Umbria ( San Sisto - Perugina Chocolate Factory )

Perugina Chocolate Factory @ San Sisto


One afternoon after our classes, I went with a few classmates to the Perugina Chocolate factory at SanSisto, an suburb area of Perugia .We had a tour of the museum but not the factory with needs prior booking to view it. Nevertheless, the video clip aired by the staff gave us a good understanding of the production of the various delightful chocolates of Perugina like Baci and the Rossana candy .

The most famous chocolate from Perugina is the Baci which means kisses in Italian. The original name in Italian means punch but was subsequently changed for obvious reasons. Baci are available in Singapore especially during Christmas season and do grab a box as each baci chocolate contains a sweet love message inside in various alnguages like Italian, English, French, Spanish and Russian.

During the weekends, I took a walk to explore the town and suntan in the public garden. On Sunday the whole town seemed to be a ghost town as most shops are all closed including the supermarkets. I understand the situation will be worst when most Italians will go away for holidays. I better stock up some food supply in case I might have to resort to eating herbs from the gardens nearby.

The lavenders are in bloom and I gathered some to purify the apartment. At least there is something free in Perugia. The weather had been quite erratic in Central part of Italy lately as most towns were drenched with the heavy downpour. Nevertheless, Perugia was quite lucky to be spared of the erratic weather.

One of my favourite place in Perugia is Biblioteca Augusta, which is a public library near to Via Pinturicchio. At least I can grab hold of English newspapers like Independent and The Times newspaper from UK. There are also Le Monde and some other French magazines as well. Italian periodicals like Panorama and Espresso and Corriere delle sera are available too.

I will be embarking on my second month in August and hope to be able to visit some other interesting places. So far, I have plans to explore Cinque Terre on the second week of August. This place has caught my attention when I was watching Amazing Race.