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.