A Few Hours In San Feliciano

  Since we returned home from Umbria last year, and knew we would be coming back this year, we have been playing the "What do you want to do, first thing after we get to Panicale?" It's a fun game, no doubt about it…..but so completely useless, in reality. We are just so happy to be here, that everything we do is the first thing we want to do. None of our game guesses were even close…

  We knew we would eventually go to San Feliciano, on Lago Trasimeno, but had no idea it would be the first drive we took for fun. The weather is pretty darn nice, though chilly, and Johnny wanted to get some driving under his belt, so we headed on over. The small, winding road, with lots of uneven surfaces and giant trucks zooming along, not to mention the little old ladies along the roadside foraging…and cyclists everywhere, is a great way to dive right into the reality of driving here.

  San Feliciano is right on the lakeside, with a charming park, a favorite bar/cafe, a small but quaint marina, and a small "centro strico" or old town, above the lake. We parked in our usual spot, so we could walk along the waterfront….

A nice day for a walk near the lake.
We hear that the lake is really high this year from so much rain.

The little marina. 

  Of course, I love seeing the trees with out any foliage, because we'll enjoy watching the magical transformation while we are here. Later on, I'll have photos of all these trees in massive, full green….

The park is at the very far left, as well as one of our favorite bars...

I enjoy the naked trees against the blue sky.

We called these "Monkey Ball" trees as kids. There was one in our backyard.

 So, along the main drag near the water, the city workers were cutting back the trees along the sidewalk, down to the main branches…They may be Plane Trees, but I'm not so strong on names of trees. Anyway, I was AMAZED at what they were doing with all the branches they cut…..

I think Johnny was loving watching
the city workers….see the little pile at the bottom of the tree?

They actually cut to size & bundled all the branches…
I can't imagine how much longer this must take. There are so many trees!
Really pretty, though..

  After watching these guys for awhile, we headed up to the old part of town, to see the view, and just enjoy the surroundings. It's a good, steep climb, but not a long one.
  There are tiny walkways and stairways that lead you up through the village, eventually leading to the church.
  Along the way, I enjoy peeking into gardens, or scoping out little niches, like these, below:

This one was right in the wall of a house….beautiful.

I love this one, in all of it's imperfection….
This Madonna is just fantastic, that blue and creamy white.

  Up, up, up the hill, the views on the lake are the best, with the islands standing out…it was an incredible day for this walk. 

  In the church garden, another Madonna….

  We had wanted to have lunch nearby, at a small place we have driven past many times, but needed to kill an hour before they opened for business. Worked for me. I'm always up for a nice hike on a beautiful day.

  As Johnny found a place to do some sketching, I walked up the hill, and fell in love with the cement posts of the fencing around an old olive grove. I just think these posts, with their outrageously colorful lichen are the best. 

  Seriously, and I may have written it here before, I would kill for some of these in my garden.

Favorite. Fenceposts. Ever.

  So, though he hasn't started working yet…officially, I can tell that between his excitement at being back, and his delight in the light and landscape, Johnny will be painting up a storm soon. Here, I managed to catch him just doing some sketching…

  Can't wait to see what he will produce this year.

Working, with a view to die for.

  Oh, and that lunch we waited for…Dee-Vine! I will be writing about it later this week, no doubt. First lunch out and about! Coming soon to a LIVE PRONTO blog near you...