Umbertide Swimming Pool In the heat of the summer, we usually spend a lot of time at the public swimming pool in Umbertide, our local Umbrian town. The pool is near the Coop supermarket which you are almost certain to visit if you stay at one ofRead more →
Trebbiano Spoletino After a hot afternoon spent with a big gang of kids at Umbertide Swimming Pool, we decided to call in at the Enoteca Wine Club in Umbertide for a glass of wine. We shared a bottle of delicious white wine made from Umbria's increasingly popular white grape,Read more →
Monte Ginezzo Walk, Tuscany These are images taken on my Monte Ginezzo walk, a hike in the hills near Cortona. This is another route from my walking guide book, Circular Walks On The Tuscany Umbria Border, now available from Amazon in its third edition as an ebook. Passo dellaRead more →
Trattoria Dardano Whilst in Cortona celebrating my sister’s birthday we went to Trattoria Dardano for lunch before going on my Cortona Walk. Trattoria Dardano is located about halfway along via Dardano, a road that runs north and gently uphill from Cortona’s main square, piazza della Repubblica. The portions here areRead more →
Cortona, A Hill Town In Tuscany Cortona is a Tuscan hill town high above the broad Val di Chiana, since the 1990′s it has been put firmly on the tourist trail by the popularity of Francis Mayes’ book about living in the town; Under The Tuscan Sun. DespiteRead more →
Steve McCurry, Umbria Exhibition In June we went to the city of Perugia to see a photography exhibition by Steve McCurry who spent some time in Umbria photographing people and places for the exhibition. The photographs are displayed in two of Perugia's buildings, the Palazzo Penna and an old monastery,Read more →
Drone Photos Of Umbertide If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter you may have seen that I have recently bought a drone for taking aerial photos and video. Today I took the drone up from three different places around the old part of Umbertide. Umbertide isRead more →
Citta di Castello Antiques Market On the third Sunday of every month the Umbrian town of Citta di Castello hosts an antique market. Citta di Castello is sometimes (and in my opinion unfairly) dismissed by guidebook writers in a few lines. It has a lovely centro storicoRead more →
Flower Show, Perugia On the last Sunday in May in Umbria many local wineries open their doors to the public for the Cantine Aperte event. However, on this weekend it is also the Perugia Flower Show held in the botanical gardens next to the church of SanRead more →
Monte Acuto Walk, Umbria, Italy The first day of 2014 was bright and sunny - a perfect winter day for a walk up Monte Acuto, a mountain near our house on the Tuscany Umbria border. Monte Acuto's distinctive pointed shape is responsible for the mountain's name; it'sRead more →









