. Here are some of the stones. Can you help us translate them? He who is unable to feel amazement and wonder is already dead and his eyes are incapable of seeing. Einstein I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.  Groucho Marx Culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living.  T.S. Eliot In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends! Martin Luther King Man is a creature that can get accustomed to anything, and I think that is the best definition of him Dostoevsky  I was sad because my foot hurt. Then I met a man with no legs.  Anonymous Sad is that little boy who does not advance his master. Leonardo da Vinci I Think about how you live (?) Demothenes The next world wa...

Bietola a Costa Fine. The local "green" that is ubiquitous in the area.   Somewhere between spinach and chard.  We blanched it whole in boiling salted water for a minute, then sauteed it in lots of olive oil and garlic.  Yum. Home made Italian dinner:  that funny vegetable with Umbrian pork sausage over Polenta, served with local wine and salad.  It's nice not not have to eat out every meal, airBnB kitchen challenges non-withstanding In 1995 Spello was adding a new parking lot when they discovered the remains of a 1st-ish century Roman villa.  Only the lower foot or two remains, but the mosaics on the floors are amazing.  They constructed a building on top of the old floor, called it a museum , and (as with everything in Italy) charge admission to look at the floor. Our airBnB in Spello has lots of space, mostly in the horizontal direction.  If we'd bothered to bring our own bike helmets, I'd be wearing one inside. On the trail to Collepino, along...