Spoleto

Last weekend my coworker Christine and I had a “girls weekend” with two of our students on the trip, Cherice and Natalia. It was Cherica and Natalias’ very first “girls weekend” and we wanted to make it worth their while. Working at and Italian school in the states tends to come inhandy when traveling through Italy. We have been very fortunate to have various connections to events throughout the country. A parent of La Scuola and former Italian

ballerina was able to get us tickets to see a modern/ contemporary dance show in a small town called Spoleto. Spoleto is about an hour and a half away from Perugia by TrenItalia and is most famous for it’s summer music festival; Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds). The festival occurs each year from June through July and we were able to take part in the last day of the festival. Festival dei Due Mondi celebrates the arts from opera, dance and music, to paintings, drawing and sculpture. The show we had tickets to was located inside Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti, the largest theatre in Umbria housing 800 seats. We were seated in a box, which though very unique, did not provide for easy viewing pleasure. We spent most of the show moving around the couple seated in front of us to get a better view. After the show was over we had a long time before our train back to Perugia and while walking through the ancient town, enjoyed a Gelato and an Aperitivo at the local Enoteca or wine bar. For those of you who may not know what an aperitivo is, I can first begin to explain it as true Italian experience and one of my favorites at that. An aperitivo is literally supposed to be a pre-dinner drink and many restaurants and bars all throughout Italy have aperitivo from about 7 to 9 every evening. For approximately 6 Euros, you can buy yourself a cocktail and a free snack comes alongside it. Some bars serve up chips and nuts while others provide a plate overflowing with fresh foccacia breads or other goods baked onsite that day. There are also traditional Italian beverages that can be sipped during an aperitivo such as Campari, Martini, and Aperol. My palate isn’t as sophisticated for these palate-cleansing drinks, so I usually play it safe with vino rosso o bianco. All in all, aperitivo is a classier version of happy hour, one that should be frequented more in The States.