We left off the previous post just as we arrived at the port in Ancona, Italy. From here we picked up a rental car (which was, unfortunately, a LONG ordeal that I will not go into) and we hit the road heading to the Umbria region. As we drove across the country, we were amazed by the hundreds of sunflower fields we saw. Beautiful!
We arrived around midnight to the farm house in Monticchio where we would be spending the week and went immediately to bed. We got up the next morning and did a bit of exploring around our new home.
As I look back at this picture, it appears to be a little dreamier than it actually was. The house was VERY rustic...I'd say one step above camping :) Nonetheless, the country was beautiful.
And very peaceful.
And we had a pool, so Jackson got to experience swimming for the first time. (More pics on that in a bit.)
Umbria is a region very similar to (and right next to) Tuscany. It's known for its hill towns and vineyards (oh...and it's truffles...which we ate LOTS of...the pig-sniffing variety, not the chocolate variety).
We arrived around midnight to the farm house in Monticchio where we would be spending the week and went immediately to bed. We got up the next morning and did a bit of exploring around our new home.
As I look back at this picture, it appears to be a little dreamier than it actually was. The house was VERY rustic...I'd say one step above camping :) Nonetheless, the country was beautiful.
And very peaceful.
And we had a pool, so Jackson got to experience swimming for the first time. (More pics on that in a bit.)
Umbria is a region very similar to (and right next to) Tuscany. It's known for its hill towns and vineyards (oh...and it's truffles...which we ate LOTS of...the pig-sniffing variety, not the chocolate variety).At any rate, the first hill town we visited was Orvieto. All of the hill tows have lovely narrow, winding streets.
And shops with local goods.
What was unique to Orvieto was this beautiful church in its center.
We wandered around, had some delicious dinner (including truffle pasta), then headed back to the farm house. The next day we set off for the town of Montepulciano.
The view of the countryside was spectacular from this hill town. 
Again, we walked around lovely winding streets.
Montepulciano is known for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a very nice red wine varietal.
We visited a cellar and tasting room.
And we even got to visit a "private" tasting room...on account of how I needed someplace to change Jackson's diaper :) 
As usual, Jackson was a big hit. Here he is dishing out the grins with an Italian woman.
And on our way out of town, Cisco found this...?
On our third day in Monticchio, we decided to try out the swimming pool. We took it nice and slow, and Jackson seemed to think it was just fine.
We also decided to let him air out in the sun for a few minutes. So, we took off his plethera of protective gear.
And let him lay in the sun for a minute or two.
Later that day, we drove to the town of Assisi, where St. Francis of Assisi was from.
Assisi was the largest of the hill towns we visited. It had a number of beautiful churches. 
As we walked in toward the center...
The first church we came across was San Rufino.
Jackson completely missed that one.
Next we reached the Basilica of St. Clare.
And then there was the church of St. Mary of the Angels.
The interesting thing about these churches is that when the Franciscans (followers of the teachings of St. Francis) settled in California, they named Los Angeles after the church of St. Mary of the Angels, San Francisco after St. Francis, and Santa Clara after St. Clare.
Before heading to the largest church, the Basilica of St. Francis, we decided to have a picnic lunch. We walked up to this castle where there was a lovely, quiet picnic area on the left of this tower:
We ate meats, cheeses, bread, and olives. We even had a bottle of wine that we picked up in the town. 
It was a hot day, so Jackson enjoyed getting out of the front pack and airing out a bit. 
After satiation and a diaper change, we headed back into town. Remember that umbrella I bought in Croatia? Well it came into good use as protection from the hot afternoon sun. 
Back in the town of Assisi, we walked past the old Roman Forum and the Temple of Minerva. 
Before reaching the Basilica of St. Francis.
It was a beautiful church (though we weren't allowed to take any photos inside the church) and a working monastery. This was in the center of the basilica compound (shh, don't tell anyone).
On our way back through the town we came across this fountain. Jackson was fascinated with the spouting water.
He is REALLY taking in so much from his environment these days.
Oh, and before we left the town, we found one more use for that umbrella :)
On the way home from Assisi, on the recommendation of Rick Steves, we decided to stop for dinner in the small hill town of Spello.
There wasn't much to the town, but this restaurant was recommended for its beautiful view of the landscape.
This was the view from our table.
We had a nice dinner, and Jackson sat in his first high chair. He didn't last long in it (15 minutes or so), but it was still somewhat of a milestone.
One of our favorite hill towns was Cortona. Cortona is actually in Tuscany. It is the last hill town in Tuscany before you reach Umbria.
We liked it so much, we went twice! The first time we went was late in the evening. We were in the town long enough to find a GREAT leather bag store just before it closed, and to eat dinner at a lovely restaurant (delicious food!) overlooking the main square. Another of Jackson's milestones on this vacation included drinking (licking, more like) water. He LOVED it!
Jackson also learned that looking UP offers a lot of interesting material.
All that learning is hard work...makes a baby tired!
Our second trip to Cortona was during the day. 
Kathy and I went back to the bag store :) 
And Cisco wandered through the town snapping photos.
There was a couple that had just gotten married...what a gorgeous place for a wedding!
This building, the Casali Palace, has the family crest of many Florentine captians that ruled Cortona in the 15th-17th century. Every 6 months a new captian was sent from Florence.
Jackson thought the town was alright, but he was much more interested in his dinosaur shoes than anything else.
With just another couple days in Monticchio, we thought we better get in one more swim with Jackson. So, we dressed him up in his second swim outfit.
And hung out in the pool for a while. 
Again, he seemed to think it was just fine.
We also gave him another opportunity to air out in the sun a bit after his swim. In the last nude photo, we were kind enough to post a picture that "hid the goods," so to speak. But, we just couldn't resist posting this one. Do you think this counts as child abuse?
The last hill town we visited, on our last day in Umbria, was Montalcino. 
It is a small town...
in a BIG wine region.
We quickly walked through the town.
Stopped for a bite to eat.
And an opportunity for Jackson to practice his water-drinking (licking) skills.
And Kathy and Jackson took the opportunity to study a map showing the location of many of the 250 (or more) vineyards in the surrounding area of Montalcino.
Then we made for the fortress, where they have a wine shop and tasting room.
The specialty wine in this area is called Brunello: it's made with a Sangiovese grape, but requires a minimum of 5 years in the cask, unlike your typical Sangiovese wine. And this shop was packed with different types of Brunello!
Having NO idea what to choose, we let one of the women who works at the shop chose some wines for us to taste.
Between the three of us, we got to try 10 different Brunellos. Delicious!
Overall, our time in Umbria was excellent!
Next stop (next blog post) Rome! But first, Jackson wants to look back at some pictures of our time in Umbria.
And shops with local goods.
What was unique to Orvieto was this beautiful church in its center.
We wandered around, had some delicious dinner (including truffle pasta), then headed back to the farm house. The next day we set off for the town of Montepulciano.
The view of the countryside was spectacular from this hill town. 
Again, we walked around lovely winding streets.
Montepulciano is known for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a very nice red wine varietal.
We visited a cellar and tasting room.
And we even got to visit a "private" tasting room...on account of how I needed someplace to change Jackson's diaper :) 
As usual, Jackson was a big hit. Here he is dishing out the grins with an Italian woman.
And on our way out of town, Cisco found this...?
On our third day in Monticchio, we decided to try out the swimming pool. We took it nice and slow, and Jackson seemed to think it was just fine.
We also decided to let him air out in the sun for a few minutes. So, we took off his plethera of protective gear.
And let him lay in the sun for a minute or two.
Later that day, we drove to the town of Assisi, where St. Francis of Assisi was from.
Assisi was the largest of the hill towns we visited. It had a number of beautiful churches. 
As we walked in toward the center...
The first church we came across was San Rufino.
Jackson completely missed that one.
Next we reached the Basilica of St. Clare.
And then there was the church of St. Mary of the Angels.
The interesting thing about these churches is that when the Franciscans (followers of the teachings of St. Francis) settled in California, they named Los Angeles after the church of St. Mary of the Angels, San Francisco after St. Francis, and Santa Clara after St. Clare.
Before heading to the largest church, the Basilica of St. Francis, we decided to have a picnic lunch. We walked up to this castle where there was a lovely, quiet picnic area on the left of this tower:
We ate meats, cheeses, bread, and olives. We even had a bottle of wine that we picked up in the town. 
It was a hot day, so Jackson enjoyed getting out of the front pack and airing out a bit. 
After satiation and a diaper change, we headed back into town. Remember that umbrella I bought in Croatia? Well it came into good use as protection from the hot afternoon sun. 
Back in the town of Assisi, we walked past the old Roman Forum and the Temple of Minerva. 
Before reaching the Basilica of St. Francis.
It was a beautiful church (though we weren't allowed to take any photos inside the church) and a working monastery. This was in the center of the basilica compound (shh, don't tell anyone).
On our way back through the town we came across this fountain. Jackson was fascinated with the spouting water.
He is REALLY taking in so much from his environment these days.
Oh, and before we left the town, we found one more use for that umbrella :)
On the way home from Assisi, on the recommendation of Rick Steves, we decided to stop for dinner in the small hill town of Spello.
There wasn't much to the town, but this restaurant was recommended for its beautiful view of the landscape.
This was the view from our table.
We had a nice dinner, and Jackson sat in his first high chair. He didn't last long in it (15 minutes or so), but it was still somewhat of a milestone.
One of our favorite hill towns was Cortona. Cortona is actually in Tuscany. It is the last hill town in Tuscany before you reach Umbria.
We liked it so much, we went twice! The first time we went was late in the evening. We were in the town long enough to find a GREAT leather bag store just before it closed, and to eat dinner at a lovely restaurant (delicious food!) overlooking the main square. Another of Jackson's milestones on this vacation included drinking (licking, more like) water. He LOVED it!
Jackson also learned that looking UP offers a lot of interesting material.
All that learning is hard work...makes a baby tired!
Our second trip to Cortona was during the day. 
Kathy and I went back to the bag store :) 
And Cisco wandered through the town snapping photos.
There was a couple that had just gotten married...what a gorgeous place for a wedding!
This building, the Casali Palace, has the family crest of many Florentine captians that ruled Cortona in the 15th-17th century. Every 6 months a new captian was sent from Florence.
Jackson thought the town was alright, but he was much more interested in his dinosaur shoes than anything else.
With just another couple days in Monticchio, we thought we better get in one more swim with Jackson. So, we dressed him up in his second swim outfit.
And hung out in the pool for a while. 
Again, he seemed to think it was just fine.
We also gave him another opportunity to air out in the sun a bit after his swim. In the last nude photo, we were kind enough to post a picture that "hid the goods," so to speak. But, we just couldn't resist posting this one. Do you think this counts as child abuse?
The last hill town we visited, on our last day in Umbria, was Montalcino. 
It is a small town...
in a BIG wine region.
We quickly walked through the town.
Stopped for a bite to eat.
And an opportunity for Jackson to practice his water-drinking (licking) skills.
And Kathy and Jackson took the opportunity to study a map showing the location of many of the 250 (or more) vineyards in the surrounding area of Montalcino.
Then we made for the fortress, where they have a wine shop and tasting room.
The specialty wine in this area is called Brunello: it's made with a Sangiovese grape, but requires a minimum of 5 years in the cask, unlike your typical Sangiovese wine. And this shop was packed with different types of Brunello!
Having NO idea what to choose, we let one of the women who works at the shop chose some wines for us to taste.
Between the three of us, we got to try 10 different Brunellos. Delicious!
Overall, our time in Umbria was excellent!
Next stop (next blog post) Rome! But first, Jackson wants to look back at some pictures of our time in Umbria.
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