sundriedtopepo

Did you care for the olive ascolana? We had some at a local restaurant the other night, first time I've seen them other than in Italy.

Your pics are lovely as usual. I recognize Ascoli Piceno and must say I think it is more beautiful at night with the light shining off that polished marble or limestone, I forget which. And in the evening it is full of people just enjoying life. I think I had some of the best focaccia ever from a bakery there.

BikerScott

Day Five

A further revelation – I can close the windows in the bedroom entirely before going to bed and turn on the fan. This means I don’t have to get up at 5 or 6 when the roosters get up to close them. This revolutionary idea meant that I managed to sleep until 8am before getting up. Jamie had decided to start the day with a dip in the pool, while I opened my bag of espresso and made a few coffees which I enjoyed in the blistering morning sun. I also realized that if I put up the sun awning I wouldn’t burn in the direct sun. A morning of invention and progress!

Today we’d decided to venture even farther south. Everyone has been raving about how the piazza in Ascoli Piceno is the most underrated piazza in all of Italy, so we thought we’d drive down south to check it out. There are two main routes from here to there – either directly south through the mountains, or along the Autostrada on the coast. While I had purchased coffee, we’d forgotten to buy more breakfast supplies so after swimming and caffeinating we hit the dusty trail. We decided to take the slightly slower but more scenic mountain route south and then the quick Autostrada home.

The drive south was beautiful, if a little windy (as in the road wound back and forth, rather than being affected by a strong breeze. English is a stupid language sometimes). It took us about an hour and a half to get to Ascoli Piceno where I engaged in the most epic parallel parking job I’ve ever undertaken – in heavy traffic, on the wrong side of the road, in a spot not much bigger than the car. The Stig would’ve been impressed.

While the overall mission was the piazza, the lack of breakfast necessitated a change in priorities, so we had lunch first. Fortunately the restaurant Jamie wanted to go to was exactly between the car and the Piazza so it all worked out as if we’d planned it. The restaurant was one recommended by Michelin called Osteria Nonna Nina, and for the first time on the trip we weren’t presented with a set menu. The world was our oyster (or could have been, except that seafood was by prior reservation only – they only serve fresh food, and don’t bring in seafood unless they know they’re going to sell it).

I was feeling bold and ordered both a primi and secondi, while Jamie wasn’t sure she could do both courses justice so had just an antipasti and primi. We’d read about the speciality of Ascoli Piceno and so also ordered a plate of deep fried olives stuffed with meat. It took quite a bit of explanation to the waiters that I wanted my primi at the same time as Jamie’s antipasti, and my secondi with her primi. It also didn’t all arrive in this order, but it was close enough.

The downside of not having a set menu is that the portion sizes are MASSIVE in Italy. My primi was a normal sized plate of gnocchi, and my secondi of chicken scaloppini was also relatively massive. I’m glad I’m on holiday so not wearing a belt. Jamie made the better choice of the caprese salad and pasta. One of the perks of eating at a relatively traditional Italian restaurant (or touristy, depending on your definition) is the free digestive after lunch. Normally this is home-made lemoncello (if it’s homemade they aren’t allowed to sell it, which is why you get it for free), but in this case we also were given a bottle of a vaguely greenish liquid. The Italian guys at the table next to us were very excited – it seems that the restaurant was known for making their own ginseng liquor. It wasn’t great, but it was very very strong. Pretty sure the second sip took the enamel off my teeth, the third and fourth may have done permanent damage.

We finally continued on our journey to Piazza del Popolo after lunch. While it was very nice, I think all the people telling us it was the best in Italy might have increased our expectations to an unreasonable degree. Jamie was a bit disappointed at first to be honest. We walked around for a bit, exploring more of the town and taking a few photos before wandering back into the square. With fresh eyes and a realistic reappraisal we decided it is quite nice. We had a quick gelato and sat in the piazza for a while enjoying the sun and heat.

There wasn’t as much to see as we’d expected so we thought a drive back along the coast with a stop at Torre di Palme as it had been recommended was in order. We got back in the car and gave up the best parking spot I’d managed in years. We found the Autostrada and hit the gas, speeding along at 130km/h except when we got stuck behind old Fiat Pandas. There seems to be two speeds for Italian drivers – insanely fast and aggressive, or incredibly frustratingly slow and inattentive. The latter are almost in old Fiat Pandas.

A quick stop at a random town for groceries at the worst grocery chain in Italy (EuroStar) and we arrived back home just in time for a light dinner on the balcony. The sausage provided by Jason is running low but there was still enough for a few bites, and the wine from the winery yesterday is an excellent accompaniment. The people from next door have invited us down for a drink on their table when they’re finished dinner, an excellent end for a good day in Marche.

yorkshire

Man I hear ya on the portions. And we love/live to eat! Not being big lunch eaters, and hating to take two hours for pizza and salad, it is always a conundrum.

BikerScott

sundriedtopepe - the olives were very nice! The meat seemed to tame the strong olive flavour. Definitely worth the try!

I imagine the piazza is lovely at night. Don't get us wrong, it was a great piazza, I think people had just been hyping it so much that I expected it to blow us away!

BikerScott

yorkshire - our strategy is to have a big long lunch and then very light dinners on our terrace. Over a glass or so (or bottle or so) of wine

BlueRidgeboots

I happened on your report and am loving it thoroughly. During a trip in 2008, we drove over the Le Marche to do the mosaic tour for the day. Wow! I've never forgotten the area and have wanted to go back. Your report is going to be saved for planning. Thank you for posting those lovely pictures as well.
Enjoy!

BikerScott

Day Six

I think my back is starting to get used to the hard bed, as my sciatica wasn’t so bad in the morning. The strategy of closing the windows and turning on the fan seems to be a good one as we both slept fairly well, getting up at 8:30. It was already scorching hot, and Jamie had another refreshing dip in the pool while I drank coffee in the sun on the balcony. It was nice to read the weather from home and learn that London has been having epic rain and thunderstorms while we’re basking in 35º sun all day.

We had another day of driving planned, this time to the coast for lunch and wine tasting if we could manage it. On the way out of town it only seemed reasonable to stop at nearby Francavilla d’Ete for a bit of an exploration and another coffee if available. We’ve been driving past it all week and were curious as to how big it actually is. After our exploration I can confidently say that it is not big, however it is nice. We parked just outside the old part of town, which appeared to be unaffected by the earthquakes. It was market day in Francavilla, however this appeared to be one truck selling shoes, one selling women’s undergarments, a third selling shirts and trousers, and a fourth with fruit and veg. I can’t imagine buying undergarments from a truck in a market in the village square as seems to be common in Italian village markets, but the market near us in London sells carpets with huge lion heads on them and decorative toilet seats so who am I to judge?

The old centre of the village has a small grocery store, a well-known butcher, and most importantly for our purposes a small café which also sells gelato. We each had a medium cup and I managed my third coffee of the morning before collecting the car and setting Kate the Satnav for the coast.

The main coastal mission was lunch at the highly recommended (at least by people at the hotel) Da Silvio just outside Sirolo. The advice was to park at the pay parking lot near the restaurant and take the free shuttle bus down to it. This is very good advice indeed – the road down is a 25% grade and not more than 10 feet of it are straight. It’s also full of people walking down to the beach (and sweating buckets coming back up).

The restaurant is on a promontory about 50 metres above the beach with an incredible view over the Adriatic. It’s rustic, with open walls and a gravel floor. We sat next to the wall (well, it’s more of a vague wooden barrier than a wall) and looked out over the sea. We were relatively conservative with our ordering but still couldn’t finish everything. We started with grilled prawns (Jamie’s were plain, mine were wrapped in bacon and cheese because everything tastes better with bacon and cheese) which were good except they hadn’t cleaned them – very few things I dislike more than eating prawn poop chutes, so we had to clean them ourselves.

Next we shared a plate of grilled boneless fish on wooden skewers and a plate of fried fish and vegetables. So much food. The grilled fish were breaded and very tasty, the fried fish were mostly small fish like anchovy and other similarly sized random fish, a few langoustines, and a couple more prawns. Tasty, sort of, if a little challenging for our tastes – we’re never sure how to approach these sorts of things. Do we eat the prawn shells, or try to peel them? The tiny fish – eat the bones or try to fillet the little buggers? So many questions. I don’t know that I’d order it again.

It was an interesting clientele in the place. I think we might have been the only English tourists, although it did appear to be well known for the Italian tourist having a beach day. It was quite busy for the entire time we were there, and it looked like quite a few people were spending the day at the beach and only up the hill for lunch – swimming trunks is an appropriate level of formality in dress for this particular restaurant.

After lunch we were very glad there was a shuttle bus back up the hill. Apparently, there is a city bus which you can catch rather than trudging back up the hill, but quite a few were making the trek. They all looked like they were regretting their life choices.

While there appear to be quite a few wineries near the coast, we couldn’t find many that were either open for tastings or on the satnav. We finally found one called Garifoli that was sort of on the way home and stopped for a tasting. This one was slightly more efficient than the epic three-hour version from the other day, however it was still slightly frustrating. I can say that if you are being actively served in a Le Marche winery, you will have the entire and full attention of the person, but if you are doing a tasting or something similar be prepared for attention to be frequently distracted. We bought a few more bottles, with the whites far tastier than the reds this time.

We were forced to stop for another gelato at Francavilla on the way home – it had been a long day and it was very hot, it only seemed reasonable. Another relaxing evening on the balcony watching the sun fade over the hill behind us before firing up the barbeque for dinner. I haven’t barbequed in years, not being allowed to have one on our balcony due to the strata bylaws. This time I got to set fire to actual charcoal and managed to only burn a little of my wrist hair off – a major achievement (normally I’m hairless up to the elbows when dealing with any sort of flammable situation). The barbequed chicken was delightful if I do say so myself.

heart2travel

What a treat to live vicariously thru you guys on this delightful adventure. Looking forward to more! This is my kind of trip slow moving and relaxing. I say that but I am always trying to pack in too much.....maybe someday I will listen to myself!

Florida1

Still following along and loving this report! Your comments on the ginseng liqueur made me laugh! It doesn't sound very nice. I loved limoncello though. Sounds like you're having great weather!

annhig

A further revelation – I can close the windows in the bedroom entirely before going to bed and turn on the fan. This means I don’t have to get up at 5 or 6 when the roosters get up to close them>>

oh dear, you must cross us off your visiting list - our cockerels would have you leaping out of bed far too early. [or I suppose you could just close the windows!]

annhig

Do we eat the prawn shells, or try to peel them? The tiny fish – eat the bones or try to fillet the little buggers? So many questions. I don’t know that I’d order it again.>>

personally i always peel the prawns, [unless they are tiny shrimp size] but eat the tiny fish in a "fritto misto" whole - if you try to fillet them, you end up with almost nothing.

irishface

Enjoyed your most recent post and descriptions of food. The heat sounds awful! I'm afraid that I would spend the day in the pool.

Dayle

Jamie and Scott,

Loving your report, great descriptions and pictures as usual. You are reinforcing my decision to include Le Marche on my next trip!

Leely2, so glad you decided to enjoy the Dolomiti. Beautiful, dramatic mountains. My very first trip to Italy, Europe even, was skiing in the Dolomiti. So beautiful. I've always wanted to go back in summer for hiking.

Looking forward to more....

BikerScott

Days Seven and Eight

So, the temporary relief from sciatica was, in fact, temporary. I didn’t sleep all that well and was up early tossing and turning trying to find a position to sleep that wasn’t uncomfortable. I couldn’t. When I was younger I used to be able to sleep on my stomach or even on my back and not really think anything of it…I miss the carefree adventures of youth.

We had a very busy day planned. When we were in Le Marche in 2014, Jason and Ashely told us about the best pork sandwiches in the world, and we didn’t believe them. We didn’t really have anything better to do one day so drove 2.5 hours south to just outside of Matelica and had what turned out to be the best pork sandwiches in the world. Three years later, we were back, and slightly closer in Francavilla d’Ete than we had been a few kilometres outside of Piobbico. We drove.

Ristoro da Alberto on SP361 just outside of Castelraimondo makes what have turned out to be the best pork sandwiches in the world. They’re simple, which is part of the charm. They’ve thinly sliced pork and cook it on a grill when you order it. They put it on a sliced baguette and wrap it in foil, and that’s it. You can go fancy and have sausage or porchetta, or even add mayonnaise or mustard, but the glory of the pork sandwich is in its simplicity. There’s no hiding when it’s just pork and sandwich. No sauce to give extra flavour and hide the expertise, nay, the genius and generosity of the pork. Plus, it’s cheap, at only €4 per sandwich. We ordered seven. They were tasty.

We headed back south, stopping for a necessary gelato in Urbisaglia. The guy at the coffee shop/gelateria remembered us from a few days before, which is always nice. I’m pretty sure he thinks my attempts at Italian are horrific but at least I’m making an effort, and we like his limone gelato which he seems especially proud of – he made a point of letting us know it’s made with Sicilian lemons.

After gelato, we had an interesting afternoon planned. We love Le Marche and at some point will live there. We’ve spent far too much time at work looking at Italian property websites planning our early retirement, and came across the website of an American estate agent who specialises in ex-pat property purchases in the area. We had a 3:30pm meeting scheduled with him in Loro Piceno to view one of the houses we’d been drooling over on his website. We got to Loro Piceno an hour early and spend the time wandering around the old centre of town until we found a coffee shop for an espresso and glass of wine.

Kevin is a New Yorker who moved to Le Marche ten years ago to give property sales a go. He took us to what turned out to be a massive house on the top of the hill overlooking Loro Piceno. It was almost perfect, except it was far too big for us – we’re used to our little 65 sq metre flat in nearly central London, this place was more than 300 sq. metres (700 sq. ft. vs more than 3000). It was beautiful, but far too big for the two of us. It was interesting in that they’d bought it as a ruin and had it rebuilt to their plan, which made us think that maybe it wasn’t such a stretch that we could do the same.

After property viewing, we set the satnav back for Francavilla d’Ete, stopping briefly on the way for a top of Murola wine. It was very nearly as frustrating buying a few bottles as it was going for a full tasting – nothing happens quickly in Le Marche, maybe it was a good introduction to life here. We eventually got our bottles and drove the quick route over the white road home.

Day Eight was a relaxed day. We’d visited wineries, we’d been to the coast, we’d eaten at a tiny restaurant in an even smaller borgata in the hills. Essentially, we’d done pretty much everything we’d set out to achieve, other than seeing the biggest city in the area, Macerta.

The drive was relatively uneventful, and we’d received good instructions from Bob and Ian at Casal dei Fichi that were hard to get wrong (turn right at the end of the drive, go straight until you get to Macerata, park in the multi-story car park just outside of town). It was hot, and took far too long to get out of the car par than I was comfortable with. I would have thought that there should have been a simple route from the parking area to the town centre, but there was not. Instead, there was a maze of stairways, ramps, conflicting signs, and sun. We eventually made it out and into Macerata, which is a lovely little city.

Bob had booked us a table outside at Osteria dei Fiori for lunch, and while we got there a bit before our 1pm reservation we were given a coveted table in the alley (many restaurants in Italy feature coveted tables in alleys, this is normal, and not to be shunned). There was no tasting menu so Jamie and I were forced to order from the main menu like normal people. This turned out to be a challenge and as usual we over-ordered by a massive degree. I’m unhappy to report that I finished all of my dishes (shared meat and cheese platters which were MASSIVE) and then bacalao (salt cod) on mashed potatoes (which I’m pretty sure were about 60% olive oil), sun-kissed tomatoes and olives, while Jamie struggled to get through a reasonably-sized piece of really tasty 8-layer lasagne.

After lunch, we walked around for quite a while taking photos and stopping several times for refreshing gelato and wine/coffee (it was 37ºC at this point, simply not walking was refreshing in of itself). We eventually found a table on the main square and sat for quite a while enjoying wine and/or coffee (beverage choice mainly driven by who was driving). Macerata is a lovely little town with enough going on to be interesting but not large enough to be busy or touristy.

Dinner was back at Casal dei Fichi. We’d bought some fresh tortellini at the terrible grocery store as well as some onion, spices, and tomatoes, so I made a simple tomato sauce to go with the pasta. We ate dinner on the balcony overlooking the valley with the cicadas chirping in the background, until the mosquitoes and night sparrows (bats, but we can’t call them that as Jamie doesn’t like bats) drove us in.

Dayle

Now you have me hungry for pork sandwiches. Night sparrows.....HA!

tomarkot

Loving your report and pix! This last segment has us yearning for pork sandwiches also! Will stay tuned for more.

sundriedtopepo

More photos please

jamikins

The pork sandwiches are to die for!

Sundriedtopepo - I just uploaded my pics from Bologna, where spent last weekend!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57634399182853

The new ones are the first 15 or so.

Enjoy

sundriedtopepo

Thanks Jamikins, Bologna looks like the kind of place we would enjoy!

goddesstogo

And we're going there! Can't wait!