* Pictures noted are bottom to top - Our long trek to Umbria started from Venice at 6 am by water taxi (picture 1); then train to Milan Central; bus to Milan Milpansa Airport where we wandered, then found, the lease office for our new car from Peugeot. By 2 pm we were on the road. Most of the trip was uneventful, though the traffic especially outside Florence was at a standstill for almost 45 minutes. We finally arrived just after sunset, around 9 pm, to our friend's July home in the small village of Poreta (outside Campella Sul Clitunna). All road exhaustion just melted away as we drove up the gravel road through acres of olive trees. The beautiful stone house (Villa Della Genga) on the crest of the hill was illuminated with a soft post sunset glow (picture 2) and Susan's friends Amy and Jim (picture 3) were patiently waiting with lots of warm hugs and an amazing dinner of local delicacies including grilled fish, meats, salad, wine...the works! After a quick dip in the pool (picture 4) to cool down we relaxed, ate and enjoyed a wonderful night.
With Amy and Jim as guides we familiarized ourselves with the sights and cuisine of the area including amazing gelato in Spoleto (after a walk through town to see La Doma [picture 5] and the ancient aqueduct [picture 6]), delicious dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Trevi where we enjoyed too much food including fritta with truffles, wild boar and pasta, local grilled meats and wine. Then another day to top off our gastronomic delights we drove to an agriturismo (farmhouse) in a nearby mountain top village to have a 5 course meal (picture 7) including tripe (which Susan didn't realize before asking for a little more) and a few pitchers of the farm's specially produced red wine. After 2 days and so much fun with great friends we sadly said good bye to Amy and Jim as they left to return to their home in New York City.
For the next 5 days we enjoyed the comforts of the villa on our own (picture 8). Though it was often very hot (high 90's, occasionally hitting 100 F) we still took day trips around the scenic Umbria area, usually returning to the house by 5 pm for pool/relax time (picture 9), cocktails, intense sunsets (picture 10) and delicious home-cooked dinners with locally produced fresh pastas, meats, truffles we picked up on our outings.
Since we were having such a wonderful time and there was still so much to see, we decided to extend our stay in Poreta (Umbria) for 3 more days. As the villa was booked, we accepted Alessandra and Paulo's (owners) suggestion to move into their newly completed (gorgous) agriturismo down the street. We occupiedd a nice sized room with many windows, french doors, modern bathroom, and courtyard (picture 11). Once there, more hot days, pool time (picture 12), visits and meals in many of the local scenic villages followed.
Day trip highlights included a visit to the charming village of Norcia, famous as the capital for pork butchery and a great place to pick up various salamis for later (picture 13). We ventured to the mountainous area of Terni, home of the powerful Marmore Waterfall originally built in 271 BC by the Romans. Besides it's incredible size, the most amazing thing about this waterfall was the fact it literally is turned on (picture 14) and off (picture 15) for varying hours each day. Other site highlights included visits to Spello (picture 16), Cerreto di Spoleta (picture 17), Sacred Forest (outside Spoleto) [picture 18], Assisi (picture 19), to name a few.
Of course food was also a big part of our stay in Umbria and included a beautiful cozy restaurant we found off the central piazza in Trevi where champagne and thinly sliced green apple, bacon, balsamic vinegar and oil was a magnificent opening to a wonderful 3 course meal. On another day to maintain our pasta-fix We drove 2 hours to the Hotel Ristorante Roma in Amatrice just to taste their famous and amazingly delicious pastas (red and blanca) [picture 20]. We enjoyed a very warm (no air-conditioning) home-cooked meal at the locals' favorite hosteria in picturesque Spello, and in the stone caverns of another local restaurant outside the walled city of Assisi.
We also attended two tiny mountain village Sagras (Food themed Harvest Festivals). One event was at Monte S Vito (picture 21) with a lamb menu (picture 22) and the other in Spina with a tarfuto (truffles) menu (picture 23) where we seemed to always be the only tourists. Though we didn't speak the language and didn't know the process of ordering food, we were grateful 'adopted' by a few locals willing to practice some English and help. Though some Sagras were more organized than others, it was always so much fun (even if we had to wait 2 hours to finally eat at one of them) and gave us a real feeling of village life.
Our last day in Umbria after a nice wine tasting in town we returned to the agriturismo for some pool time, but instead were treated to an amazing thunderstorm that lasted all afternoon. We enjoyed sitting inside listening to the thunder and watching the rain and occasional lightning flashes (picture 24). What a wonderful show and a beautiful end to a beautiful visit.
It was time to go on to the Dolomites.
With Amy and Jim as guides we familiarized ourselves with the sights and cuisine of the area including amazing gelato in Spoleto (after a walk through town to see La Doma [picture 5] and the ancient aqueduct [picture 6]), delicious dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Trevi where we enjoyed too much food including fritta with truffles, wild boar and pasta, local grilled meats and wine. Then another day to top off our gastronomic delights we drove to an agriturismo (farmhouse) in a nearby mountain top village to have a 5 course meal (picture 7) including tripe (which Susan didn't realize before asking for a little more) and a few pitchers of the farm's specially produced red wine. After 2 days and so much fun with great friends we sadly said good bye to Amy and Jim as they left to return to their home in New York City.
For the next 5 days we enjoyed the comforts of the villa on our own (picture 8). Though it was often very hot (high 90's, occasionally hitting 100 F) we still took day trips around the scenic Umbria area, usually returning to the house by 5 pm for pool/relax time (picture 9), cocktails, intense sunsets (picture 10) and delicious home-cooked dinners with locally produced fresh pastas, meats, truffles we picked up on our outings.
Since we were having such a wonderful time and there was still so much to see, we decided to extend our stay in Poreta (Umbria) for 3 more days. As the villa was booked, we accepted Alessandra and Paulo's (owners) suggestion to move into their newly completed (gorgous) agriturismo down the street. We occupiedd a nice sized room with many windows, french doors, modern bathroom, and courtyard (picture 11). Once there, more hot days, pool time (picture 12), visits and meals in many of the local scenic villages followed.
Day trip highlights included a visit to the charming village of Norcia, famous as the capital for pork butchery and a great place to pick up various salamis for later (picture 13). We ventured to the mountainous area of Terni, home of the powerful Marmore Waterfall originally built in 271 BC by the Romans. Besides it's incredible size, the most amazing thing about this waterfall was the fact it literally is turned on (picture 14) and off (picture 15) for varying hours each day. Other site highlights included visits to Spello (picture 16), Cerreto di Spoleta (picture 17), Sacred Forest (outside Spoleto) [picture 18], Assisi (picture 19), to name a few.
Of course food was also a big part of our stay in Umbria and included a beautiful cozy restaurant we found off the central piazza in Trevi where champagne and thinly sliced green apple, bacon, balsamic vinegar and oil was a magnificent opening to a wonderful 3 course meal. On another day to maintain our pasta-fix We drove 2 hours to the Hotel Ristorante Roma in Amatrice just to taste their famous and amazingly delicious pastas (red and blanca) [picture 20]. We enjoyed a very warm (no air-conditioning) home-cooked meal at the locals' favorite hosteria in picturesque Spello, and in the stone caverns of another local restaurant outside the walled city of Assisi.
We also attended two tiny mountain village Sagras (Food themed Harvest Festivals). One event was at Monte S Vito (picture 21) with a lamb menu (picture 22) and the other in Spina with a tarfuto (truffles) menu (picture 23) where we seemed to always be the only tourists. Though we didn't speak the language and didn't know the process of ordering food, we were grateful 'adopted' by a few locals willing to practice some English and help. Though some Sagras were more organized than others, it was always so much fun (even if we had to wait 2 hours to finally eat at one of them) and gave us a real feeling of village life.
Our last day in Umbria after a nice wine tasting in town we returned to the agriturismo for some pool time, but instead were treated to an amazing thunderstorm that lasted all afternoon. We enjoyed sitting inside listening to the thunder and watching the rain and occasional lightning flashes (picture 24). What a wonderful show and a beautiful end to a beautiful visit.
It was time to go on to the Dolomites.
No comments:
Post a Comment