Thoughts of a Traveler: The climb to Perusia

On January 28, my roommates and I took a day trip to Perugia. Perugia is located in the central region of Italy known as Umbria. It is a hilltop town that offers beautiful views of the Italian countryside and is famous for its Medieval arches, artistic culture, and most importantly chocolate!

We did this trip without really researching much on the area. In fact, when we first arrived, we didn't even have a map. So we just started walking in what seemed a logical direction, which happened to be straight up the hill! We hiked almost half an hour following the switch-back road from the train station before we found a narrow alley that cut straight up the hill. We decided to take that street instead. Needless to say, when we finally made it to the top, we were out of breathe. We later discovered that there are buses, trams, and even escalators that help people reach the top. Personally, I think we appreciated the views much more after the hike!

The alley we decided to hike straight up!

The view when we got to the top!

I was pleased to find that this small city was relaxing, interesting to explore, and very reasonably priced. I was also pleasantly surprized that it wasn't crawling with tourists, and for the first time since I've gotten to Europe, I had to hunt to find a souvenir shop! I also enjoyed meeting a few other American students who were also studying abroad. They pointed out some interesting places that I later visited including the tower and the Etruscan Well.
The best part of this trip, however, was definately the chocolate! There were a number of small chocolate shops scattered throughout the town. One we walked into even offered us free samples of chocolate liquor, which tasted absolutely amazing! The best part however was the chocolate gelato. Not only was the gelato here cheaper than anywhere else I've seen in Rome, but their chocolate flavors were absolutely heavenly! I personally sampled a few before settling on the Chocolate Cherry flavor!