Back home in beautiful Italia.

14 Replies

I arrived back home yesterday. I had a lovely week with my sister. She is doing well after her treatment. Getting stronger every day.

The drive from Dulles to Wintergreen wasn’t too bad. Both there and back were on Sundays so that helped. Also government shutdowns always make traffic in the DC area light. I have lived through a few. There were a lot of reports of delayed flights because the air traffic controllers were not coming in. I don’t blame them. They aren’t getting paid. But that didn’t affect either of my flights.

I left the Hyatt and drove to Total Wine, a big wine shop, to buy some wine to share. When I got close to Wintergreen I stopped at the last, good grocery to buy stuff for the dinner I was making and the many things I wanted to take home. I had packed only one outfit. Jeans and a sweatshirt. I had ordered a bunch of clothes from Amazon to be delivered to my sister.

She lives at 3,400 feet up on a mountain. I was stunned at the colors along the road up the mountain. The pictures don’t do the color justice unfortunately.

I had a number of things to accomplish during my week. One was to get a flu shot and a Covid vaccine shot. Why not, right? I also had a list for the grocery store. And I had 3 things to mail for a friend. Since the tariffs were instated you can’t mail any packages from Italy to the U.S. Last, Luther wanted a bottle of bourbon. Over the course of the week I got all this done.

The autumn color in the mountains of Virginia is something I’ve missed. I hit it right at peak on this trip. It was glorious. Like driving in golden tunnels. The forests are very different in Virginia compared to Italy. Wintergreen is a four season resort which sprawls up the mountains and along the tops. There is skiing and the Appalachian Trail goes through it. The first image is of the mountain called Three Ridges.

I also watched Monday night football and three of the World Series games. I’m not a huge sports fan but it was something we three could watch and still talk during the games. We cooked together each night. The weather was very brisk. In the 30s F most days with blustery winds. We took some walks. We visited Waynesboro which is over the mountain from her. It is a typical country town. We shopped in a shop run by Mennonites called The Cheese Shop. Much more than cheese. Lots of good stuff. I had forgotten how they go nuts for Halloween in the U.S. I only took one picture but there were some other amazing displays. This guy did not want any vampires around! The wreath is entirely of garlic.

On Friday we visited Early Mountain Vineyards where they have a restaurant. It is about 1.5 hours from their house. We had a lovely lunch and drove back. The GPS directed us to use the Blue Ridge Parkway to get back home. We were fine with that and we got to take some amazing photos on the way. This particular pine is very famous. Bill took this photo.

Sunday I left their house and drove back to Dulles which was uneventful. Then I checked in and went through security which had no lines. Nice. I hit the Polaris lounge and had lunch and a wine and then sat and enjoyed myself for the two hours I had to wait.

Now I am home. The car I hired picked me up. Nice young man from Brazil. He is married to an Italian. While on the drive home, I was struck by how drab the colors are here. Just nothing like the brilliance of the leaves on the U.S. east coast. Italy has its other charms and a beauty of its own, but Virginia is where I was born and lived so I have a special spot for it in my heart. ❤️ I’m tired and happy to be home. I was pretty proud of myself that I negotiated all the things one must negotiate when traveling internationally. I had been worried. I guess I’m not as decrepit as I thought! 😁

~~~~~~~
Back to everyday life for a while. Lots of laundry to do. It is also time to begin closing up the terrace for the winter. I need to put all the cushions and the outdoor rug inside. Then all the plants must be cut back and disposed of. It is a little sad. Cycle of life. Happily, the holidays are ahead to look forward to. Umbertide already has all its lights up but not yet illuminated.

Fino alla prossima volta, ciao.

First leg of USA trip…not without drama!

16 Replies

First step of the trip finished. I have a half full suitcase. It has several gifts in it and I wanted them to stay safe. Also some packages to mail for a friend. So I packed the entire thing in one half of the case. I’ll fill the other side with things I bought or will buy. My first step was to catch my hired car to Roma.

Silvia picked me up in a nice, shiny, black BMW. A quick and smooth trip. Arrived at the Hilton Rome Airport hotel in less than 2.5 hours. We talked the whole way. She and her husband own the car service and have four cars. They each drive two cars and they have two employees who drive the other two. She has a ten year old daughter. They do a lot of work for the upscale hotel in our area, Reschio. Their season slows in November and they generally vacation in January or February. She dropped me right at the hotel, got my suitcase out of the trunk and gave me a double kiss goodbye. Only in Italy would your hired car driver kiss you goodbye. 😁

So now I’m happily checked into the hotel, which is HUGE by the way. I ordered room service. Stuck with a salad of melon, burrata, and prosciutto. I figured they couldn’t mess that up too much. I also got a bottle of Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. Very nice white.
~~~~~~~
Yes, well then. Sunday started out nicely. I got up showered, put everything back in the suitcase and checked out. Found the skywalk to the airport. It had three people mover walkways, one of which was not working. Pretty long walk. Found the check in, last section at the far end of terminal 3, and then went through security. Walked to gates E. Another long walk. Finally found the Polaris Lounge. It was packed! After a while I found a seat. Got a yogurt. And water. Later I got a cappuccino and a small pastry. This is when I left the lounge. I couldn’t believe there was a line waiting to get in. I guess they must meter people in if it’s too full.

Left and went to my gate, which was another long walk and an elevator and then a train. The train went to a new terminal mid-field. Boarded fairly quickly. I had a Polaris pod in business class. I’m too old for tourist now! Nice seat. Welcoming sparkling wine. Then we took off. I moved all the blankets and pillow and propped my phone and iPad on the edge next to the wall. A little while later I noticed the phone slowing sinking down and poof! It was gone. Down into the bowels of the plane. Disastro!

~~~~~~~
I went forward and informed the head flight attendant, her name was Alexa, that I had a problem. She said, “what is your problem?” I said, “I lost my phone”. She said, “that IS a problem”. She came to my seat and I showed her where it had disappeared and she pulled the foam stuff out and peered down the crevice. She turned to me and said, I think it’s gone. I asked, where. She said, down into the cargo hold. This kind of surprised me because I always thought the passenger compartment was separately pressurized. I guess not! 🤔 She told me I wasn’t the first and that they were working to fix this flaw. It looks safe to put stuff on but it isn’t.

She told me that the flight deck (pilots) had been informed and they had called ahead to Maintenance to be ready to try to find the phone when we landed. Alexa explained it was a security risk. She said, this plane is not going anywhere until they find it. The question was when would they come, and how long would it take to find it.

The rest of the flight proceeded normally with me worrying about what I’d do without the phone. I was counting on using GPS to find my way around. Things have changed around here. I waited after we landed and went to the back of business class. The head maintenance guy came in who Alexa had hoped would be there, he was a friend. I went into the jetway to wait. He and his peeps went into the hold. I swear, no more than five minutes later he was back with the phone! We all screamed! I was so glad. We all have a story to tell. I am glad that it is over with!

I want to commend all the flight crew. Especially Alexa. She was kind and optimistic even though, after it was over, she said she had no real idea. It was a first for her. Anyway, she was great. And another thing I noticed, as I stood in the back of business class after all of that cabin was empty, and I watched all the people from tourist leaving. They were all very cheerful and complimentary to the crew, thanking them over and over with big smiles saying how great the flight was. I will say I’ve flown tourist all my life and many times on United since Dulles is their main hub, and I had some pretty horrible experiences. I’m glad to see things are better.
~~~~~~~
After all that I went through passport control. There was no one there! No wait. And no fuss. Then found my suitcase, went through customs and went to rent my car. I changed out my SIM card and put the hotel where I was staying into the GPS. Now I am up at 4:30AM. My brain said time to get up! So I am finishing a few things like writing this report.

I drive to Wintergreen this morning stopping a few places on my way. I’ll write later about my time in Virginia with my sis.

Going home, going home, I am going home…

18 Replies

I thought that would catch your attention ☺️. No, I’m not MOVING back home but I am flying to the U.S. on Sunday. My sister has Multiple Myeloma and is now in remission, happily! And I have planned to go home to see her for some good “sister time” for a while. I am focusing all my time and attention on seeing her so I am not visiting anyone else. Y’all are just going to have to come visit me! 😁

I am traveling solo. I haven’t done that in over ten years. So I have made copious plans. I am leaving here Saturday. I hired a driver to take me to, and pick me up from, the Rome airport. I couldn’t deal with the several trains. Then I rented a room in the Hilton at the airport. Flying out Sunday at eleven. Arrive in Dulles at 4:45. Of course, when making my plans I didn’t count on a government shut down. Hoping that doesn’t impact my coming or going. Once I arrive and mange to get through passport control and customs then I have rented a car. I have a hotel room near the airport at the Hyatt. Then, the next morning I will drive the 3+ hours to central Virginia,

I plan to cook some with my sister, Cindy. And I am sure we will visit one or two of the “eries” in the area. You know, wineries, cideries, breweries, and distilleries nearby. Plus a cheese shop Cindy says is really good, which I am really looking forward to. Then I may take time to get some vaccinations. And do a little shopping. Luther wants some good Bourbon which I think Bill will help me find.

Otherwise I will be enjoying fall in the Virginia mountains. All of my forebears have lived in Virginia since the 1600s and 1700s. So I’m a born and bred Virginian. I do miss it. Especially the autumn color. We get lots of yellows here, but few oranges or reds. I borrowed these from the Exploring Virginia Facebook group which I follow. — To that group. This is a totally non commercial site. I just am showcasing my beloved Virginia, thank you. And thank you to the individual photographers.

I don’t usually really talk about personal things much. But this is something that affects people like us who live abroad very personally and it is part of my life here, so I thought it should be part of this blog. And yes, it expresses my political leanings but I guess that’s alright. Last evening we got together at the wine bar in Umbertide Centro with four friends. Three are American, one is German. One couple lives in Berlin mostly and has an apartment here and visit often. The other spends about half time in the U.S. and half here where they have an apartment. We spoke of many things. Foremost in our minds was the situation in the U.S. We talked of what we could do to make a difference. We spoke of our fears living here and being partially reliant on our well earned Social Security. We spoke of the weakening dollar and how that affects us. We spoke of possible future blocks on sending money from our savings at home to ourselves abroad. We feel vulnerable. We spoke of going through passport control in the U.S. and whether we should disable our phone. And whether we were required to give our password to them if we are flagged and detained. And we marveled that we were even having this conversation. What has happened to my country that ordinary citizens like us, are worried for ourselves and our country? 😔

I probably will post again after I return November 4. Happy Halloween and All Saints Day (which I will miss here). 🎃

Fave è Cicoria – perfect autumn dish

6 Replies

Hi everyone! We are in the midst of amazing autumnal weather. At least two perfect weeks. In the U.S. it is called Second Summer (formerly Indian Summer which is no longer used), in Germany it is called Goldener Oktober, and in Italy it is called estate di San Martino, which translates to “St. Martin’s Summer”. This term refers to a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that usually occurs around St. Martin’s Day on November 11th.

Umbertide is full of autumn color. I was out and about today and got a couple of photos of the trees and flowers.

After our trip to Puglia I was inspired to make one of the lunch dishes we had while in Lecce. The entire south of Italy, called the Mezzogiorno, always has been very poor. Most of the Italians who immigrated to other countries came from these regions to find a better life. The food that evolved there is called cucina povera, literally poor cuisine. Fave è cicoria is a traditional dish made from only four ingredients. Dried fava beans, chicory, which is available everywhere here now in supermarkets, (but would have been foraged in the wild back in the day), garlic and pepper flakes. Finally it is served with a drizzle of olive oil. Gnam, gnam. (Italian for yum yum 😁)

Dried fave without the skin. Very easy to use, all the work is done.

Buon autunno! 🍁 🍂 🍁

Lecce road trip – 2025

10 Replies

We left Sunday at about two so we could get to our hotel after check-in time. It is a drive completely on the big toll highways. As we neared our destination the weather got ominous and the signs on the highway warned of high winds. Even with our low profile car we could feel it. We got to the hotel and it was spitting rain and gale force winds. There was a wedding going on in their restaurant. What a day for a wedding!

We checked in and Luther finally managed to find a parking place but then the car burglar alarm would turn on every time he locked up the car. He finally got it to stop and we decided a bottle of wine was in order. The hotel made a reservation in the only open restaurant around, a pizzeria, but we decided to make do with the snacks that came with the wine instead of going out in that weather again. Morning Adriatic Sea.

Next morning we checked out at 10:30 and headed for Lecce, a four hour drive away. I hate riding on those superstrade because I can’t see much. We are so low and the guardrails so high. I did notice all the dead olive trees along one stretch. There is a disease and they had to destroy acres and acres of old olive trees. But mostly there were literally hundreds of thousands of healthy trees. And grapes. Puglia is famous for its Primativo wine. Used to be it was all sold as cheap wine but they now make some world class wines.

We stopped on the way at a rest stop for lunch of wraps with crudo and cheese. Pretty good. It also killed about 40 minutes so we could get there after three. I am always full of trepidation going to a new town and having to park. We decided to go directly to the car park. The hotel had reserved for us. They gave us good directions. Turns out it was painless and the car park was just like a normal parking lot with normal spaces. That probably sounds weird but so many cities, never made to have cars in them, make these ridiculous spaces into parking. Never should they be called a car park.

We were a six minute walk from the hotel. Lecce is completely flat. It was also still very windy. The hotel, Palazzo Zimara, is in a 500 year old palazzo. Beautiful space. The gentleman, David, who checked us in and took us to our room was very nice.

Our friends Susan and Gary were meeting us there. Well they had issues with their train connections, late trains and ended up arriving at nine pm. We told the hotel to expect them then. And they graciously made reservations for us for dinner in La Scarpetta Hosteria. It was about an eleven minute walk so we headed out about 7:30.

Just when we arrived it began to rain. And the door to the restaurant was locked. Eventually they noticed us and we got seated. Nice place. Mostly seafood. I wasn’t that hungry so I can’t rave about my food. We did enjoy watching all the action. There were two really big tables set up for big groups and they began to fill up as we finished. We were glad we had gotten there early.

We left and the rain had stopped but not the wind. I had fun taking pictures of the night streets, piazze and churches. There was an almost full moon. We hit the sack early. Pictures during our walk back.

Tuesday 7 October

We met up with Susan and Gary for breakfast. It was great to see them. They had gotten in just after nine and the hotel had ordered a taxi for them. Luckily as there were none available at the station. They also managed to get something to eat nearby. They had only nice things to say about the hotel staff. We both agreed the spaces are magnificent in the hotel but the bathrooms and storage spaces were not thought out well. There is not one hook or rail in the bathroom for a damp towel. I’ve never been anywhere like that. Our room was also too hot and it was impossible to cool it down. I slept poorly.

Breakfast was a la carte and not a lot of choices. I got scrambled eggs that were inedible. Never had eggs been so overcooked. Tomorrow I decided to just get fruit.

We headed out for a walk about. We figured we would stop where we wanted. Mostly there are churches to see. We saw the church of Santa Teresa first. I looked up the legend. The sculpture was of a woman with her heart outside her chest. It was being stabbed by an angel. Evidently signifying holy ecstasy.

Then the Duomo. Nice space, rococo inside. Very ornate. Then we wandered the shopping streets, checked out a couple more churches, and in our wanders went through the old Jewish quarter. First the duomo and its piazza.

One of the old gates into the city. And a church.

Many of the religious “statues” we saw in the churches are made of paper mâche. There is even a museum. This one was on the street.

We stopped for refreshments then headed to our lunch destination, Le Zie Trattoria Casareccia. Salintino traditional cuisine.

It was a small place on a semi busy street outside the walls. It was run by all the women (aunts and nonnas) and had been in business since 1966. One thing I had noticed on all the menus here abouts, the most popular meat served is Cavallo, horse. I won’t eat horse because I love them and always have since a small girl. Susan and I got the fried pasta with chick peas. It is a traditional dish here. And then the polpettoncino al vino bianco ripieni di formaggio. So filling. We vowed not to eat for a few days.

Our walk back was nice enough. There are tons of tourists here. Almost all American. I haven’t heard this much American English since we last visited the U.S.

Wednesday 8 October

My breakfast pancakes. Pretty good. Avoid the eggs in any form!

We decided to visit a museum called Museo Sigismondo Castromediano. Very interesting with many recovered antiquities. Here are pictures. My favorite is the last one which is a headstone for a deceased person. They misspelled his name and so had to insert a tiny letter to fix it 🙂

Along our walk.

We wended our way across town to our lunch destination, Zephyr. It is unique. Situated in an olive grove inside the city walls. Probably the only one! And it is a hotel too. It was a small menu for a light lunch. It was perfectly satisfying and in a lovely space.

The buratta on my tomatoes is made here in Puglia and I really wanted to try it. It was terrific.

Thursday, 9 October

I had the yogurt and muesli breakfast. Not bad. We hung around the room until checkout time. We were off on our way home with a stop in Termoli in the Molise region. It was my third visit but Luther had never been. We walked to the car park and found our car safe and sound. Off we went northward!

We arrived at about two and checked into our seaside hotel. Pretty basic but walkable to the town. We walked up there and had a couple glasses of wine. It was risposta so everything was closed. We went back and had a nap before going out for dinner.

Our restaurant was Osteria dentro le mura. It was situated inside the walls of the old town. Hence the name. Small family place. We got there early but there was a big table set for a group next to us. They came pretty early too. The family consisted of mom and dad and two sons. The one who waited on us was fluent in English.

My sum up. In the future, if we are going to a city and only that city we will not drive. Waste of two days and two nights. Not to say we didn’t enjoy our overnights, but it would have been more expedient to take the train. Lessons learned. The hotels in the costal beach towns were as expected, nothing special but clean and decent bed etc. The hotel in Lecce was very nice but had its issues. The city of Lecce is beautiful, especially after the tour groups leave. I am afraid it will become another Florence. Sad but true. I liked both of our lunches for different reasons. I would go back.

The Trabocchi coast on the Adriatic

This and that…

4 Replies

Saturday was a beautiful day. 4 October with blue skies and bright, warm sunshine but cool brisk temperatures. I had a shift at Books for Dogs as a volunteer. It was actually a lovely morning with nice folks and I worked with Fiona who is a dear. It is a very social thing this volunteer work. I really enjoy it.

My friend Jane, just returned from the U.S. for a six week visit came into the shop with two friends. They found some bargains as always at Books for Dogs where you’ll always find something you love. There was an interesting conversation about eating out and how we prefer lunch as it doesn’t mean we have to drive in the dark. And the possibility at night is much greater to have a close encounter between auto and cinghiale (wild boar). Fiona piped up that her auto insurance has an extra clause that covers her for cinghiale collisions. Only in Umbria, I said.

We all met up at Bar Mary for drinks after my shift. They are fun group. It was Jane and her wife Christie and Shirl and her wife Dot.

For lunch I made probably the last tomato sandwich of 2025. Sad day. But the two plants produced a LOT of tomatoes so I can’t complain.

Now we are off on a road trip to Puglia. Specifically, Lecce. We stopped near a seaside town named Vasto. Our hotel is nice, but we are having gale force winds here. It is like a howling banshee. The restaurant is closed. We decided to get a bottle of wine from the bar. At least that IS open. And they brought snacks with the bottle. We decided to just eat the snacks and get a big breakfast tomorrow before we leave.

That certain something…

4 Replies

What is it about the sunlight in Autumn? Like suddenly the shadows are longer, darker, different. The mountains have a clarity that they didn’t have in July. Today was a perfect Autumn day. The sun was doing that certain something it does in September and October. I can’t get enough. We went to Calagrana for the first time in I don’t know how long. It was delicious as usual. The pictures are along the way or from their terrace. Just LOOK at that sky!

This is the picture I grabbed outside Calagrana. The view is always lovely. Ely’s flowers are always beautiful.

Lunch with friends today. I tried the winter salad with anchovies and the venison stew with a pastry top. Both were yummy and autumnal.

Overall, it was an outstanding day. We had delicious food with old friends on a glorious fall day. What’s not to like?!

Buona domenica!

Week of unusual food…for here!

8 Replies

This week we were invited to join our Italian famiglia for a Thai dinner. Vera’s birthday was last Sunday and for a present her family gave her the gift of a Thai chef who came to her house and cooked a meal for us all. She invited friends and her two daughters (who chose the menu) were there as well as Graziano, her husband. The other guests were Nicolai and Annette, from Denmark whom we have met many times, and Nik and Henrietta who I had heard of but never met. Nik is a pretty famous artist. He is British and has an estate here in Umbria. They were super nice. If you wish to look him up his name is Nic Fiddian Green. He does primarily sculpture and his subject is horses. In fact he is exhibiting in a town named Middleburg in Virginia near where I used to live next year.

Anyway, the chef was a diminutive Thai woman and her caucasian husband helper. The menu was three antipasti, one primi, and two secondi. I took pictures of my favourites.

I accidentally ate a sliver of red pepper and it was HOT! once I had stuffed a bunch of rice in my mouth and recovered I told Desiree not to eat that! But she was curious. I picked up a piece and said just taste a tiny piece. Well it turned out it was a sweet pepper. So she went to the plate and picked up another piece. She must have thought I was crazy, and she popped it into her mouth. it is funny, the lag from first taste to when the heat hits, but it did.

It was a fun meal. I like that Vera is super adventurous when it comes to food, She is adventurous in most ways. She loves to travel and see new countries. As do her two daughters. She is inhibited by Graziano who is by no means adventurous. But he did like the dumplings filled with sausage. The meal had a nice amount of spice. Thanks Vera, for the invite! And buon compeanno!
~~~~~~~~
Then Luther and I decided to have a sushi lunch at the place we went to in the summer, Shiso. It is relatively new in town and is finding its footing. The menu was completely different this time. It tells us it is learning its audience and what they will eat. The last time the menu was more complicated. It has been simplified and streamlined. We decided to get the 16 piece chef selection. I was also intrigued by the Poke bowls. They had three sizes which allowed you to pick the protein, the sauce, and the extras. I may try that next time.

I leave you with a picture of our Simba. He had to see the vet this week. He is 16 and that comes with problems of old age. And don’t I know it! He is a sweety.

Montefalco Harvest festival

10 Replies

Montefalco is the capital of the Sagrantino DOC wine producing area of Umbria and this weekend it was the epicenter of the completed grape harvest. Every year they have tastings and events culminating in a fun, hokey parade (of sorts). We just happened to have made reservations for our group of friends who enjoy lunches together. Then, yesterday I heard the ”parade” was starting at 3pm. I knew what it was about because I had attended this festival once before.

We all arrived and had a great table in the Piazza del comune. The main public space in the small hill-town. It was a gorgeous autumn day. As we sat there choosing our food and getting wine the other tables filled with groups and families. The hum of conversation and laughter filled the air. We asked ourselves more than once what it is about going out for a meal in beautiful weather surrounded by Italians that was different from every other place on earth. You can dine outside in nice weather in most cities, but you’ll never get the happy vibe you will in Italy. We love living here.

Here are some photos of the food, the piazza and the Harvest Festa. It is pretty clear the participants have been sampling the harvest wine! and having fun, of course.

The Piazza before.

The Lunch.

Appetiser of roasted peppers and parboiled onions on a bed of tonno sauce. mmmm

Tagliatelle with Funghi. Not my favorite.

The Harvest Festival. It consisted primarily of tractors of all shapes and sizes pulling wagons full of celebrating people usually with a grape press and plates of food which was shared with the crowd. Very loud music accompanied each float.