Perugia

Villa Casamanza, Nr Perugia, Umbria, Italy

Yoga class three this morning and the intensity is rising just a little prior to our rest day tomorrow. We are up to five standing postures, including some vinyasa sequences of three at a time, and people are beginning to feel the beneficial effects. It is always amazing to see how people begin to change dramatically after just a few days of our yoga and pilates.

Then after brunch it is time for a quick trip doen to Perugia for a look round the old part of the city. Parking under the city walls, we made our way along some winding narrow streets towards the main central street - the Corso Vannucci. There we split up from Vicky and Susie.

The huge art gallery in the main street is an amazing building though the cathedral further along is considered one of the least attractive in the whole of Italy! From the side it is fine, but the front is truly awful. We buy some English papers (always a treat while abroad) and have a drink in one of the many cafes before having a bit of a walk round. We try to find the entrance to the famous underground streets, the Rocca Paolina, but don't have a map or enough time to really look.

The Palazzo Dei Priori, home to several museums

Instead we have lunch at a cafe/restaurant and have booked this for Thursday night for all of us to come out for a meal together. Linda and Emma split a pizza while I have an unusual ricotta and swiss chard filled pasta.

Emma with half a pizza

Emma and Linda stridding back along the Corso Vannucci

Back at the villa and the temperature remains in the 90s, prompting some siestas and lots of sitting in the shade of the olive trees.

I am now reading Richard Westfall's Science and Religion in Seventeenth Century England, which has loads of interesting stuff in it, but is not very well organised and will be hard to extract much from later on. It is the sort of book that'll have to think carefully about as I approach note taking.

One of our best meals tonight - two Moroccan tagines featuring lots of veggies again and a delicious red wine from Montefalco. When I return to the UK in the Land Rover in a couple of weeks time, I am planning to take quite a lot of wine back with me - this one will definitely be on the list.