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Day Seven- Without Big Plans….
Day seven began a little different. We decided to go out for breakfast instead of eating in. We went to a local cafe- Tullia. I think we were looking forward to something savory with our tea and cappuccino but we soon found out they only served sweet pastries and croissants. I settled on marmalade croissant and a cappuccino. The croissant was okay but the cappuccino was out of this world.
We then walked around Spello some more and went back to another cafe with great views of the town. There we shared sandwiches and pizza and some white wine.
The plan was to go to Gubbio and possibily Orvieto. Both towns seemed very interesting and lovely from the descriptions. We took small roads there instead of the highway- beautiful hills and valleys. We drove into the outskirts of Gubbio and saw as usualy, no one was there- we always end up visiting these towns between 2 PM and 4 PM- siesta time. Anyway, we walked around a bit and decided to go back.
I wanted to go back to Spello and buy things to take home. I bought white and black truffle paste, honey, pecorino and parmesan cheese and a blasamic glaze. 
We also bought 3 wines from the Sportoletti winery and a bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil.
I am so excited to come home and try some recipes and use these ingredients.
Laziness was the word of the day. We headed back and shared a bottle of white wine and anticipated dinner. The winery owner had recommended a restaurant in another town. We found the place after a lot of driving and searching. We were very excited and hopeful of the food but were quite disappointed. I think this was our first mediocre meal in Italy. We had ravioli, gnocchi and a few meats. It was nothing special at all. We were quite disappointed since all our other meals had been above average.
We drove back determined to make the next day- our last day- a good one. We leave for Rome this morning and stay the night before we head home to Maplewood. I will report on our Rome adventures tomorrow- stay tuned!
Day Six: Montefalco and Spoleto
It was all about wine yesterday- well sort of- there was gelato, granita and cappucino as well.
We started off from Spello after lunch. We were headed to Montefalco and the surrounding areas to drive around some wineries. It’s incredible to drive around the Italian countryside- all you see are olive trees and grapevines. We stopped at a winery that looked closed from the outside but in fact was open. Most people are in siesta mode from about 2 PM till 4 PM- and that is when we have been venturing out. Needless to say, the older gentleman was not too happy to see us. He also conveyed many times and in many ways that we should have called to make an appoitment. We sat down and sampled 3 wines. They were good, but not fabulous. We chatted a bit and decided to leave.
We drove around some more and finally reached Montefalco. As usual we drove up very steep roads to park and continued to walk up to the main square. It was quite a sleepy little town- mostly everyone was indoors resting. We hung out and stopped for a gelato, sandwich and yes you guessed it- Italian ice.
We headed to Spoleto from there. It is a gorgeous town pearched on top of the Appennines. We headed inside the gates to find parking and began walking up. We hiked up for about 20 minutes and found a little cafe with the most amazing views. We sat down and had – yup, you are right- Italian ice. Somehow the Italian ice or granita is very different from what you get in the US. The ice texture is smooth and creamy instead of hard and dry. It is very delicious.
We sat for an hour and headed back to Spello. Dinner today was going to be at a restaurant very close to our apartment tucked away in a tiny street. We sat outside in their garden overlooking Spello- it was incredible!
We at brushchetta, pasta with zucchini and the most incredible wild boar and veal. The young man who took our order, was the owner and told us he hunted for the wild boar himself. The meal was delicious and so was the pannacotta and the chocolate cake. The white and red wines were delicious as well. It was a great day. One more day left in Spello and then off to Rome before we head home.
Day Five: Lake Trasimeno and Cortona
Day five began with green figs, purple grapes from the outside of our apartment and some toasted rolls. Of course the coffee aroma was everywhere in the kitchen and it tasted delicious.
We drove for about an hour to get to Lake Trasimeno. It is surrounded by some very picturesque small towns. We stopped in one of them to get lunch/snack. We shared some paninis, Italian ice and gelato. I had the most amazing hazelnut and baci gelati. The baci had milk chocolate with bits of hazelnut- it was so delicious that I had to take a picture and share with everyone- believe me, the lake wasn’t so inviting. The water level seemed quite low, probably because of the heat and the water looked dirty.
From there we drove to Cortona. The town is of ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’ movie fame. Again, this town was very hilly and packed with winding, tiny roads. When we first walked into the town centre, we realized how touristy it was. Staying in Spello, we didn’t heard anyone speak anything but Italian. Here in Cortona all we heard was English and German. It was a very nice town with gorgeous views but we realized how lucky we were to stay in a town like Spello- a small, charming and untouched by outsiders.
We stopped at a winery on our way back to Spello. We had enjoyed a Sportoletti white wine for dinner a few times and wanted to do a tasting. They have 2 whites and 2 reds- they were all delicious. We also found out they export to New Jersey- well, guess what I will be doing when I get home?? They also produce an organic extra virgin olive oil. We may go back to buy some to take home. We bought 3 bottles of wine for dinner and headed back.
Dinner was going to be the leftovers from the big cooking class the day before. We made the panzanella salad again. Placed the lamb and the potatoes in the oven and cooked the fresh pasta Paula left in the freezer. It was all delicious.
Today, we will be visiting Montefulco famous for it’s winery! I can’t wait!
Day Four:Cooking Class in Umbria
Paula showed up at Cafe Tullia (a neighborhood joint) about half an hour late. Part of me was expecting her at Italian Standard Time (which means, she took her time to get to me) and I was right.
Paula cooks for a fancy catering place and had agreed to teach me a few local Umbrian dishes. We were going to shop for ingredients and then come back to the apartment to cook dinner. It was all very exciting but there was just one problem- Paula didn’t speak a word of English and I am not conversant in Italian. “How bad could it be, I thought”.
She took me to 5 different stores to shop for two kinds of pasta, salad, a meat dish and dessert. It was great to be able to accompany a local person and watch how things happen in a different country. Everyone had a smile on their faces and were in absolutely no hurry to get anywhere. Living in the Eastcoast, I am so used to rushing everywhere- this was a pleasant change. We went to two different grocery stores to buy flour, vegetables, etc. She also took me to a special cheese shop to buy the milk, cream, mascarpone cheese and parmesan cheese. We then stopped at a huge meat store to purchase a huge leg of lamb. The whole time she was talking to me in Italian and I was nodding pretending to understand her- I probably understood 50% of what she said to me. It was quite an experience for me- she seemed like a very sweet lady who works extremely hard to make a living.
We came home with all the ingredients a few hours later and deposited everything in the fridge. Paula was to come back at 4:30 PM to start cooking. She walked in with her husband carrying a few bags of equipment including her pasta maker. She also brought us a huge tray of green figs from her garden- they were delicious!
We started cooking around 5 and didn’t begin eating till about 9 or 9:30.
We feasted on panzenella salad, tortellini stuffed with a combination of chicken, pork and veal- it was served in a vegetable broth. A tomato pasta came after that topped with parmesan cheese. The last course was the huge tray of the most aromatic lamb and roast potatoes. It was the most delicious lamb preparation I had ever had!
While we were eating, Paula made extra tortellini and pasta for us to eat the next day. We cleaned up, thanked her and proceeded to the garden to enjoy our dessert!
It was a wonderful day full of learning new techniques and enjoying some great local foods. I will give more details on the recipes in the coming weeks including lots of pictures. Stay tuned.
Third Day: A Visit To Perugia
I am not sure where the chocolates were in Perugia- we didn’t find them. Actually we didn’t really look for them- we were so busy eating pizza and gelato and it kind of slipped our minds. We headed off to Perugia around 11 in the morning after a delicious breakfast of eggs, cheese, bread and fresh fruit. I love having eggs in Europe- the yolk is bright mustard and the taste is amazing.
About 40 minutes later our car was climbing steep hills to get to this picturesque town. It is a lot bigger than Spello and definitely more of a city- it reminded us of Florence and Barcelona but it had it’s own charming winding, hilly, narrow streets.
We stopped for pizza and white wine. The wine was delicious and the potato and rosemary foccacia wasn’t so shabby either.
We found something called a cafe crema- which was similar to a soft serve coffee ice cream but not as cold and a lot lighter. It was served in a shot glass with a spoon- absolutely delicious!
We headed back to Spello to find a dinner place. We desperately wanted to eat pasta. We found a place called, ‘Drinking Wine’ and sat outside under a huge umbrella.
Dinner started with a bottle of white wine and a platter of smoked salmon and tuna as well as a fennel and orange salad. We were eating family style and were looking forward to sharing everything. Soon our table was full of pasta witha wild boar ragu, classic lasagna, lamb chops and a pesto and zucchini lasagna. All dishes were unbelievably delicious. We were also munching on fresh bread dipped in the yummiest olive oil I have ever had the privelage to taste.
Some red wine came and later and so did dessert. A coffee semi-freddo and a pear and cinnamon cake. All was good, relaxing and absolutely perfect!
Today, I will be meeting a local Italian woman who will be teaching me some local cuisine. I am extremely excited and look forward to learning and sharing- so stay tuned.