Buona Pasquetta!

Ciao a tutti!
Well, we're back in Perugia after our busy weekend in Florence. The weather forecast sadly didn't lie so our trip to Pisa on Saturday morning was a little wet. Consequently, after the obligatory photos pretending to hold up the Tower, the decision was made to return to Florence as more shopping was clearly on the agenda. Thus, after a visit back to the hotel for dry clothes and a quick lunch in one of the many restaurants in Piazza della Repubblica it was time for some retail therapy. At this point, given the solid drizzle that was happening, the girls decided to purchase some umbrellas from the street sellers who are adept at offering whatever is required at the time. Usually it has been "selfie helpie" sticks everywhere, with the odd plastic squishy toy which contracts back into a ball accompanied by a whining noise, but with the persistent rain the umbrella sales were popular. Unfortunately, it's the luck of the draw as to the quality of the umbrella, as Maigan discovered after one strong gust of wind. Not only did the spokes of her umbrella detach themselves, but the whole handle came off. Still, it was a nice shade of purple.
A relatively early night was finished off by dinner at the Tira Baralla restaurant nearby, and then it was back to enjoy the luxury of our surroundings in the Aprile Hotel.
On Sunday morning after our impressive breakfast which included muffins, Easter Eggs and the traditional Easter Colomba cake, we checked out of our hotel and made our way towards the Duomo so that we could witness the traditional Scoppio del Carro. Dating back to the 1600s, this spectacle involves the shooting of a dove (not a real one I stress) along a wire which runs down the length of the cathedral and out through the centre doors as the Gloria is sung during Easter Sunday mass. The dove hits the Carro, or cart, parked in the Square which sets off a spectacular display of very loud fireworks. As the smoke filled the streets, more and more fireworks exploded, signalling a good harvest for the year and good fortune for the city.

Having guaranteed the good luck for the next year, we wound our way back towards the river so that we could climb up to Piazzale Michelangelo and capture some of the postcard views of the city. Jasmyn made friends with a little boy called Matteo who was alternately shy and very cuddly. He didn't want any photos but he was quite happy to stay with us, even when his nonni were ready to go.

Our next stop was lunch at a little trattoria back down the hill near Santa Croce where Talia in particular was a tad excited by some of the young male diners, before a final fling around the shops and the odd crépe with Nutella to keep the energy levels up for our return journey to Perugia. At the station the girls learnt the exciting game of "guess which platform our train will come in on" so that we could make a dash for a good spot in a less crowded carriage. Without being too smug about it, I have to say that I won - although perhaps prior experience is a bit of an unfair advantage. Back in Perugia we took a bus back up to the centre - always an exciting experience - before a late pasta dinner and a big sleep.

Easter Monday dawned much brighter - or at least we are assuming so as everyone got to sleep in. Today was our rest day; time to do washing and sorting out all of the purchases so far. We also went for a passeggiata to check out the market stalls running down the Corso and to check out the view at the end in Piazza Italia, where we spotted snow on the mountains in the distance. Despite the sunshine, it was a little fresh so most were happy to go back and hang out in the apartments for the afternoon. Before dinner it was time to finish off homework ready for tomorrow's classes - three hours of grammar lessons punctuated by ten minute breaks every fifty minutes. I guess the Bar may be a popular destination then.

Hope you've all had a great Easter - ours has been a lot of fun!