A Stroll Through Churches and Chocolate

Sabato Stroll number two went fabulously.  We journeyed to Perugia and Terni for this particular stroll, which are both in the Umbria region of Italy (Arezzo is in Tuscany, if you didn’t know). 

Our little group arrived in Perugia at about 915 and we then took a bus to the top of the city.  From here, our group split in two.  My group, led by Colin, went to see the Duomo, the Etruscan Well, and finally the Temple of the Angels.  The Duomo and the Well were a bit of a letdown after the overwhelming beauty of the ones in Orvieto on our last Sabato Stroll.  However, it was still an adventure!

We walked through the residential part of the city to find the Temple of the Angels, which was in the middle of preparations for what we believed was a wedding (there seemed to be a lot of them going on in Perugia this weekend!).  It was a beautiful little church with a wonderful courtyard out front that must have been quite the luxury way back when.  While enjoying the sun outside the church, we noticed a tower that we decided to explore.  After climbing some seriously treacherous stairs, we arrived at the top for an amazing view of the city and the surrounding countryside.  It was absolutely beautiful, made more so thanks to the sun that has been rather elusive over the past month. 

 Finally, we headed back toward our meeting point to catch the train to Terni.  After taking an elevator that we thought was our mini metro (thankfully a sweet Italian lady pointed us in the right direction), we arrived at the metro station. The mini metro was actually surprisingly cool.  They were incredibly modern, with independent cars that traveled down the tracks.  I have to say, we were ridiculously excited about this part. 

Next, we hopped the train to Terni, the home of St. Valentine! We went to the church of Saint Valentine, unintentionally interrupting the beginning of a mass, so we had to make a quick exit.  However, most of us were really only there for the chocolate festival, so no big loss. 

The chocolate festival was so much fun.  There were vendors everywhere, selling chocolate, wine, food, and other sweets and treats.  It was remarkably crowded, especially considering Terni isn’t a huge town.  We certainly didn’t overindulge ourselves (for the most part) but we definitely bought some wonderful chocolates.

I got several pieces with dried fruit and some of the others managed to find some chocolate covered strawberries before they sold out.  Colin and I also tried what tasted like the baby of a churro and a cinnamon roll.  They made it by wrapping dough around a wooden spool, baking it, and then rolling it in cinnamon sugar.  It was incredible, although very, very hot.

The chocolates kept coming, with some made with such intricate details that they seemed to come to life.  Some were definitely homemade, but I think quite a few came from a market of some sort.  Too many stalls had the exact same things for there not to have been a market.

Church of San Valentino

 By the end of the festival, we were all a little hyped up on sugar and ready to head back to Arezzo and get off of our feet!  It was a pretty cool day, topped off with delicious chocolate!