The farmhouse in Umbria

Today was our last morning at the stone farmhouse in the little canyon. It has been a beautiful place to stay, waking every morning to the sound of birdsong and the soft clannking of a sheep's bell in the distance. Every mornning we would sit by the edge of the stone wall sipping our tea and gazing across at the bell tower of Civitta di Bagnoregio acoss the valley. Then we'd head up the steep dirt road to the top of the canyon to begin another day of discovery. the last place we visited was Assisi, famed home of Saint Francis, and an incredibly beautiful town of soft peach-coloured stone, full of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world but still radiating peace. Today we took the train to Rome, where we are staying in a little bed and breakfast just off the Piazza Navona. We get up to our room in ancient elevator cage that maybe dates from the time of Caesar Augustus. Well, maybe not the elevator, but many other parts of this ancient, exuberant city. Tomorrow we'll take a look at the forum and cross the River Tiber get our bearings. We have just two days here so we can only scratch the surface before we head north to Tuscany on Wednesday.