Spoleto

Our destination for the day was the quaint and quiet hill town Spoleto, or so we thought.. [cue semi-ominous music.] On the way to Spoleto we drove past a hamlet named Narni which was rumored to inspire a certain famous author. Right before we arrived we stopped to take some pictures and scent of wild basil suddenly flooded the car. Not long after, we were panting our way up to the castle at the top of the town. With all the parapets, turrets, and arrow slits, I fully expected to see Robin Hood (or some Italian equivalent) leaping over the side to be caught by Little John (or some Italian equivalent.) The walls of the castle were lined with frescos which frankly, seemed unremarkable. There was one in particular that did catch my attention. Whereas all the other frescoes were in excellent condition and depicting this biblical event or that pope, there was one in bed chamber of a young man that looked like it had been attacked with a chisel, an ex-boyfriend perhaps?

As we walked back from the castle we saw a bunch of cars lined up in a little alley. Without warning, Jaclyn and Mr. Meinken got really excited while Nani and I just gave each other bewildered looks. Apparently these fourteen little red cars were Ferrari's and apparently that's something special. After gawking for about twenty minutes, we started hearing the loud, guttural reeving of engines so we went off in search of the source.

We were pleased to discover that the denizens of Spoletp had closed down the center of town for an afternoon of motorcycle racing. By the time we got there, the older guys were racing, roaring around corners and slamming into hay stacks. While watching, we savored some gelato. Never before have I discovered the taste of ripe cantelope captured so superbly.