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!