Umbria, the place

Assisi, the church of Saint Francis of Assisi and his birthplace, a former stable
We did what Rick Steves recommends, we went to Assisi at night and visited the the church of Saint Francis of Assisi at night when not a single person was there. It was peaceful (PAX is written in big letters on the lawn in front) as is fitting the saint.





Assisi, views plus Tom reading Rick Steves in front of a cafe that Steves recommends





Assisi, the sweet shop where I had a Soffreiona al pistaccho and Tom had a Pane di San Francesco in the Gran Cafe on Corso Mazzini.





Perugia





Torgiano





Gubbio





Deruta


From our perch we headed to towns of interest all around: Deruta, the famous ceramic town, Gubbio, a weird little town way up in the mountains that once was the place Romans sent people who were "mad," Torgiano, home of a fabulous little wine museum, Perugia, an odd Medieval city sitting hodgepodge over several different hills, connected by a walkway above the city that once was a narrow viaduct carrying water and whose main street you enter from below on an escalator that takes you through a 12th century dungeon/fortress and spits you out of an old Etruscan portal. Finally, Assisi, which is pretty in pink -- pink marble that's striped and checkered -- with the cleanest streets and the best sweet shop complete with cherubs and reproductions of Botticellis.

We stayed in an agriturismo, Il Poggio degli Olivi, on a hillside overlooking a valley with Perugia visible to our left and Assisi shining pink on the hillside directly ahead. We passed turqouise-colored Lake Trasimeno on our way, famous for its eels (purportedly which, eaten in large numbers, killed a pope living in Perugia many centuries ago). The agriturismo sat in an olive grove and the proprietors made their own olive oil and salami. We ate at their elegant restaurant, Relais Panoramico, which was literally perched over the valley and were the only ones dining that night. We met our waiter the next morning pruning olive trees.

The first night we were there the restaurant wasn't opened but we managed to make our way to the Etruscan town of Bettona, the hilltop next door. Arriving at 6:30 p.m. we were out of luck with no restaurant opening until at least 7:30 p.m. Discouraged we were ready to eat a panini in the bar, when a restaurant proprietor saw us and opened the door. We told him we were really hungry not having eaten since breakfast. He told us that though no entrees would be ready for at least an hour he could give us something. He sat us down and brought us a huge platter of antipasto and opened a bottle of wine. After finishing that, he brought us pasta and gnocchi, then two main dishes, one of pistacio encrusted lamb and the other duck in a citrus and olive sauce. Seeing that we had finished the bottle of excellent, by-the-way, Umbrian wine from Montefalco, he offered us pours from another opened bottle.
We finished off the meal with glasses of Vin Santo and brought a variety of biscotti and tortes. When all of that too had been polished off, he wanted to pour us some grappa but we groaned a single "basta" (enough). The owner was such a gracious man, never indicating we were inconveniencing him by making him open up his restaurant two hours before any other patrons joined us. But I could tell that he was visibly pained that we were hungry and so accommodated us. That's Italian hospitality.





Cortona was on our way from Florence to Perugia and so we made the obligatory stop to see if we could take a peek at the Francis Maye's estate of "Under the Tuscan Sun" fame. We knew it was a hokey but we were so near after all. We didn't see it but we did look out over the valley in its general direction. After getting home (just a brief week ago) I went on Maye's website and several other sites and am now sure we were nowhere near.

Firenze

The highlight of our trip to Florence was visiting with old friends, Marghi and Tony. I first became acquainted with Marghi and Tony when I was in school in Florence. Marghi was one of 12 in our program and she met Tony (when we met Tony) selling leather goods in the market. We last saw them on our honeymoon when they took us to the restaurant where they first courted decades ago. Florence has changed even since we were last there only seven years ago. It's full of graffiti, young students, hordes of tourists. But it still offers some of the most important art and architecture and is always worth revisiting.









Dinner at Marghi and Tony. Tony made a delicious Osso Buco.





We did all the usual touristy things in Florence, like climb up the Duomo's dome (almost 400 stairs) to get a view of the city, saw the David and prigione, window shopped on the Ponte Vecchio, visited the stone museum (around the corner from The Accademia) and the San Marco Museum where we visited the cloisters which housed that evil extremist, Savanarola, headed to the shoe museum of Salvatore Ferragamo (really interested and worth it), and the Medici Chapel. Our hotel was the best one I've stayed at in Florence and I would highly recommend it: Hotel Loggiato Dei Serviti in blessedly tranquil Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. Our room in the historic hotel had four large windows opening to the Duomo, the Accademia, a beautiful garden and the hills toward Fiesole. Every morning we'd waken to the Duomo's bells chiming. The Hotel was built in the 16th century is both historic and totally restored. I hated to leave.

Sono Lucchesa

We headed to Lucca for a too-brief stay before heading out the next morning to Ponte-a-Moriano and a visit with relatives. We made the most of our time in Lucca, shopping, dining, and circumnavigating the city on the large wall that surrounds it. We stopped for an excellent tasting slice of Torta di Verdura (local specialty that my grandmother made and I love) now called Torta Antica, basically because it's an old-fashion dessert relegated to the past. We also ordered a whole torte from the bakery near our B&B to take to our friends in Florence. We were very disappointed that it was made with spinach. Below is a picture of the perfect slice of torta and our family recipe for Torta di Verdura that I got from my relatives while living and studying in Florence 43 years ago.

Torta di Verdura

Pasta:
2 cups flour
1 cube butter
4 eggs
1 package of yeast
1 lemon's peel, grated
1 cup sugar
1 small glass of liquer -- such as creme di cacao

Filling:
1 1/2 cups of moistened bread
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup golden raisins
4 eggs
Small bunch of parsley chopped fine
1 clove garlic smashed and chopped
1/4 cup grated cheese (parmesan and romano)
Sugar to sweeten, to taste
1 bunch (fist size) of swiss chard (cooked)

Instructions:
For crust, mix all ingredients, kneed, and pat into torte pan.
For filling, mix all ingredients and put into crust.
Place in hot oven, approximately 375 degrees, for 1 hour or until brown.

Variation:
Add 1 cup of candied citrus and candied cherries to the filling.






In Lucca, we stayed at a B&B, La Magnolia (www.lamagnolia.com) in the center of town. Lucca has awakened in the past five or six years (according to B&B's owner) to become a trendy town with wonderful shops and great food. La Magnolia has only five rooms overlooking a private, "savage" garden. We awoke to the loud chirping of birds but no street sounds what-so-ever. A brother and sister own the B&B but both have day jobs. He is an architect by day and innkeeper by night and weekends. We would recommend it. He also recommended a terrific restaurant -- GiGi -- nearby. Tom had his first and only hair cut in Lucca. The town inside the wall is, of course, Medieval, is the hometown of Pucci, and is beautiful and well-preserved.

Goodbye to Grosseto

We toasted our last day in Grosseto with glasses of Sambuca (we were given an extra amount because it was cold outside and the proprietor thought we needed it) in a cafe just off the main square. Then the next day we headed out by train to Pisa to pick up our car for the remaining two weeks of travel.



We happened on the local Carnivale kid's event the last day in Grosseto. Children dress up in costumes pockets full of confetti and spray cans of spaghetti foam which they direct at each other. We saw more than a few kids in nun costumes conducting themselves in, well, un-nun-like fashion. This same scene was repeated in the many towns we visited after leaving Grosseto. Of course, the big events happen in Viareggio (on the coast near Pisa) and in Venice. But we decided we weren't up for the crowds and observing these pre-Lenten local celebrations was sufficient.





On our last week in Grosseto we discovered the weekly market, and what a market it was. As Tom said, "glad we didn't discover it before now or we would have had even more suitcases to carry home than we have." Prices in stores are incredibly high here, but prices in the market for the same goods is very reasonable and from the crowd shopping the market, it appears as if the locals buy their fashionable clothing here. We saw everything for sale here from beautiful fur coats to tripe.



Favorite recipes from our home in Grosseto

Vegetable Casserole

1 eggplant
2 zucchini
5 small potatoes
1 large carrot
1 large onion
1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley chopped fine
3 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon each oregano, red pepper flakes
1/4 cup of chopped Kalamata olives
2 cans of chunky tomato sauce

Slice all of the vegetables on the diagonal, 1/4 inch thick
Salt the eggplant to draw out the moisture
Then layer the vegetables starting with the eggplant.
After each layer spread some of the tomato sauce, sprinkle with parsley, garlic and cheese.
On top layer spread tomato sauce, parsley, garlic, pepper flakes, oregano, and last of the cheese.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 1 hour.

Leftovers can be used as a sauce on pasta.
For a meat version, add cooked Italian sausage between some of the layers.

Simple Winter Salad
1 or 2 oranges
1 carrot, julienne
1 bulb fennel, julienne
Olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste

Remove orange rind and slice oranges about 1/4 inch thick
Toss vegetables together with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Variation: Add sliced green onions and/or pomegranate seeds.

Simple Sugo

3 Italian sausages
1 Large onion, chopped
1/4 cup (or so) Sicilian style olives (pitted with oil)
1 Bunch of parsley, chopped fine
3 Cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 Bouillon cube
1 Can tomato sauce
1/4 Cup red wine

Note: Amounts are suggestions as I don't really measure.

Remove the sausage meat from the skin and cook in a pan until browned.
Add onion and cook until transparent.
Add tomatoe sauce, olives, parsley, garlic, bouillon and red wine.
Cook for approximately 15-30 minutes.
Serve immediately over pasta; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

The kindness of strangers

We are so thankful for the friendship of Kate and Rachel, Wanda and Mario, and the countless others who made our stay so rewarding. As Tom says, we didn't meet an Italian who wasn't nice to us. We are either very lucky or Italians are uniformly generous and kind. I'm thinking the latter. And that goes for people who have chosen Italy as their home, as well.

Friends on our Poggio, Wanda and Mario, invited us for dinner our last week in the Maremma. Guests included winemakers up the road near Scansano. Wanda, who hails from the Swiss border on Lago Maggiori, prepared a traditional fondue (beef cooked in boiling oil at the table for those of you who might be thinking the more common cheese fondue) accompanied by the freshest, sweetest vegetables (fennel, carrots, celery, peppers)offered simply with homemade olive oil, salt and pepper. Of course, Mario offered his own red wine and his guests brought theirs.

We have mostly bought wines from the surrounding wineries of the Maremma, of which Morellino is the dominant varietal. As one winemaker said, "[Morellino] is the full, steady expression of the land...young, soft, fruity wines make day-to-day life more pleasant." Adding to our enjoyment was the fact that we bought plenty of 1+plus Euro wines that were pretty darn drinkable too. No need to be a wine snob here. In Italy wine is like water, it's a necessity not a luxury.

Despite busy schedules, complicated (in a good way) by the arrival of Rachel's niece Cassidy was embarking on her own teen adventure of attending an Italian high school, Kate and Rachel and Cassidy made time for but another wonderful meal at their beautiful hilltop home.