A Beautiful Walk

The beginning, with the Tiber to the right of us.

I wake up most mornings at 4:10 and walk a mile on my treadmill. The routine gets old fast but is necessary to feel alert and ready for the day. In Umbertide, even when the summer heat arrives, the humidity stays low and walking is quite enjoyable, especially in the morning or late evening. We choose a different route each day but our favorite is along the Tiber river that flows adjacent to farmland peppered with poppies in late spring and sunflowers in the summer.

One Sunday morning we interrupted a fishing tournament and had to dodge cars and poles which were packed along a trail where machinery seems incongruous.

With no fishermen to block the view you can see across the river.

Most mornings, though the walk is limited to a few early risers who are exercising their dogs. With such beautiful views it is difficult to maintain a steady pace and you can easily slip on the uneven path.

A view that required a stop from walking.

As we leave the Tiber, our walk winds around a bend leading back into town. The area is farmland so the views are still there but at a distance.

Through the blue flowers.

A few twists and turns lead into a neighborhood cloaked in trees and flowers where again the cars just seem to get in the way.

Back to town.

Generally we end in the Centro Storico, or older part of town, where our view is a small park and Santa Maria della Reggia, the main church in a town of many churches.

The church is on the left shaded by trees.

In addition to the reward of a healthy walk, a serene view, the final stop is Antico Caffè Giardino, where the juice is freshly squeezed, the coffee made to order, and the stock of pastries beckons.