Tropea, Manchester, Pompeii and "We need an Umbrella" Umbria

After Sicily we needed a place to break up the journey north. Tropea, the home of tartufu, and a gorgeous beach fit the bill perfectly. The beach was unfortunately about 500 steps down from the town, and a bit of a challenge for Kel and her recently ruptured achilles. Nonetheless multiple beach days were enjoyed, various flavours of tartufu were consumed, and the adults enjoyed a relatively relaxing few days. Bas even braved a foot fish spa.

We said our goodbyes to the beach at Tropea and headed to Naples to catch a Ryanair flight to Manchester so Bas could see his favourite soccer team, Man City. Kel had secured almost front row seats and the little guy was extremely excited. The adults managed to find a few good pies, a Sunday roast and a couple of English ales, and the weather gods came to the party for the big game (a recurring theme later in the trip). What initially looked like thunderstorms, turned into harmless clouds, and a fantastic game was played including 3 Man city goals right in front of their seats. The girls and I eventually found a pub showing the game, but with standing room only Addy soon fell asleep in my arms and we headed home. Day 2 included a visit to the Beatles museum, and then we were back to Naples to explore Pompeii.

After a morning walking around Pompeii (with me trying to remember if I had been before), we were off to Tuscany. Or close anyway. This time around Kel decided to stay in Umbria, on Largo Trasimeno. Looking back on this blog it appears we visited the lake last time, but neither of us had any recollection. This time however I suspect we will remember it. We had a cosy holiday house right on the lake (Langs lake house), with stunning sunset views across the water, and just the right amount of grass for kid amusement. Much soccer was played, marshmallows were toasted, and hours were spent playing on the hammock. Unfortunately the weather failed us for the first time this trip with wind and rain keeping us largely off the lake itself (Kel did take Em and Bas out for a quick kayak). I managed a visit to Perugia and 2 wine shops, one of which spontaneously become lunch when the sales guy started pooping corks all over the place. After trying 6 bottles, eating quite a lot of cheese, salumi and bread, I headed back home with a few excellent bottles for the rest of the trip. This shop had been recommended by the owners of our house, and as the next day was all wind and rain we decided to visit their winery for lunch. A delicious lunch and wine tasting ensued, with possibly the best food of the trip so far. The owners were not around unfortunately, being in Portugal currently. We packed up and were about to head off the next day when David the owner arrived, fresh from the airport. Turns out he was the brother of one of our friends from Medical school! Small world indeed!! Armed with a extra bottle of their wine and promises to look out for it in Australia we headed north toward Parma.

Stayed: Langs lake house

Winery: Vineria del carmine