These Are Some of my Favorite Things - iamq and M in Umbria

I would love to see your pics but many people do not like to post their emails on this public forum--can you post a link here?

Hi Bob,

I haven't figured out a way to post a public link on Picassaweb without my gmail address (which is my name) being in the link, so I am reluctant to post the links here. Any ideas?

Hi, iamq! I've used Picassa in the past. You can change your ID or Screen Name to be something different from your gmail address. You can also post your link not as public but for "anyone with a link" and then just post the link in your Fodors trip Report. If you want to see what mine looks like with this just go to https://picasaweb.google.com/113119210762101142581/RedwoodNationalPark2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCJWBp9aT1eGRmQE&feat=directlink
I've also started using Flickr which gives you some control over what you share.

Looking forward to your report!

I love a song that starts with wild boar ragu! I don't know what umbricelli is but I'm pretty sure I'd eat it.
Your post made me realize I've spent more time there than any place other than Rome.
I miss it.

elnap, that did it! Thanks for the help. I will start posting the links when I get them ready. Thanks again.

pdx, umbricelli are fresh, thickish, hand rolled pasta that look like worms, but taste much better.

Can't wait to hear more of the particulars. I love a good Umbria story. Will it involve farro and sagrantino? Do tell!

Waiting for that great Umbria story!

Great start! Good to know it tastes better than worms

I want pics! Here's one of my email addys:


pacificmosaic@gmail.com

Hi iamq, you have my email address and I would LOVE to see pics. Thanks.

Okay...I want to mention some the travel resources that came in handy for this trip. The book I used the most was the DK Eyewitness book on Umbria. I used the 2004 edition and didn't suffer for using an older book. I love the way it gives detailed information on the must sees in each town and the use of color pictures and 3-D maps really helps bring things alive. I like this line of travel books.

The Cicerone Guide to Italy's Sibillini National Park was a great resource for orienting me to this area. I want to come back here and spend more time, possibly as part of a trip Le Marche region.

To a lesser degree, the Sunflower Guide on Umbria and Marche helped with routing and itineraries.

I used fodors of course. Not the books, but the forums. Umbria seems to be a pretty popular destination here I was able to get lots of useful information from the likes of BobtheNavigator, kybourbon, franco, zeppole and others.

Slowtravel.com is another source that really helped me out a lot. The philosophy over there is to spend as much time in one area as you can and really get to know it. This is how I like to travel mostly, so the site works for me. I joined their Italy forum and posted away like mad and was rewarded with accurate and first hand information from folks that live, and work in Umbria. Many of them travel to this region at least once or twice a year. It is all about the travel there...no drama. There is a strong Umbrian contingent on the forum there. Many of them blog about Umbria. I posted so much over the last year, I am now designated a "slow traveler".

Over the years, slowtravel members have written articles about traveling in Italy that were really useful to us. Everything from short lessons in speaking Italian, how to order food in restaurants to negotiatiing the car rental mess at FCO, to how to order in cafes to where to find the best ceramics in Deruta to all about pork products in Umbria and on and on. I printed pages of this stuff and I used it all.

Another book that was useful, particularly when we were in Norcia was Fred Plotkin's book, "Italy for the Gourmet Traveler". I literally used those pages as a guide on where we went to buy what we wanted while we there. It helped focus us as there were so many shops it would have gotten a bit daunting. We wanted to get the best that each shop had to offer and his notes helped. Along with the print out on Umbrian pork products from slowtrav, we were set and picked up some delicious food. The shop owners were happy to see their shops mentioned.

The Touring Club of Italy maps are the best out there and no one should go on a driving trip in Italy with out them! I love maps and these are beauties. They helped us narrow down some details when are trusty GPS got confused. I broght one for Lazio and one for Umbria/Le Marche. They are much better than Michelin.

I mention our GPS, which we ended up naming Stella. Stella had a hard time with Italian words that ended in "o". So Foligno became "Folina" and Spello became "Spella", but not just Spella, but SPELL-AAAAA. We laughed everytime she said it. We both thought it reminded us of Marlon Brando screaming "Stella" in "A Street Car Named Desire" so we named her Stella. Second choice was franco. You lucked out franco. LOL.

We would have been toast without our TomTom Stella. We bought it a few months before the trip so we would have time to play around with it and get all the maps updated, etc. It worked very well and got us places we never would have been able to find on our own, even with the good maps we had. It was a bit time consuming as you had to enter destinations and favorites and choose routes, etc, but we ended up doing a lot of that before we left anyhow and M, the techo-weenie was in charge of navigating, so I had little to do with the nuts and bolts of it anyway. I drove, which was a considerable contribution, made a lot easier with "STELLA!" BTW...it was cheaper to buy one on our own here before the trip than renting one from autoeurope.

more soon.

Looking forward to your trip report. I'm a big fan of the Slow travel site too.

Our GPS is named Louise.....as in Geez Louise! She has a new sd card for Italy. We have begun loading addresses for our first ever trip coming up in October.

As a hoot a few weekends ago I changed the language from "Australian" (we are from the US but prefer the voice of the female Australian on our gps), to Italian. It was, to say the least, an interesting afternoon, hearing the directions spoken in Italian. I don't speak Italian, I'm working on phrases and etc but it's a slow process. I was happy to know I at least understood the words for right and left.

I'll be waiting patiently for your installments and a link to your photos.

Thank you.

CindyP

Even though we weren't driving, I loved my map of Tuscany from Touring Club of Italy so I could figure out where we were in relation to all the towns, small and smaller. We got ours there. Where did you get yours?

Ready for more!

>>>>pdx, umbricelli are fresh, thickish, hand rolled pasta that look like worms, but taste much better.<<<<

You've tasted worms?

>>>We got ours there. Where did you get yours?<<<

I bought a TCI map for Tuscany at my local bookstore. I think you can get them online also.

I got my TCI map for Tuscany online through the Globe bookstore in Boston. Great customer service. They even asked me if I wanted to delay my order to wait for a new release to come out, which worked out fine for me since I didn't need it immediately.


http://www.globecorner.com/

I have an older brother, so yes, I have tasted worms!

I bought my TCI map online from their website I think.

Life intervenes...more later.

ttt 4 later

Our American Airlines flight arrived on time in Roma at 9 am. I love those early arrivals. It gives you the whole day to get busy and get things done. In our case that meant getting to Orvieto.

Wow. The arrivals area at FCO sure has changed a lot in 4 years!I remember it being sort of a dismal and empty corridor. Now it resembles a multi-level mini-mall with stores and all sorts of services. It was a bit disorienting. We were looking for a place to buy a sim card for our phone. After a little looking around, we found a kiosk at the far left end of the arrivals area just across from the elevators up to the 4th floor where the walkway to the car rental counters are. We bought one (probably overpaid for it, but I wanted to have a working phone as we drove to Orvieto). We got the phone working and proceeded to go get our car.

We rented through Auto Europe. I had reserved a compact car such as an Alfa 147, but realized that I could end up with anything that fit that category. Europecar was the company who would actually rent us the car. In doing research about renting a car I had read warnings about being offered an "upgrade" once at the rental counter. Apparently what this can really mean is that the category of car you paid for is not available and you're going to get whatever is left. It doesn't mean that I reserved an Alfa 147 and poof, lucky me I now get a BMW. What some said is that you might end up with a large car like a van or a station wagon or something completely not suitable for two people driving around in small hill towns.

We get to the counter and this nice man looks my at voucher and says, "Oh, we don't have that car, but we will upgrade you to a Fiat blah, blah, blah. Ughhh! The dreaded "U" word. Red flags flying, I asked, "Is it a van?" "No." "Is it a large car?" "No" "Is it a station wagon?" "No" "Does it have a trunk?" "Yes." He said since there were only two of us he would give the two door version instead of the four door version. Okay...what the hell, we'll take the car I guess. I had no idea what I was getting, but what can you do? In retrospect, I could have asked to see a photo of it, but that hadn't entered my mind. We get the key and instructions on where it was located and off we go up to the fifth floor.

We get to stall number XXX and there sits a HUGE 4 door Fiat Doblo which is a combination between an SUV and a small truck. Think Honda Element meets Dodge minivan or something similar. It is everything he said it wasn't! We just stood there dumb-founded. I screamed a bit, then regrouped. There was no way I as going to drive that thing in Italy. So we walk back down to the fourth floor and get back to the counter, where we are waited on by the same gentleman. I say, "This car will not do. It is way too big and not what we paid for. I want a car in the category that I paid for. I don't want an upgrade. I want a compact car." It was first time I had ever turned down an upgrade! He looked at me, then he looked over to another guy. then he and a woman started talking fast and furious for a few minutes. Finally he says, "We have a brand new Fiat Punto. That will be good." I had no idea what a Punto was, so I asked, "Is is a small car?" "Yes" "Is it like the Doblo?" "Oh no!" This went on for another minute or so. Finally, I said "Great! We'll take the Punto." They didn't have the key for it, so we had to go to the counter that is near the stalls of cars and present them with the card for keys to the Punto. The guy looked a little perplexed and says, "It's brand new and has only 10 km on it." As if I was going to ruin this brand new car or something. I said, "Don't worry. I won't hurt it!" That lightened things up a bit and he laughed and the others at the counter laughed and I laughed. We got the key and turned around and there was the perfect car! It was small and cute and zippy looking. It was exactly what we wanted and needed! Success! This trip WAS really going to be an adventure.

I am so glad that I had read about this happening to others and not settling for the first thing they offered. They were probably counting on us doing just that. I ended up loving that Punto! It was fast and handled like a dream. I would buy one in a minute if they were available here. It was a turbo diesel and sipped the gas.

We loaded the car up, started the Punto, booted up Stella who started giving us orders, exited the airport and set off for Orvieto.

It is a somewhat strange feeling to realize that the trip you've been planning months or years for is finally starting to happen. I love that feeling.

Next...Food and eating.

lol, iamq - I'd like to have seen your face when you saw the van! but well done for sticking to your guns.

don't know why but we've never really fallen foul of the upgrade problem. the only time we got a serious upgrade it was just as well because the car we'd booked would probably have been too small.

looking forward to Rome!

I sort of planned this trip around food, restaurants and eating. It was going to be about the truffles, the pig, the olive oil, the pecorino, the fresh hand made pasta, the proscuitto and the salami. It was.

The Great Spello Restaurant Irony

We never ate one restaurant meal in Spello! I still can't believe it.

One of the reasons I picked Spello as our base is that there seemed to be plenty of places to eat and some very good ones at that. Having dinners out after a day of touring the countryside would be a big part of our experience. I had all the candidates lined up and kept researching and looking for good places in town. The plan was in place.

Plan the plan, not the outcome.

Lunch became the meal of the day. While out and about each day, we always had a very long and satisfying lunch and sometime during the day might pick up food items to be eaten at home. By the time we got home, we were still filled up from lunch. Dinner usually ended up being a tossed green salad and a platter of cheeses, meats, fruits, vegetables and bread soaked in olive oil enjoyed on our porch as the sun set. It was fabulous and became our evening ritual.

In Spello, we got to know three very important people. A baker, a butcher and the gelato lady.

Most mornings I would walk down to the Forno Artigiano early (by 7:30) and pick up tortas, cornettos or other things, bring them back to the apartment and enjoy them with our espresso. The woman who ran the place got to recognize me after a day or two and we soon got friendly. She'd throw in an extra roll or give me something I hadn't paid for. Her bakery was a busy place and was usually sold out by 10 am.

Maria Theresa is the butcher in the shop near Bar Tullia where we always had our gelato. This woman made her own porchetta and her own salami. She also sliced a mean prosciutto. Her salami was the best salami I have ever tasted! It was unlike anything called salami that I have ever had. We shopped here several times. She always was amazed that we bought as much as we did. She'd want to slice us two slices of porchetta and we'd tell her to do six. She'd want to slice us four slices of her salami and I'd say otto. We'd always wave to her as we'd walk by on our way home each day. There were a ton of salumerias in town. Her's was not the largest or the fanciest, but I am convinced she served the best meat and cheese in town. During the Infiorata, there was a line of at least 100 people out her door waiting for a torta sul testo or a porchetta sandwich.

Bar Tullia was the local hangout for caffe, drinks, snacks and gelato. Gelato here twice a day was not uncommon. The woman who ran the place was a gorgeous, curvaceous, good spirited person who was always chatting up the customers. She ended up really liking M and giving him special treatment whenever he came in. Our last night she gave us big hugs and kisses and lots of "ciao, ciaos." Very sweet.

Where we ate...

La Palomba in Orvieto.

Our first meal in Italy was a memorable one. This place is mentioned often on chowhound and is a slowfood member or whatever you call them. The place is lively and friendly and the service was excellent. We had a late lunch. The food was simple and delicious. We started with an assortment of bruschetta and a platter of prosciutto. We both had umbricelli with shaved truffles for our primi. They shave the truffles onto to the pasta right at the table. Secondi was wild boar in a spicy tomato sauce for me and grilled sausages for M. We were in heaven. This was what we came to Italy for! Dui caffe and dui bottles of fizzy water. The bill was euro 57,50.

Antica Hostaria De La Valle in Todi.

Truth be told, eating here was the primary reason we stopped at Todi on our way from Ovieto to Spello. I had heard such good things about this place, I knew we'd have to stop. A word or two of cauton: Come hungry as the courses are large. We ordered three courses each and for the first time since I've known him M could not finish what was on his plate. Don't be in a hurry either. We needed to be in Spello by 4 pm so we had to sort of rush out on the secondi course. Next time it will be an appetizer and a primi only per favore.

We started by sharing an antipasti platter that was a work of art. Little bread sticks stuck out of a pot of melted cheese in the center. That was surrounded by an amazing selection of brushetta, meats, cheeses and fruit and the most amazing olives in the world. Primi for me were ravioli filled with ricotta served in a truffle cream sauce. This was one of the best dishes I have ever had...anywhere. M's primi was strangozzi with truffles. Amazing. It was more refined and the flavors a bit more subtle than the truffle dish the day before. Secondi for me was pig filets in a gorgonzola cream sauce. What was I thinking? Two cream sauces? M had a veal filet sliced thinly in a juniper berry sauce that was unreal. We were full, full, full. This is a restaurant not to miss. The owner is Scotch. The place was full of Italians and British ex-pats. Two bottles of water. The bill was euro 69,00.

Dinner that night was gelato and a Tums.

more later...

Try this one instead for the food photos.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109445927820769304811/UmbrianPiggies?authkey=Gv1sRgCKSR6dO9xu2NKw

Loving your trip report so far. Thanks for all the tips on your research. Can't wait to hear more.

I hate the car upgrade situation because usually there is a reason for the car you pick. It happens to me most often in Hawaii. My last trip, both Honolulu and Hilo didn't have what I requested or anything close. When I got to Maui, I told the people there that they were the only island that ever had the car I needed. That made their day.

I am also enjoying your report!

<<Lunch became the meal of the day. While out and about each day, we always had a very long and satisfying lunch and sometime during the day might pick up food items to be eaten at home. By the time we got home, we were still filled up from lunch. Dinner usually ended up being a tossed green salad and a platter of cheeses, meats, fruits, vegetables and bread soaked in olive oil enjoyed on our porch as the sun set. It was fabulous and became our evening ritual.>>

I can relate- I usually enjoy my big meals at lunch and then a lighter meal/snack of local products for dinner accompanied by a local wine, a beautiful sunset and the patio view.

More food...

One of the things we wanted to do on this trip was to taste and purchase Umbrian oilve oil. I posted something about that here and on slowtrav. Both inquiries led me to some great oil and good food.

Genius Loci Country Inn

Letizia on slowtrav suggested I look up Mary Tacconi of Genius Loci as they produce their own very fine olive oil in small batches and have it for sale. I did and we eventually ended up booking a "gourmet tasting" of local foods along with their oil and wine. We don't drink alcohol, so we booked it without the wine. However, that evening there was another couple who joined us and did sample their wines. This gourmet tasting is obviously designed to showcase their wines, but Mary did a fine job of showcasing the oil as well. The evening started off with a tour of the winery. Then we were seated inside an old wine vat (see photos) for the tasting. It was a bit strange at first, but it ended up being lots of fun. Mary put together a platter of wonderful cheeses, salamis, bruschetti and pates that were delicious. She focused on local things. There was a 30 month old aged pecorino from a cheese shop in Bevagna that so creamy and smooth...almost sweet. I have never had an aged cheese like that! My favorite thing on that plate was the honey with truffle. OMG! The honey comes from an old beekeeper in Trevi and I have never tasted anything like it before. Dipping the pecorino in it was heaven. Dipping anything in it was delicious. Mary's husband makes his own capacollo. That was good. We snacked and ate while Mary talked about the wines, food and life in Umbria. It was a pretty special and unique evening. We loved the olive oil and bought some. We also bought one of her last two jars of the truffle honey. Not a cheap evening...with oil and honey euro 125,00.

Enoteca L'Alchimista in Montefalco.

Wonderful and highly recommended. It was a lovely day in Montefalco and eating here in the piazza was a lot of fun. M started with a mixed bruschetta that he devoured. I had a farro salad with tomatoes, thinly sliced zuccini, ripe black olives and arugula. It was light and refreshing. M's primi was strangozzi with fresh porcini. The porcini were sublime and the pasta was perfectly cooked. I had the gnocchi in Sargrantino wine sauce. It was fantastic. The sauce was slightly puckery, but nice. The gnoochi were tender. For secondi M had the filet of beef in Sargrantino sauce and I had a salad. The beef was amazing. Two bottles of fizzy water and dui caffe. The bill was euro 52,50.

Taverna Castelluccio

We ate here on our way from Norica to Visso via the Piano Grande. It was very good and I am glad we ate here instead of in Norcia. The mountain setting alone makes it a worthwhile stop. I had their "famous" lentil soup, which was good, M had the gnocchi made with wild grasses served with a tomato sauce with mutton. This was the clear winner of the day. I had tagliatelle Norcina, which was tagliatelle in a cream sauce with sausage and porcini. It was good, but the pasta was bit too al dente for me. M finished with the Trota al Tartufo. Fresh Nera river trout smothered in truffles. I normally can't eat trout, but this was so mild I even ate some of it. Very good. Water and caffe. euro 46,10

more...

You really deserve a special award for reporting so very quickly, that's incredibly nice and much appreciated! I'm sorry that you didn't obviously love Taverna Castelluccio (and what I'm calling this planet's best lentil soup) as much as I do, but at least you were satisfied.

Oh franco! I have you to thank for talking us into having lunch there in the first place! It would have been a shame to have missed that. Next time you are there have the gnocchi with mutton. They mix mountain grasses in with the dough. Delicious.

Enoteca Astorre - Faenza

Having lunch in Emilia Romagna was a nice change of pace. The food is very different here. This place was recommended to us by the Vignoli Sisters, the potters we had come here to visit. It is located in the piazza right across from the Duomo. The food was excellent. My primi was an antipasto platter with meats from the region. The prosciutto was excellent and I could have done with a whole tray of the mortadella. M had an interesting and tasty salad of potatoes, green beans and medallions of octopus tentacles It was delicious. Primi for me was cuzci (spelling is wrong, but the pasta were fresh wide egg noodles) tossed with braised red onion and guanciale. Besides the ravioli at Antica Hostaria in Todi, this pasta was my favorite. So simple. M had gnocchietta in a very subtle pesto. Very good. This was one of our best meals of the trip and made me want to come to this region for more eating. Two fizzy waters. euro 41,50

Trattoria Degli Umbri - Assisi

Another excellent lunch! It is right in the thick of things in Assisi. We ordered mostly from their daily specials and were rewarded by doing so. M was the clear winner with his appetizer. Bruschetta drenched in olive oil and piled high with the most succulent and delicious guanciale ever tasted seasoned with just a touch of balsamic vinegar. Brilliant. I am afraid I will have to return someday just to taste this guanciale! Even the artisinal stuff made here cannot compare. I had a trio of torta sul testo that we very good. One was prosciutto, one was spinach with melted pecorino and the other was salami (I think). M's primi was strangozzi with truffles. It was exceptional. I had the special which was a rotolo of turkey wrapped in bacon and stuffed with a very smooth mixture of sausage. Again, this is food prepared in such a way that one hardly ever sees here. The taste was fantastic. Two bottles of fizzy water and dui caffe. euro 44,00

Osteria Del Podesta - Bevagna

Authentic and well prepared Umbrian delights. We had lunch here after visiting Frantoio Nunzi. I really loved the food here. M started with an tartufo fritatta. He loves eggs, so this was a special treat for him. My primo was strangozzi with porcini. The porcini were fragrant and delicious. For secondi, M had pork sutffed with pork sausage and I had rabbit done porchetta style. M was not entirely happy with the pork. It was a bit dry. My rabbit was succulent and the skin was crispy. You could have poured the sauce in a glass and drank it. It was that good. Two bottles of fizzy water and dui caffe. euro 48,00

Taverna del Lupo - Gubbio

After having read so much about this place, I felt like we had to eat here. Well, eat we did. We each a full-on tasting menu. There is no way I can go on about each course as there was so much food. It is an exceptional restaurant, but it is a bit overpriced and hung up on itself. The two dishes that really blew our socks off was my faraona and M's desert. Service was a little gestapo-like, not the down-home friendly style we had gotten used to by the more modest places. M's lunch was euro 60,00. Mine was euro 56,00 total bill was 129,00.

Well, that's it for restuarants, but there's more food coming!

What a great trip report! I'm loving the detailed restaurant/food descriptions. Thank you, iamb, for taking the time for this - it's going in my future-trip-to-Umbria file.

>>>>There was a 30 month old aged pecorino from a cheese shop in Bevagna that so creamy and smooth...almost sweet. I have never had an aged cheese like that! My favorite thing on that plate was the honey with truffle. OMG! The honey comes from an old beekeeper in Trevi and I have never tasted anything like it before. Dipping the pecorino in it was heaven.<<<<

Next trip, you must go to Pienza which is known for pecorino. So many different ones to taste. Bruschetta (toasted with olive oil) with a melted percorino, sprinkled with pine nuts and drizzled with honey. Yum!

>>>Here is our prosciutto di Norcia that we smuggled home.<<<

Waiting for the details.

Loving the TR (and your pics!), Iamq!

Franco, we've been bugging him for his TR mercilessly.

Dying to know if you enjoyed Orvieto.

Mouthwatering photos, thanks!

My mouth was watering over your food descriptions, and then I looked at the photos. Oh, my! It looks incredible! Umbria is on my "next time" list. And when you mentioned the pecorino dipped in honey, I could really taste it! We were given some at a winery near Montalcino last month and DH is still raving about it!

i've got indigestion just reading it all.

i'll have to ration myself to one meal a day, i think.

Loving this report!!! The food sounds and looks amazing!!

Away this weekend. Back with more on Sunday.

The food was truly amazing. Not fancy, but just wonderful flavors and so simple. We were not disappointed.

Loved Orvieto.

zoecat, I forgot to mention you when I was thanking people on the boards for the help. Your advice on the Taverna Castelluccio and Norcia was particularly helpful. I'd love to get back to the Sibillini National Park someday and do some of those longer hikes. Thanks again.

Keep it coming!

Great report & pics; thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to the rest.

you're killing me with the food pictures! it all looks amazing.

imaq,

I am SO relieved to know umbricelli tastes better than worms!!

Your opinion of Taverna del Lupo in Gubbio is exactly the same as mine. I thought they were WAY too stuffy, tried far too hard to be "the place to dine" and were very overpriced for OK, but not great food.

It was really the only dining disappointment of my last trip, which is far too long ago now.

Loving your report!

Hi again,

As I mentioned above and in the captions in the photos, some of best meals were at "home" made with products we purchased in either in town or on the road during that day's travels.

We scored big in Norcia. I took Fred Plokin's section on Norcia with us because he makes several suggestions on places to get the best of this or the best of that. It proved very useful, as those of you that have been to Norcia know, there are a gazillion shops that seemingly sell the same thing, but want you to think they are the masters of a particular type of pork product.

Here is a link to the slowtrav page on Umbrian pork product. I proved extremely helpful:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/food/umbria_pork.htm

We purchased most all of our meat products from Norcineria Ercole Ulivucci, Via Mazzini 4. It is off the main drag a bit, so it is a little quieter, smaller and lower key than some of the other shops in the square or on the main drag into town.
In Plotkin's book he raved about his ciauscolo, so went in there for that, but ended up buying a Coralina, some prosciutto, and a Fiaschetta. Of the salamis, the Fiaschetta was my favorite. These are pear shaped and are slightly spicy. Delicious. Ercole was very pleased when I showed him his name in Fred's book and he recommended the ciasocolo. He gave us a little extra at no charge. (just what we needed!).

Another spot we wanted to visit was a nameless bakery run by an apparently sweet and lovely lady. We found her onCorso Sertorio 13. She doesn't bake bread, she makes these cookies and sweets that are incredibly good. Some are like "raviolis" filled with crema, or hazelnut or chocolate, etc, etc.

She was so kind to us! She showed us each and everyone of her products and talked about it (in Italian, I got about 20% of what she said). She gave us samples. We had a great time with her. We ended up 10 or 12 of her cookies and things. They are fantastic. I would make a stop there again and again. The ones that were filled with cream were my favorites. She spent considerable time and effort trying to draw us a map to get the Caseficio Sociale di Norcia, a cheese consortium of sorts. We never did find our way there, but did end up buying some fresh pecorino and some 24 month aged pecorino from a chesse shop near Uilvucci's shop. We broke into the aged stuff the other night and it was heaven. If anyone has been to Caseficio Sociale di Norcia and knows where it is, I would appreciate directions for next time.

We had a great time in Norcia. It is cute and very tidy town with a lovely main piazza. Our shopping excurions were the highlight of our hour or so there though.

Olive oil is everywhere in Umbria. We ended up buying from three producers, the aforementioned Genious Loci, Hispellum and Antico Frantoio Nunzi. I had desgins on visiting more places and buying more brands, but time ran out and I didn't want the trip to turn into the "Great Forced March" for olive oil.

Thanks to franco for mentioning Nunzi! We had the most incredible experience there! I let them know we were coming, so they were expecting us. They are located outside a small town called Cantalupo just north of Bevagna on a little white road. Amazingly, Stella got us there with no problems. One could have easily driven by with noticing the name painted on an old pressing wheel.

Luca Nunzi and his is mother greeted us warmly. As Luca took us on a tour of their facilities, moma went to to make us some bruschetta. Luca explained that they are using two methods now to make the oil. The old method of crushing the olives with the marble wheels and the method which is similar to the old method, but technology is new and more advanced. Luca spoke some English and I understood about half of what he was saying, so much of the explanation of the new machinery was lost in the ether. He is clearly proud of their operation and is eager to get the oil out there to the general public. I believe their website is up and running now.

After the tour, we got treated to slices of wonderful toasted crusty bread drenched in their oil. some with just salt and others with fresh tomatoes. The oil is truly delicious. It is smooth and mellow at the start, but has a surprising peppery finish at the end that really makes for a nice taste. We bought some oil of course.

We left there feeling the warmth and hospitality of the Umbrian people in a very big way. Sure, it was a business transaction, but it was more than that. There was sharing and stories and laughing and a warmth not commonly felt in transactions where I come from. We felt this from many people ran into. The aforementioned cookie lady and Ercole Ulivucci being two others.

The other producer I wanted to visit, but didn't get a chance was Romanelli near Montefalco. I could have kicked myself as we were in Montefalco one day and could have visited their shop in town, but we just didn't think about at the time. Oh well...

Hispellum is both an olive oil producer and retailer in Spello. The shop in town is full of local products from pasta to cheese to truffles to prepared preserves to of course olive oil. We really liked the oil here and bought two bottles of it. It was not as smooth and mellow as Genious Loci's or as explosive at the end as Nunzi, but it was sort of nice mid ground between the two. We liked our purchases, but now that we are home it is clear that we should have bought a lot more than we did. Next time...

Orvieto and Todi

As mentioned above we spent our first night in Italy in Orvieto and stopped in Todi for a look-see and lunch on our way to Spello the next day.

We stayed at Hotel Duomo in Orvieto. Prior to booking I was considering the Virgilio and I am glad that I chose the Duomo. The Virgilo looks lovely, but it is right on the Piazza and some of the rooms have windows overlooking the Piazza. I guess that could be a good thing or a not-so-good thing, but I was glad to be slightly removed from the piazza at the Duomo. Our room was huge and on the third floor with views out both sides towards gardens on one side the the Duomo on the other. The bath was large. The a/c worked well and it was quiet at night. This is where I would stay again if we were to come back for another night or two. euro 140,00 which included a nice breakfast.

Our time in Orvieto was limited, but we crammed in as much as we could without feeling rushed. After our gut-stretching lunch at La Palomba we walked around the backstreets a bit and then made our way to the Underground Tour office.

As we were walking, I noticed a lot of nice shops selling everything from linens to olive wood to of course pottery. Orvieto is a town where one could drop a considerable amount of money on some very nice, unique things. There was one ceramics shop in particular, that looking back now, I wished I bought some things at. It is located on the piazza sort of kitty corner to the Duomo. They carry more modern and abstract things than other shops in town and I fell in love with some of the raku bowls he had. I should have bought them, but we had just gotten there...blah, blah, blah, you know the story. Who knows what else I will see in the next 11 days? There was the planned trip to Faenza in a few days to see my heros, the Vignoli Sisters...so I passed and now I regret it. Oh well...NEXT TIME!

We got to the Underground Tour office just as the last English speaking tour of the day was starting, so we paid our fare and off we went. I recommend this to anyone visiting Orvieto, however my expectations were slightly out of line with the reality of the tour. I thought the caves we'd be seeing were natural caves. I was imagining stalagtites, etc... As it turns out the caves are man made, were functional and served many purposes for the land owners and townspeople above, which WAS interesting to learn about. It was a well done presentation, the corridors are well lit and done in a semi-artistic manner which added to the experience and we saw a lot. I think the tour lasted about an hour or so, which was perfect.

After the tour we started examining the Duomo. What an amazing piece of architecture! The facade is unlike anything I had ever seen.

I am not a major appreciator of religious oriented art and this cathedral is choked full of famous works. The things about the interior and exterior of the Duomo that impressed me most were the graphic details such as the moldings, the frescoed desgin work on the columns and the areas that framed the art works, and the lovely mosaic and tile work around the altar. It was all spectacular and so impressively done. I am an amature potter and seeing these designs and patterns was inspirational and put things in a historical context for me as I am constantly wondering where artists get their ideas from. Often it is from the past and that could be clearly seen from the designs and patterns found in the Doumo.

Another impressive feature of the Duomo are the black and white striped exterior sides. I love modern design and this patterning reminded me of the modern as much as the gothic. We walked up and down both sides a few times appreciating the stone work and the gargoyles overhead. One could come back here several times and still enjoy and appreciate it.

I think Orvieto would be a place to come back to for several reasons. There are ton of good places to eat here. I had hoped to have at least one more meal here, but after our late lunch, dinner was out. The are so many areas to explore and we concentrated our wanderings around the main piazza area and down a few sides streets. There is clearly so much more to explore.

The people of Orvieto were wonderful. annw mentioned to me in a post about how wondeful the passagiata is in Orvieto and she was right. Everyone comes out and it was like a street party! I loved that part of our day there the most. An image that is stuck in my mind from that time was when I looked up a side street and there was this old woman sitting on a bench surrounded by a young family. The old woman had he arms around a little child and was squeezing her saying over and over "bella, bella, bella, bella, bella..." The old woman was in heaven and the child was squirming around like a bug. It was a classic image, one I was glad to have seen. I thought to myself, "Yes, Bill you are in Italy now, now doubt about it!"

The countryside around Orvieto is lovely too and worthy of a future visit. It would be fun to rent a country house in this area some day.

Our much too quick trip to Todi later...

Here are some photos of Orvieto and Todi.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109445927820769304811/OrvietoTodi2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCIyRgJvispXx1wE

Todi is a lovely little town that I would have wanted to spend more time in. We took the funicular to the top and walked towards the piazza. It is a gorgeous piazza! We explored the buildings and spent some time in the Duomo. The Rose stained glass window is not be believed! We did some window shopping. Again, I found this pottery shop with some amazing works in it, that I should have bought, but it was only the second day and who knows...blah, blah, blah. I didn't even get the business card of this place. We wandered past the piazza to a nice park-like area that had amazing views of the valley beyond. Like the area around Orvieto, the surrounding area here was lovely and rural and from this high looked like a patchwork quilt of different colored fabrics.

After our lunch we left for our appointment with the house person for the apartment we rented in Spello. If we didn't get there by 4 pm we would be charged an extra euro 25,00. I had never heard of that before, but I didn't want to test it.

Here is the photo album I put together from our stay in Spello. I will prattle on about it later.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109445927820769304811/Spello2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCLy-oc_91Kegfg

We timed our trip to Spello so we could be there the weekend of the Infiorate Spello. I cannot begin to explain what an experience it was to stay here during this event. If you want to know more about what the Infiorate is this link will do a much better job of explaining than I could.

What I can tell you is that if are interested in partaking of this, plan to spend the whole weekend in Spello. Arrive Friday and leave Sunday afternoon. Being in town allowed us to see these marvelous creations being made and to watch as the town was transformed. Seeing the change and watching the town get into it was remarkable.

http://www.infioratespello.it/ Google should translate it.

Here is a link to my photos of the Infiorate.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109445927820769304811/InfiorateSpello2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjOsfjH_8bXcg

Enjoy. Back with more later.

You are driving me crazy, iamq! More, more!!!

God, I love Italy.

Oh, iamq, I am so happy to see the Infiorate in Spello!! We saw the "homespun" one in Montone last June, while we were staying there, but we had heard that Spello had a particularly fantastic one.

You must have been thrilled to see this - a sort of once in a lifetime event for us Americans.

I'm so enjoying your report.
I want to go back to Umbria and spend more time in the Southern towns such as you did.

Did you tell us where and what your apartment was? Did you like it? I'll go back up top and take a look.

Thanks again, and waiting for more!

taconic,

No, I haven't talked much about Spello yet including the apartment. That will be next. Stay tuned. The photo link above for Spello has pictures of the apartment in it though.

It was thrilling...and almost surreal in a way.

PS I love your photos, they are making me homesick for Umbria.

and I particularly like your quote: "plan the plan, not the outcome!"

Spello ended up being the perfect place for us to stay and base ourselves for 10 days. We love this pink hued, vertical, flowered bedecked town and I hope to return to it someday for a longer period of time.

We got off to a bit of rocky start though. We were to meet Nadia at the Piazza at around 4. There is paid car parking at the Piazza. We pull up and find a spot and just as M is to set about locating the ticket meter, there is Nadia waving for us to follow her. We were bit discombobulated, so we just sort of dropped everything and took off with her.

Speaking Italian, then English a mile a minute she quickly guided us up and down these narrow "roads" and stariways that wound this way and that. I am thinking, "How the hell am I supposed to remember how to get back to the car?" It was like a maze...a pretty maze, but a maze. I looked at M and he had this look on his face that said "WTF?" So off we go into the depths of ancient Hispellum in search of our apartment. Nadia was wonderful, but that day she knew one speed: FAST.

We get to the apartment and are blown away! It is in a gorgeous rebuilt stone villa that sort of forms the outside perimeter of the town. There are parts of the ancient Roman wall on the property. There are four units and we are in the Augustus Unit. Nadia takes us inside and QUICKLY gives us the low down on everything. It was a whirlwind tour that left our heads spinning!

The apartment is huge, well laid out and has everything an American in Italy could want. It is the owner's unit. She stays there when she is in Spello, so it is naturally well designed, well furnished and fully equipped (mostly).

Still disoriented, and not really sure where in town we were, my big concern was parking. PARKING! We'd forgot to put money in the meter at the Piazza! I ask Nadia about where to park and she was not clear at all about where to go. She mentioned a few areas that of course meant nothing to me as I did not know where she was talking about. I think I had an idea, but wasn't sure. ARGHHHH. After a quick tour of the apartment, Nadia left us. We sat there a bit overwhelmed and bewildered. We knew we had to get back to the piazza...but how? After about ten minutes of looking we found a map (why hadn't I brought one? Bad planner, bad planner!) of Spello in the house and set off.

Our trip back to the car wasn't that bad and relieved our disorientation a bit. While convoluted, it is a small town with all roads, walkways, stairways, seemingly leading to the main piazza. We found out way back to the car and had recieved our first of many gifts from this town: a euro 40,00 parking ticket! Welcome to the fair Umbrian hill town of Spello! Ughh.
Oh well. I shoved it in the glove box and would deal with it later...or would I?

We retrieved our bags, FED THE METER and actually made it back to the apartment without getting lost.

It felt good to be there, but we still really didn't know WHERE we were in relation to the rest of the town and had to find out where to park on a regular basis.

Hark! What's that we hear? A male voice speaking American outside? Quick! Get him! M flys out the front door and there is Lou. Lou is our downstairs neighbor. He and his wife had been in Spello for 5 days already. Veterans! Lou would end up being our parking and overall Spello newbe savior. M struck up a conversation with him which ended 20 minutes later with Lou walking us around town a bit and showing us where he and his wife park there car. He didn't know it, but Lou had very bright halo over his head.

Whew...with all that behind us, I felt much better and we set about getting unpacked and settled in our fabulous digs in this quirky, but apparently lovely and friendly town. I forgot about the ticket, denial is a good coping mechanism, and we started thinking about things like, "We need to get some coffee for tomorrow morning. What about something to eat tonight? Let's check out that bakery." and the all important. "Let's get some gelato." We were "home."

Love your report! Looking forward to more. Glad you enjoyed Orvieto and were in Spello for the Infiorata.

Iamq - can you post a link to the apt in Spello?

Here is the link to the apartment:

http://www.italybackroads.com/

We stayed in the Augustus unit, which is the only unit I would stay in. The building used to be an olive oil and wine storage place, so the ground floor apartments are sort of cave-like and don't have a lot of natural light and air circulation. All the units are designed and furnished with style and top quality things. Our unit was the most "conventional" in terms of layout. It also had its own porch and fantastic views.

While I am on views, let me say that one of the things we didn't particularly like about our side of Spello and the view from the apartment was the immediate view of the suburban sprawl that spread out below the old walled city, and the close proximity to the freeway and the sound associated with that. The far off and intermediate views were spectacular and the sunsets from this side of town were to die for. The views from the other side of town were more pastoral and peaceful. Having said that, this would not keep us from renting this place again. It is just something to mention in order to keep one's expectations aligned with reality.

Or daily rountine in Spello went something like this:

-up fairly early. I'd get the espresso maker going on the stove and then run down to the Forno mentioned above and buy too many goodies.

-coffee and eat until satisfied. Plan out the day. We usually knew what we doing or where we going, but sometimes we winged it.

-Leave the apartment by 10:00 am to where ever we were going.

-Do what ever we planned on doing, which was usually on destination or possibly a side trip.

-Lunch at or around 1:00 pm

-Wandering and/or more doing or winging it.

-Back to Spello by 5:00 or 6:00 pm or so.

-Rest and refresh.

-Prepare our "light" dinner and snacks. Eat on the porch at 7:30 or 8:00, resting and recapping our day as the sn would begin to set.

-Go for a walk and get gelato. Then walk the town. Sometimes we go up past La Bastiglia and out along the trails. Sometimes we'd explore areas we hadn't been too. It is a small town, so after a few days we were doing loops that took in large parts of the city.

In bed and asleep by 10:00 or 10:30.

The big deviation to this was the Infiorate. During Infiorate weekend we stayed in town from Friday evening until early Monday morning. Each "circuit" of the course of artworks took about 2 to 3 hours to walk and watch what was going on. Starting around 3:00 or 4:00 on Saturday afternoon we'd start making the rounds and seeing how the various groups were doing. We continued this into the night until around midnight. Went to bed and got up around 4:00 am and started doing the circuit again. We did one go round and then went back to the apartment and rested and then joined the hoards at around 9:00 am and joined the party. We really wanted to maximize the benefits of staying there. Watching these groups work into the night and then again see what they had accomplished by 5:00 am was really interesting and a lot of fun.

One of the reasons we like to stay in one place for a longish period of time as opposed to 3 days here, 2 days there, 4 days there is that we get to establish a routine and get to know our surroundings and in most cases the people there. I knew we'd be around for a while so I was more open to get to know the baker and butcher. We got to recognize people and they got to know our faces and we became friendly with many of them.

I think we could have probably done more each day had we really wanted to, but I wanted there to be some relaxation to this trip, not just go, go, go. I was doing all the driving and that can get old real quick too.

We didn't make it to Spoleto or Perugia. We also didn't get to San Pietro en Valle. For a variety of reasons we didn't make it to the Mercato in Bevagna. I regret that the most, but it just didn't work out.

Out and About next...

iamq - this is my sort of trip. I love it when the butcher, baker and candlestick maker start to know you.

Bill -- your trip reports are the next best thing to being there! Italy is wonderful - thanks for giving me this vicarious pleasure.

You know annhig, there was this candlestick maker...

One thing my photos don't really do justice to in town is the bright splashes of floral and plant color everywhere on people's homes. It is one of the things that makes this town so special. They have fashioned these amazing hanging gardens and potted plant sanctuaries around their homes. The residents seem to take great pride in them. One of the great pleasures of going on our evening walks was to enjoy these beauties and explore the little alleys and see what sort of gardens were there. One evening I had a broken Italian conversation with a woman who was looking out her window admiring her plants below. I told her how lovely everything looked and asked her how she did it. She said in English, "Love".

I am glad you are all enjoying the trip report.

iamq,

I am so enjoying your report. It brings back fabulous memories of parts of my trips #2 and #3! So many people think of Orvieto as a quick stop type of town on the way to Rome - just see the duomo, maybe the cave tour...but we stayed 3 nts and just loved this town! The passagiata - the best I've experienced in Italy so far. Lovely shops, artist's galleries, incredible food. So glad you fell for Orvieto too!

And Spello - I will definitely go back on my next trip. Special place.

Can't wait to read the rest!

Hi Dayle,

Yes, I did fall for Orvieto. I'd go back just to eat at La Palomba again. And then there's that ceramics shop...

You sound like us! We have found a place in The Marche (LaTavola Marche) near Piobicco. We stay in an agriturismo run by a wonderful young American couple. We rent a car and spend our days exploring the area and our nights eating the husband of the couple great local food. A perfect vacation for us.

Spello photos are wonderful! We only saw post cards of them on our visit there! Terrific report!

I looked at the apartment photos and found it tempting. But what floor is it on? And how many stairs into it? (knee problems, for me)

I should NOT have read your report before lunch.
This is wonderful, I feel like I'm there with you.

CindyP.

Ten years ago, we visited a ceramics shop in Orvieto and saw several pieces we thought were gorgeous, and well priced. But we didn't buy because we'd just gotten to Orvieto. The next day the shop was closed and then we were off to pick up my sister at FCO, before heading to the Amalfi Coast and Rome.

We have kicked ourselves multiple times ever since. (Also, we've learned that when we are both so taken with something, we will BUY IT and worry about getting it home later!) Of course we've seen some lovely Italian ceramics back in the US, but WHOA is it expen$ive.

Grazie, Jean. lucky you.

there have been quite a few threads about Umbria recently describing so many lovely places , it's difficult to choose between them.

I will add Lago Trasimeno to my wish list.

We just got back from Rome - not first time and loved it again!! But I now know I would love to do the countryside if I'm lucky enough to come back to Italy. I have spent time in Tuscany and loved it and this will make me really consider Unbria. Great report!

Hi! What a wonderfull report. We were in Spello for just a few hours and loved it!!!!

uhoh, M and I learned that lesson on this trip. See it, want it, can afford it...BUY IT!

Jean WILMOTE, I appreciate your comments on Lake Trasimeno. With so few days and so many items of greater priority for us, it never made it to our list. Maybe next time.

marigross, Lucky you that you got to see Spello.

annhig, Are you plannig a trip to Umbria? Lots's of Umbrian reports lately.

Thanks for the comments. I will be back later to wrap this baby up and post some more photos.

annhig, Are you plannig a trip to Umbria? Lots's of Umbrian reports lately.≥≥

iamq - I'm always planning a trip. Brittany in August, eastern Germany in october. Meanwhile i plot how to get back to Orbetello [south-west Tuscany] where I did an Italian course earlier this year - which might fit with a tour of Umbria, possibly.

annhig, try to at least work in Orvieto in your plot.

Bottega Vignoli and Faenza

In San Francisco there is an importer of Italian pottery, mainly from Deruta. It is is sort of an institution and over the years I have shopped there for myself and for others. Biordi Art Imports is in North Beach, so a shopping excursion there followed by lunch or dinner or hang out at City Lights Books makes for a nice day.

About 7 or 8 years ago while on a look see/walk by with M I noticed some really amazing looking vases, pots, bowls and wall mounts that were decidedly modern and didn't fit the traditonal Deruta/Italian Majolica design motifs. They stuck out like a sore thumb and wonderful sore thumb at that.

Much to M's chagrin I got sucked in and started talking to the owner about these new pieces. He said they are Vignoli and are the work of two sisters in the town of Faenza. Saura and Ivana Vignoli had been working for years in Faenza and Biordi had just started importing their work. Upon until very recently it was the only place in the US one could buy it. The pieces had a copper sheen to the glazes and the design work was amazingly intricate and unique. There was even a sardine design! I immediately fell in love with their work and bought something that day. I have continued to purchase their work when my budget permits or when I need a retail therapy fix.

Once home I googled Faenza and Vignoli and started learning more. Faenza is arguably the capital of ceramics in Italy. There is an amazing museum there and a centuries old tradition of pottery making that continues to this day. The term "Faience" ware refers to pottery where a tin oxide glaze is used on white earthen ware pottery. It originated in Faenza, but the French started doing their own take on it too. The Vignoli Sisters are very much part of this tradition, but they are using copper oxides and doing strange things in the firing process that give unusual and spectacular results.

Here are links to Biordi, the museum and to Bottega Vignoli.

Biordi.com

http://www.micfaenza.org/

http://www.ceramichevignoli.com/

I knew some day I would visit their studio. The thought of buying something from their own studio that probably would never see the light of day in the US made me very happy. Sooooo, when the trip to Italy got firmed up I contacted the owner at Biordi and he gave me the Vignoli's email and phone number. I contacted them and told them about how we'd be in Italy in June and we wanted to come by and see their studio, etc. "We are here and waiting for you" was the response I got back. We set a date and time. Yay!

The drive from Spello to Faenza takes about three hours and made for a long day. It was a nice drive, mostly on E45 through the mountains. The road was not in the best shape and there was lots of road and tunnel work going on so that slowed things down a bit. Once you start to come down out of the mountains you are in Emilia Romagna and soon the terrain becomes flat and plain-like. It was very cool to see the terrain change so much.

The Vignoli's studio and showroom is located on the outskirts of town and when we pulled up they were indeed waiting for us! Ivana greeted us with hugs and cheek kisses and took us inside where we met Saura and their assistant whose name I forget. Was it Richard? Anyhow, what followed was a two hour tour of their workshop and showroom where Saura explained how they work, what techniques they use, how the oxides are applied, how the firings are done, where she gets her inspiration for her designs...it went on and on. As someone who is a fan of their work it was like being in heaven. While Saura talked and showed us everything, Ivana quietly worked on hand painting a new fish design on a plate.

Saura took us upstairs to their showroom. Wow! There were amazing pieces everywhere. My dream of seeing unique pieces not available in the US certainly had come true. After sometime of showing us their newest work, Saura asked us, "Do you want to see my museum?" She brought us over to a small cabinet, opened it up and started pulling out these amazing small bowls. They were her treasures, her pieces that she would never part with. As she spoke about them, you could sense joy and pride in her voice. She plans to have a show someday of all these bowls. We ended up buying a bowl that was similar to those in her "museum.". I told her to pick her favorite and that was the one we bought.

I could go on and on. They were beyond gracious. It was a highlight of our trip. After we made our purchases, they suggested a place for lunch in downtown Faenza. Ivana went as far as driving downtown and having us follow her so we would find parking and find the restaurant. We will be back to visit anytime we are in Italy.

Here are the photos from our visit.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109445927820769304811/BottegaVignoli2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCMn27t3LvMymbw

After lunch we walked around town a bit and went to the museum. The museum is amazing and a must for anyone with an interest in ceramics. Faenza is a nice city too.

annhig, try to at least work in Orvieto in your plot.>>

We went to Orvieto as a day trip from Rome last February, so whilst i wouldn't mind a return trip, it's not top of my list.

your trip to the pottery studio sounds great.

iamq-

Great report. Packing all of the restaurants in one posting was a treat.

A familiar experience: wishing you had more time to spend in one town or another, or places you had planned to see but didn't . Although frustrating on one hand, it does provide potential for another trip.

I agree with your approach of having a base to establish a routine. Particularly with an apartment, it allows for more time to relax and sample food from local shops. Just being able to empty the suitcase makes it feel more settled.

Thanks david. I am enjoying your trip report as well. I'd really like to explore the Le Marche region on the next trip. And then there's still Emilia Romagna and it's sumptuous cuisine waiting for us. My agreement with M is that we will do Italy every three to four years. It started out as every 4 years. I have whittled it down to 3 or 4. Soon it will be every 3 and then...well you know how that will go.

charnees, the apartment has a fair number of stairs inside and outside and the town is quite steep with "streets" with stairs as well. The bedroom is on the second level. There is a half bath downstairs, which is nice and completely unexpected.

There are a few things I forgot to mention. The first is about credit cards from the US without the little microchips in them. There has been some discussion here and on other boards about when and where they work or don't work. It was our experience that our Schwab Visa card worked everywhere we used it, including the carte checkout on the autostrada, the gas stations, parking lots and everywhere else we used it. We never had a problem. BTW, the Schwab Visa we used has no conversion fee. The bills are starting to come in and not seeing a conversion fee tacked on is a bit of a silver lining.

We did end up using more cash than we originally thought we would. Many of the shops would not take credit cards and some of the eating situations (Genius Loci) took only cash, so we were pulling more cash out of the bancomat than I had anticipated. The big problem was that we ate so much gelato from the cafe in town it ate up all of our cash. If they'd only taken credit cards!


In my resource section above I neglected to mention another valuable resource for this trip. Blogs. Two blogs in particular supplied me with I'd like to think of as "insider" information.

The first one is: http://www.brigolante.com/blog/
This is a very well organized and well written blog about life in Umbria told from the perspective of a transplanted American who is now fully immersed in Italian life. Her postings on restaurants, journeys within Umbria and daily life were extremely helpful. Rebecca's sense of humor and wit is all over her writing.

The other blog that came in very handy is this one:

http://madonnadelpiatto.com/

Since Letizia runs a cooking school outside of Assisi, among other things, her blog is heavily slanted towards food and recipes. There is a "Visit Assisi" section which offers up a great, short template for a one day visit to Assisi. We used it as an overlay to our day trip there and it proved very useful. The other useful section is called "Visit Umbria" where she has written about several "must sees" for a seven day trip to Umbria. I came across this early on in my planning process and it formed a bit of skeleton for the trip to be filled in later.

I highly recommend a look-see at both of these blogs if you are planning a trip to Umbria.

Here is the last photo installment. It is sort of a clearing house of all the other places we went to. More later.

https://picasaweb.google.com/109445927820769304811/Umbria2011Others?authkey=Gv1sRgCKjx8rqF5cenEw

Still enjoying your report and photos, iamq. Did you by chance watch the new Masterpiece Theater on NP Television last night? It's the Zen detective series - 3 episodes. The detective's last name is Zen, he's from Venice and kind of an outsider on the police force in Rome. Last night's program was partially set in Umbria and reminiscent of some of your photos.

Wonderful trip report, and thanks so much for the Brigolante link! I was an avid reader of the blog but I lost the link when my computer died, so I drifted off--till now. I just read a random selection from Rebecca's Ruminations, and it was marvelous--like getting back in touch with an old friend. Grazie!

Grazie to you for reading fanshawe!

elnap, we "recorded" the Zen episode. Now I really can't wait to watch it.

elnap - the shots of Zen's home in Rome are set just round the corner from the apartment we stayed in last year. I spent the whole of the series going 'look, there's......" so much so that the family had to tell me to shut up!

Iamq, OOOOO! Biordi!!! Thank goodness I live in the East Bay and don't get to Columbus Ave very often. Everything in that store is gorgeous. I would be broke if I went there very often.

Thanks for your report. I am tempted to stay in Spello. After we go back to our little town NE of Orvieto, Torre Alfina. Two main streets, a car once every 10 minutes, one alimentari, two macellerias, one paneficio, two cafes, one gelateria. Tiny hotel with amazing food.

charnees, Spello is a metropolis compared to what you describe.

Didn't you go to Bologna also on your last trip? How was that apartment that you rented? I remember when you were searching for a place. Wasn't it slightly outside the centro storico? You had a car, right?

Every time I read this report I head off following links and end up epending hours with photos, blogs, and various other websites. I'm so glad we'll have 2 weeks in Umbria!

Iamq, what a good memory! Yes, we went to Bologna and stayed in a very nice 2 BR apt that was two blocks outside the walls, so it wasn't that far out. Plus it was on a bus line. And we had a car so we could go to a caseficio in Parma and an acetaia inModena. The apt owner had a parking permit for the street in front, so we had a place for the car. But we got lost driving from the rental agency. And apparently violated the dreaded ZTL! Waiting still for the axe to fall, as they have a year to charge you.

Glad to read about the Schwab visa! Great photos.

More please!

So glad I found this trip report...it's fabulous. I love Italy, but haven't yet really explored Umbria, just did a day trip to Orvieto from Rome a few years back. After reading your report I want to book a trip to Spello! Now I'm going to take a peek at your photos!

I enjoyed reading your trip report & all the "chatter" in between!

How lovely to have 10 days in Umbria! We recently spent 4 nights in Bevagna ... not nearly enough time!

Your Spello apartment was gorgeous! You've inspired me to consider an apartment for a different kind of holiday experience, especially in a small town.

Thanks for sharing your stories!

Thanks everyone. I am attempting to finish this before we take off tomorrow for Seattle. There are more tales to tell. It may have to wait until next weekend.

Fingers aching from all the scrolling down.....or is it up?

Other Things We Did

I loved the town of Montefalco. I would go back there in heartbeat and explore some more (and to eat again at L'Alchemista).

The Church Museum of St. Francis is a worthy destination here. The museum is well done and the church is actually not a church anymore, but part of the museum. The restorations they have done to the frescoes are lovely. The detail in the design work of the borders and accent work blew me away. When we were there a restoration person was working on one of the frescoes that decorate the underside of one of the arches. It was interesting to watch her work. I'm not sure how she felt about it, but I liked watching her. For those interested in olive oil, Romanelli has a store in town. It completely slipped my mind and I thought about it as we were just getting home to Spello.

Taverna Castelluccio is a must stop place if you’re doing Norcia/Piano Grande loop or drive. I am so glad we had lunch there instead of in Norcia. The food is good and surroundings are breathtakingly beautiful. Get a table outside or near the window and the meal becomes that much better.

On the way back from Castelluccio we took a detour to the town of Preci with the goal of going to see the Abbazia di Saint Eutizio. I had read a bit about this place. It was once considered by some the center of medical research in Italy with many medical advances being made there over hundreds of years. They apparently have an interesting museum to that effect. Unfortunately the museum was closed when we were there, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the area. It is actually a very pretty place with nice views over the valley and the surrounding hills. There are some very interesting prayer caves built into the hillside and pathways that take you up the hill for more views. The gardens are quiet and peaceful. There is also a small café/restaurant. We wouldn’t be making it to San Pietro en Valle and I wanted to stop at at least one old Abbey, so this was a nice compromise. There is a hiking trail loop from Preci and back that has the Abbey as one of its destinations.

If you find yourself in Spello and have some time and feel like going for a walk, I can highly recommend the trail that runs along the old Roman aqueduct all the way to the town of Collepino about 6 km. away. The aqueduct was restored by some people in town a few years ago. Every so often there are openings in it so you can look into and see how they made it. We both love Roman artifacts and ruins, so to be walking besides one for several kilometers was interesting. On the other side of the trail are old olive groves that stretch down the hill and above you and the aqueduct. Many of them had this years harvest hanging from the branches!

We went on this walk the Saturday morning of the Infiorate. The town was being cleaned up and people were just beginning to arrive in town, so we decided it would be a good time to leave! It was wonderful walking along the path as the noon bells in town began to ring. The sound of the bells echoed around the hills, but instead of stopping, the bells kept ringing and soon there was a song with melody and harmony being played by what seemed like more than one ringer in more than tower. Pretty soon the whole hillside was filled with the sound of bells. It continued on for what seemed like 30 minutes. We stopped and took it all in. It was one of those travel moments that give you goose bumps and leave you with a lump in your throat. We were at the right place at the right time.

Another worthwhile excursion was the two hours we spent wandering around the ancient ruins of Carsulae, south of Aquasparta. I had read about them here on Fodors and added it to our list. While maybe not an “A” list attraction for most tourists in Umbria, I would suggest it. It has some very well preserved buildings including parts of the theater and amphitheater. Plus, it was rather exciting to take a walk along the ancient Via Flaminia that runs right through the center of the town. The sense of history when one can do something like that is sort of special. I have an active imagination, so I was conjuring up images of Roman soldiers trudging down the road or peasants carrying their wares someplace to sell them. There are a few well preserved arches and foundations of homes and other buildings. It is sort of a wild and unmanicured place with wild flowers growing in amongst the ruins and hardly any other tourists to contend with, which is part of its charm. It felt like we had the place to ourselves. There is a small, but very well done museum on site with artifacts unearthed from excavations.

Our day to trip to Gubbio was spectacular! It is an amazing place and one of my favorite day trips we took. If you are anywhere even close to being close to it, GO! It is a truly unique place with so many things to see and do.

We stopped at Bevagna to have lunch and spent some time walking around the town during the day. I have to admit to not being particularly charmed by it like many other Fodorites are, but we didn’t spend much time there and we missed the Mercato, so I am probably not judging it fairly. We did eat very well at Osteria Podesta though. This was our sort of place! If we return to this area, Bevagna would be worth an early evening visit with dinner afterwards. It might even be fun to spend a two or three nights there.

This trip really cemented our “slow” approach to travel. Staying in a central base is the way to go for us. We don’t like packing and unpacking more than once or twice and spending ten nights in one place gave us access to experiences not possible in a two or three night stay.

I loved the low-key nature of Umbria and have been further taken in by Italy. I cannot imagine not returning at least every few years. The big conflict now is when we return to Italy, do we go back here or somewhere else? A return visit to Rome is definitely on the books and I can’t imagine not stopping in Orvieto again and exploring that area a bit. I loved the area around Gubbio and would love to explore Le Marche. Combining a large city visit with a rural experience would be fun. Then again, there is Lombardy, Piemonte, The Veneto, Emilia Romagna, and of course Sicily.

The trip home was...bearable, but it is awful to realize that another great experience is about to end. Travel depression combined with jet lag made the first three or four days home miserable. The cure was to pull out the maps of Italy and start planning the next one, and working on this mess of a report. LOL.

Well...that is about all I can think of right now. I am sure I will think of more and will post it. Please feel free to ask any questions or make comments.Thanks again to Fodorites for the invaluable help in planning and executing this trip!

How was the weather during your trip? How hot was it? I loved your photos.

Saraho,

We were there from June 20 to July 2. I would have liked to have gone earlier in June, but that didn't work out. As it happened, the weather was nearly perfect during our time frame. It was in the mid 80s most days and inched up to the high 80s on some days. We had rain one day and one night. The weather was remarkably variably from day to day. Some evenings were cooler with nice breezes and other nights were slightly humid with it being still. The week after we left the temps had risen into the 90s and low 100s apparently. That would have been too hot.

Let me add that the weather was much cooler once you got up into the Sibillini Mountains above Norcia and up on Mount Subasio above Spello and Assisi.

The other thing worth mentioning is that there seemed to be a breeze blowing through the streets of Spello most of the time that kept things cooler and bearable.

It was so breezy during the Infiorate that some of the designs had to be protected by tents and wind screens.

Bookmarking for a future long, enjoyable read. We are staying in a lovely property on the side of the mountain overlooking Spello in mid-October. This will be a tremendous resource for us. Thank you!

Seeing this topped reminded me that I never explained kybourbon's inquiry as to how we got the prosciutto past those cute little sniffing immigration beagles.

We went to the supermercado and found these huge ziplock baggies that were fairly heavyweight. We bought several. We placed the pig in the first one, and using a straw, sucked all the air out of it and wrapped it up tightly. We repeated this step three more times, so by the time we were done it was this quadruple baggged, air sucked out package that looked more like a kilo of some illegal drug than a cured leg of wild boar. We then packed it next too the two aged pecorinos that had a very pervasive odor to them in the hopes that the cheese scent (which is fine to bring back) would throw the dogs off the scent of the pig. I guess either we were lucky or it worked, because when it the bag came off the baggage roundabout it still had the goods in it. We have since been enjoying the prosciutto and also have been enjoying telling the story. I hope no one from customs is reading this.

Thank heavens this was topped and I found it! How I missed it when first posted is beyond me, but today I have enjoyed every word!! Wonderful report, imaq.

Well, Ms. mcfong you are obviously a busy woman!

Glad you enjoyed it. As you know, Italy is truly a wonderful place. I am appreciating our time there now more than ever. The longer I am away, the more I realize what a great trip it was and how badly I want to go back.

I am missing Italy! In my defense I have been in Quebec. What a welcome home treat but you set a pretty high bar for trip reports!

Iamq, i finally made it to Biordi today in North Beach. GORGEOUS ceramics!! I had emailed the owner to see if he had any shards to spare for my mosaic work. Turns out he was away for the day, and the nice lady working there called him and identified a few broken pieces, but hopefully I can go back when he's there and load up a few more.

Of course I couldn't make a clean getaway; bought a beautiful tile for the kitchen (definitely not going to be broken up at these prices!).

That's very cool ann.

Can you believe the amount of stuff they have crammed into that shop?

The main shop is a sensory delight, but we were also able to go downstairs (down this wonderful, old timey North Beach, curved staircase) to the storage area while to see about the broken bits, and hang out while she called the owner. They have shelves and shelves of stuff below too! Love it. Thanks again for the great tip

Great report--bookmarking for later reference.

Oh what I'd give for a couple of slices of wild boar on a slice of bread in one hand, and one of those luscious vine ripened tomatoes in the other just now!

Just stumbled over this imaq, thanks very much a great read.

When the Yankee and I decide to go to Italy for a month or two, YOU are planning the trip for us
besos, to you and to M.

I will do it!

Iamq, love your trip report and the photos are gorgeous. Thank you for sharing them.

Thinking of franco and zoecat right now as we are cooking up the Castelluccio lentils we bought there into a hopefully delicious soup. Great memories!

Enjoy your meal! (And in the unlikely case that you don't, ask me for the recipe for that Castelluccio lentil soup.)

Hi franco, I'll trade you that recipe for the one we used tonight. Deal?

We'll be leaving at the end of the week - a week in Rome then 2 in Umbria. I've put lots of your recs into my contacts so we can check them out.

Buon viaggio!

Wonderful TR! We too loved Gubbio. Welcome to the club of those "taken in" as you say by Italy! An amazing country. DH and I wanted to buy something over there but could never decide what we liked the most!

franco, this is the basic recipe we used. We adapted it though.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mario-batali/lentil-soup-with-chili-oil-zuppa-di-lenticchie-recipe/index.html

We left off the chili oil.
We sauteed a half pound of small, cubed pancetta in the oil first before adding the onion.
We sauteed celery with the onions.
We didn't use pasta shells.
The Lentils took longer to cook than the recipe calls for.
We used homemade chicken stock.

It was very good.

We also toasted crusty Italian bread, soaked it in Nunzi olive oil and poured the soup over that and then drizzled a little on top of the soup.

I miss Umbria.

I come back to this report for my Unbria fix!

Umbria. I was so homesick that I misspelled it!

ann, we should have a GTG in Orvieto someday.

I think we have decided that next trip will be a combo Tuscany/Umbria trip. Probably more Tuscany than Umbria this time.

I agree!!

bmk