When you get to the last week

When you get to the last week of a holiday such as we have had, you have lots of emotions going on. There is the desperate need to fill every moment and not waste time, to do more new things and to re-live the precious parts. We are view cramming - we can't get enough of the view from our terrazzo or from the Belvedere.

A good sunset has to be preserved (I liked it better when I could say 'captured on film' )

I even risked looking at a sunrise to get a good photo of this very interesting tree!

One last visit to the wonderfully casual and delicious ' Il Pellicano' ...

and one last trip to Castiglione del Lago market. I even made some purchases today - a couple of small clothing items, some gifts and porchetta for lunch. The fresh porcini mushrooms are on sale at roadside stalls, at the market and in special dishes at restaurants. Only a few thin slices added to a pizza at Il Pellicano  made the pizza really special.

Just outside the porta at Castiglione del Lago is this sculpture of a saxophonist. C d L is very much involved in the Umbria Jazz festival and this is their symbol.

Many of the things we have done this year have been re-visits (sometimes up to four or more times visited) and the Museum of Tulle in Panicale warranted a second visit. Officially called the Anita Belleschi Grifoni Museo de Tulle, it is housed in the former Church of Sant Agostino. There are still many remnants of frescoes on the walls.

We re-visited during the festival of lace and embroidery when exhibits from other European countries were also on display in this building.

Anita Belleschi Grifoni learnt to make lace whilst she was a student at a convent nearby. Later she developed her own style which is now called Ars Panicalensis, she drew her own patterns and taught the local ladies how to work this interesting style of lace making. This was something of a cottage industry in the past but is now just a hobby that the ladies are proud to continue.

This lace is created by embroidering over drawn patterns onto tulle fabric.

There are so many intricate and beautiful pieces on display that a second visit was just as rewarding as the first.

I will finish today's post with an interesting point we have been pondering. In eight weeks in Italy we have not seen one tourist coach or one group of people wearing name tags and following a sunflower umbrella! This proves that you can visit a huge range of amazingly interesting places in Italy and not be swamped with tourists.