Hi there! After parting from Rome on our Italian vacation through AAA and Collette, the next cities we visited were Assisi and Perugia. It was a jam packed day of sightseeing and after we made our rounds in Assisi, we took a forty or so minute bus ride right to our hotel in Perugia. Our evening was ours to spend however we pleased and I think we were all looking forward to an individual night on the town. We spent our time in Perugia riding escalators in a medieval castle, shopping till we dropped (Peep my purchases tomorrow), and having a terrible meal at our hotel lol. Let’s discuss:
Our hotel was located on the outskirts of Perugia and there is only one way to get to the city center: The escalator castle! When our beloved tour guide, Savio, was describing the medieval castle with three or four escalators inside, it was genuinely hard to imagine. All of that technology in a location that has been around for centuries! In fact, it was still hard to believe even when we were climbing the escalators to be deposited in the city center. I must admit that the process to get to the heart of Perugia was a bit treacherous. The floors sloped at insane angles, the brick and cobblestone was uneven, and it kind of felt like a recipe for disaster. The name of the game was to tread carefully and while I enjoyed the experience, I was ready to get out into the open air!
Despite the semi scary mode of transport to get into the city center, I look back on my evening in Perugia most fondly. Any guesses why? The shopping, of course! As to be expected, high end stores in Italy are a dime a dozen. And, while Perugia did have some fancy stores, there were also plenty of reasonable ones to browse. I found a fabulous store called Studded that had Zara prices as well as a shoe store called TipTap where I walked away with two gorgeous new pairs of heeled boots. I was in heaven and can’t wait to show you my wearable souvenirs tomorrow! 😀
By the time we were through with our shopping, we were famished. We had plans for dinner at a restaurant in mind but couldn’t find it and opted for a meal at our hotel, instead. We returned the way we came, through escalator castle, and got back to the Sangallo Palace Hotel with bags in tow and ready to eat! All I can say is, I really wish we would have found the restaurant we originally planned on lol. This hotel meal was one of the worst I had on vacation. There was hair in the bread, my meal was freezing cold, and the waitstaff were all really rude. I was SO hungry that I finished my cold meal but felt like I needed a cup of coffee after to warm up. The glass of Prosecco only helped slightly smh.
Stop by tomorrow for my Perugia purchases! And just an FYI, I will be doing hotel reviews too so keep your eyes peeled!
Is it hard for you to find your way around in a new city? Have you had a restaurant meal recently that left a lot to be desired? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
