January is a quiet time here. Plenty of folks going about their everyday business, but nothing much else is going on. At least here all the restaurants and stores stay open all winter. This town doesn’t shut down because the tourists are gone like so many do. That should always be a consideration if you intend to move here. Some places are shut tight!
The weather, after our two week cold snap, is pretty nice. Highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s and 40s. My lemon tree did get frost bitten, even though I brought it and the persimmon inside. I have trimmed off the dead bits. I’m sure it will recover once it’s back outside. I’m following the big winter storm hitting much of the U.S. right now. Stay warm everyone. Our stufa keeping us warm. 🔥
I’ve been making lots of soups and comfort food. We have a good friend here who had a medical crisis a couple weeks ago. Thankfully he is better and home now. Seems there is a syndrome called acute haemolytic anemia or favism. Apparently a person can develop this G6PD deficiency triggered by components in fava beans. He was in the hospital for a week and had four transfusions. Very sick boy. Now he can’t eat any legumes like beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc. for a couple of months. I was trying to find recipes of mine in my soups and it was a surprise that almost all of mine have one of those forbidden items. I did find two. Anyway, I’m very glad he is on the mend. Get well soon Steve!
I don’t have much else to report. Hang in everyone. Hunker down for the storm. La primavera sta arrivando!
Today is Epifania, a holiday, the day the 3 magi came to visit the Christ child. It marks the official end of the Christmas season. Now we hunker down and try to struggle through the longest, coldest and darkest month.
We are in the very beginning of a frigid week. There is a polar vortex that’s covering most of Europe. France is the coldest since 2012 and I would wager it will be here as well. Predicted to have -5C (23F) tonight and -8C (17F) tomorrow. Coldest in the 11+ years we have been here. So cold that the cover covering he lemon and kumquats will not be adequate protection, so they now are inside upstairs.
I also looked up olive trees and how hardy they are. Seems mature trees can tolerate to -9C but young trees only to -4C. I’m wondering if this will damage these around here. I hope not. They say the cold is good to kill the fly larvae, but this is pushing it.
For a treat, it began snowing here about 1pm. Is is very pretty. Slowed down now (4:30) but with that cold coming it could make for treacherous roads, Video I took, I hope it is visible.
I have been making cold weather food the last couple of days. I made a big pot of potato leek soup for lunches, and a big pot of chili last night. Sticks to the ribs and warms you up.
Stay warm if it’s cold where you are. If it’s warm, enjoy it! Ciao!
Today was l’immacolata, the feast of the immaculate conception. It is a national holiday. I wrote about it in another post a while ago. The weather was not as cold as usual. It was another piazza filling event with loud Europop music blasting but also a children’s choir which was nice. Then, the big event, the tree was lit signifying the beginning of the Christmas season. I shared the event with our new American neighbors, Don and Sarah. They kindly gave me a ride. A few pictures.
The tree!The crowd.For the kiddos.One of my favorite shops.The illuminated city.
Hey everyone. We had a great day with eight of our good friends. We all went to Calagrana for our Thanksgiving feast as always. This has become a tradition for this group. The story is kind of fun. Gary and Susan treat the meal, Luther and I treat the wine. Here is the story…
Once upon a time, twelve years ago, Susan wanted to have a Thanksgiving feast for her Italian friends. But her oven was small and she had no cooking skills. So she contacted Eli of Calagrana fame. She was happy to cook her turkey. But wait…she was British and had no idea how to cook a whole turkey. Seems only Americans cook whole turkeys. As luck would have it, Eli’s sister lived in Philadelphia and they consulted through the night to cook this (enormous) turkey.
At this time Susan and Gary hosted the feast in their home so they picked up the turkey and some appetizers and served them at home. They did this for a couple of years. Then Susan and Eli conspired to do the meal in Eli and Albi’s house. We were guests there and the turkey was roasted. By now, Eli was a pro at cooking an entire turkey, and because it was popular, even with the others around here, it morphed into a yearly feast in the restaurant with them taking reservations. They always have a full house. It is popular. So that is how our tradition began.
First turkey. 2014.Second turkey. 2015.
Our group is about 50/50 Italian/American. All of the Italians are “all in” for the feast. They have embraced it. It’s so nice to share traditions with our Italian friends. I will say, some really couldn’t embrace the concept of having all the food on one plate…you know…actually touching 😳. And gasp! There were no individual courses like they do here. But this group, have embraced it and all are just fine…especially our most enthusiastic Italian friend, Fabio 🙂 He exclaimed the first year he came, “why do you only do this once a year!?!?”
Here is the 2025 feast in pictures. Captions have descriptions.
Our table.Antipasto. Well, we are in Italy so needs be multiple courses. These bites were delicious.Primi. Amazing dish. There was a flaky crust. Inside was melty cheese and pumpkin bits. Underneath, melted Gorgonzola sauce. On top prosciutto. Yum!The star of the show. A 16 kilogram turkey (35.25 pounds)Turkey and…wait…Yorkshire pudding 🤔 ?! The chef is British, what can I say 🤷🏻♀️Dolce. Vanilla panna cotta with apple compote and cinnamon biscotti. So scrumptious you had to eat it even when you were full!
Hopefully we can continue this tradition for a bunch more years. I hope you all had a lovely day too! Happy Thanksgiving!
One thing I forgot to mention was that my sister and I planned our next vacation together. We booked a seven night river cruise on the Rhône River in France. We have not done a river cruise. I have done ocean cruises and a barge trip on the French canals but never a river trip. Should be fun! ~~~~~~~~~ So, I had my second cataract removed last week. Glad to get that last one done. I dealt with blurry vision but it has subsided. I now have perfect vision. First time since I was in my 20s. I always feel like I’m forgetting something without my glasses!
I’ve been doing my Saturday shifts at Books for Dogs. Always fun because you meet so many people. I’m starting to recognize our regulars as well. On my walk there I passed the on-going construction between our round church, named Collegiata, and the Centro Storico. Big changes in our traffic patterns. One thing I would like to see are more benches in that area. I don’t get why they have so few. The old men who populate so many Italian villages love to sit on them, the more central the better. It’s a sight I always love to see. Here are some of the (still) work zones and new public spaces, intersections, streets and roundabouts.
Approaching Via RomaThe new road going from Via Garibaldi to Via Roma. Now it is behind the church.New intersection. This is where it used to split into two one way streets. Now it is two way.New roundabout will go here at the beginning of Via Roma.The new large open space now connects the Collegiata to the Centro Storico. It’s nice
I was replying to someone on a Facebook group I follow today. They want to move to Italy with two young children. The husband is an Italian citizen which allows him to come and bring his family. That’s something you don’t often see, young families coming here mainly because the immigration process doesn’t seem have a path to legally live here for young people. There are a couple Visas but they are very difficult to get.
Anyway, this family has chosen a town in nearby Lazio. A nice city of about 60,000 which has all you’d need and is only an hour from Rome by train. They want to put their kids into an International School in this town. I disagree with this so I wrote to him. This is what I said:
I recommend that you enroll your children into Italian public school in your town for a number of good reasons. They are young, they will absorb the language instantly. They are like a sponge now. What a gift to give to them, to be bi-lingual. They will make friends right in your neighborhood. They will join clubs and sports. They will have lifelong friends. Italians don’t move around like Americans do. They go to kindergarten, primary, middle and high school together; they come of age, marry and have families alongside all their friends; finally they grow old together. Maybe your children won’t decide to remain, but if they ever come back in later life they will be embraced like the family they are.
A second, even more important benefit, I think, is that you and your wife will also become entwined in your communities. You’ll be accepted faster. You’ll join the Italians in their errands, celebrations, and local events.
if you put the kids into an international school they won’t have all these benefits. You won’t become known and a part of the community of Italians. You’ll be set apart from real Italian life. Aloof. Why move to Italy and live in a bubble?
This all brings me back to the benches. In Umbertide. Those kids who grow old together here will need a place to gather. A bench.🥰 In the Centro.
Photo by my friend Jennifer Leslie. As an aside, I have never met an Italian who didn’t love to have his or her picture taken.
The weather has still been very pretty but this week, on Friday, we say goodbye to autumn. Cold and rain is setting in. 🌧️ 🥶
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.
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!
TobaccoCalagranaTobacco.
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?!
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.
Our table.Appetiser of roasted peppers and parboiled onions on a bed of tonno sauce. mmmmTagliatelle with Funghi. Not my favorite.My dessert. Inside my dessert.TiramisuAmazing dessert of three things.
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.
Ciao ragazzi! I know, I know and I feel really bad about being Missing-In-Action. But I have some pretty good excuses 😉. First off, I have had, and still am having issues with the website. It is down intermittently and this makes it hard to make updates. I am still working with my ISP. They are pretty inept.
Then, I got a mean virus that was going around. Not COVID. But that is going around here too. I ran a high fever, 102F or 38.9C. That is higher than most fevers I have had. I had a headache and intestinal upset. I took ibuprofen and checked in with my medico who said it was going around and she had many patients with the same symptoms. After 3 days the fever and headache subsided but the intestinal upset lasted a week. The worst was that, unlike most weekends, we had a lot of plans for this one. I, sadly, missed our entire Otto Cento festa. I had, planned to meet new residents and friends to show them around. Luther had to be my stand-in. But they got me some pretty sunflowers to cheer me up. 🙂. Then, Sunday, we had plans for lunch with our lunch bunch, the gang o six in Montefalco at our favorite restaurant, L’Alchemista. That, too had to be canceled.
Anyway, all that is past and since then we had our annual street fair which is non-stop vendors from the train station past our house. Probably 10 blocks. I watched from our aerie. And once I got over my malady I began to cook again. I had had no appetite during the illness. I grilled a few times outside on the wood fired BBQ. A whole grilled fish one night and I got very adventurous and made a Lebanese dinner. I made home made pitas which cannot be found here. They were good enough for my first try. And with them we had tzatziki and fresh tomatoes with sliced new onions and a kebab of spiced ground beef and pork. It should’ve been lamb but well, that’s not easy to find. I grilled the kebabs and it was a yummy dinner, and different!
I worked a shift at Books for dogs and someone donated some art which I really liked, so I bought two. I love them.
I always grow a pepper plant or two. This year I tried Tabasco. Tiny little heat bombs. I’ve been tossing them into stews etc and they really perk it up. The photo is after I harvested most of the ripe red ones, which were many. My tomato plants are still producing but have slowed down. The Sicilian one gives lots of small tomatoes. The beefsteak gave a lot of big juicy tomatoes but now it has stopped. There are a number of still growing green ones that I hope will mature. Our weather is the terrific autumn weather we always get here. Our fall season is long and perfect.
Last week we attended the annual silent auction that is held by Books for Dogs every year. They get donations all year and save the best ones for the auction. It was combined with a wine tasting. I had not been to one before. They published a catalog so I had picked out a couple things I was interested in and I was successful. I bought a pretty agate and glass vintage necklace, and a contemporary carved stone rhinoceros. It weighs 3 kilos. I have another soapstone collection of Inuit soapstone carvings and this reminded me of them, but much larger.
We have a few things planned for the future. We rescheduled our lunch with the Gang for the 21st. And we will finally get to Calagrana with other friends we haven’t seen in a while. Tomorrow we are trying a restaurant nearby we have not ever been to. We will enjoy this gorgeous fall weather. I hope you do too, wherever you are! Ciao amici!
We are still dealing with heat but we did have some people over lately. Our friend Karen from Toronto came for lunch Wednesday. It was great to see her, and then Thursday our newest friends Don and Sarah came for aperitivo. The terrace has a decent breeze most of the time.
Saturday was a busy day. I had books for dogs at eleven. But I needed to go earlier to get tomatoes and also to take pictures of the biggest field of sunflowers (girasole) I have ever seen. But even more important was to leave in time to get home and change clothes because I was taking Luther out for a birthday lunch.
Not the best pictures but you get the idea. It was very hot today. It is high summer in Umbria.
I drove to a place to park but had a ways to walk. Then the market had been moved out of the piazza because of a basketball event with a court set up there. So I walked to find the vendors. I did finally find them and bought a few tomatoes and then headed back up into Centro. I stopped into Bar Mary for a bottle of water and then sat out at the tables until my shift. But by this time I was sweating copiously. 😳 I worked my shift and I left a bit early to go home and try to make myself presentable for a fancy lunch.
When I got back to the car the car thermometer said it was 40C. That’s about 105F. When I got home and walked up the 61 steps to our apartment (did I mention our elevator died?) I was dripping. I got in a cold shower. That helped some. I put on my new linen dress and got all ready but my hair was still very wet, from sweat. Is this TMI? If it is, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to paint a picture of living in this heat. Anyway. Off we went to our Birthday celebration pranzo.
Luther had always wanted to go to Reschio. It is the enclave of the rich and famous in this part of Umbria. They say the rooms are €1,500 a night. It is hard to describe. It has evolved over the years we have been here. The first things they did was to sell lots, build houses and restore all the old out buildings and dependencies. Some of these are rented out to families for vacations. They constructed a huge barn and arena and outside horse rink for their equestrian center. They began renovations on the castle and then opened it as a hotel. There is a LOT of money invested in this place. I don’t know who is doing all that investment. A lot of movie stars come and stay here. And many other notable people. It is where Meryl Streep stayed for her birthday party a few years ago.
There are two restaurants. One, in the castle, called Ristorante al Castello, the other, more casual, near the equestrian center called Ristorante alle Scuderie. Only this last one is open for lunch. Here are pictures from their terrace where we dined, and also of the food we had.
Overall we liked it quite a lot for a splurge. The food was good, not great. There were many families there having lunch. The wait staff was very nice. The pacing of the dishes was too fast for me. A little time between the first and second courses would have been better. We had some of the Reschio wines and their own olive oil. Both of these were super. I am glad Luther enjoyed his Birthday.
Here is Rocky, trying to keep cool. He knows how to do it. I also harvested my first big tomato from my plants. I’m glad I got to do this before we left for our summer vacation. My house and cat sitter will be the beneficiary of many others. I do hope there are some left when we come back home in August.
I call him Moby Pomodoro. He got more ripe and I cut him from the vine today. We will have him for dinner. Stare fresche! 🥵
