September 27, 2009

Domenica

Umbria. Beautiful hilltop towns, rolling fields, and the Cottage of the Olive, our home away from home. Due to our lack of planning we ended up with only one option for lodging in Umbria, the Olive Cottage. This place is slightly bigger than we needed (lets just say we each have our own bedroom and bathroom, and there are still empty rooms) but it is amazing. And after our one room + curtain = 2 rooms in the Cinque Terre, it is nice to have a little more space.

Today we went to church in Terni, in a branch where Ryan spent a part of his mission. Even though we didn't understand a word you could tell that the talks were good and the people were very kind. The branch has grown since Ryan's time--there is a new building and more members. From there we went to Spoletto, a beautiful hilltop town (I think this may become a theme). Jamie had what was perhaps her favorite meal of the trip: a spinich ravioli with a sage and tomato cream sauce and for dessert: panna cotta and berry gelato. Yum.

Tonight the Packers showed the Wrides how to rock Scopa. Taylor is still reeling. Better luck tomorrow.

**Special thanks to the grandmas taking care of Ella. Knowing she is in such good hands makes this trip a million times easier**

7 comments:

Sue said...

It sounds like you are having fun, but we're having more!! Ella is being an absolute angel. I'm afraid I'm not doing too well at keeping her eating to meal times. That girl loves to eat!! Mmnnnn!!

Amelia Hohl said...

(Justin here). Good to catch up on your travels. Umbria is fantastic and Amelia and I always have trouble deciding which is better: Umbria or Toscana . . . can you include a link to your olive cottage so we can see what it looks like?

Divertate-vi--

Britt Chudleigh said...

In good hands she is. I had the pleasure of watching your mom and dad fawn over her at church today. I am not sure who is doing whom the favor. Your parents are almost as cute as she is..........almost.

Have a great trip!

Alissa said...

Justin--here's a link to the cottage:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p147362

Amelia Hohl said...

Wow, I was really shocked to see that I had already commented. haha. So did you guys make it up to Assisi? I'm so glad you made it to Spoleto anyway. Did you drive or take the train? I forgot to mention the drive has some interesting attractions on the side of the road. Once we counted 19 lovely specimens. Did you take any photos of Terni's members or their new chapel? I would really love to see some of those if you have a chance to email some to me. I served in that city for almost 9 months. Are you going to load all your photos onto picasa or anything? I'd love to check them all out. I'm glad you had a fabulous trip!

Jamie Wride said...

(Taylor - not Jamie) I'd appreciate more objective reporting on the scopa matches - it seems that you only report on the Packer victory - what about the Wride domination that took place only days latter?

Alissa said...

Taylor--When you have a blog you can document the Wride's quick mastering of the game leading to our downfall.

On this blog, it's all about the win.