A couple of months ago I saw an ad in Facebook. I NEVER respond to ads there, but this one was different, it specified only people in the Alta Valle del Tevere should respond. That is me! And it was by a local farmer and entrepreneur who was starting something similar in our valley to a CSA (community supported agriculture).
In the U.S.. I used to be a member of a CSA, and it was a lot of fun to pick up my veggies once a week. The good thing for the farmers in the U.S. is that all the shareholders pay an annual fee for whatever produce grows that year. So if the farmer has a bad year, the shareholders take the hit. It is guaranteed income for the farmer.
Here they will deliver to my home (!) which is much easier, and it will be about 7kg of veggies every two weeks starting in June. That’s about 15.5 lbs. The cost will be 23€ (about $27) each delivery. We can’t choose what we get. That’s always been ok with me because I love figuring out how to use it all.
He has a network of farmers who will be growing specified crops just for those of us who subscribed. The list of subscribers filled up fast and he closed the subscriptions. He is very eco friendly, it is all bio, and he wants it to have minimal waste. He contacted me today and wanted a final confirmation, which I did. He will now be meeting with farmers to decide who grows what because the season is just beginning.
I’m excited for a new thing in my life here. You all know I love to cook and experiment, and I love locally grown food that is chemical free and super fresh. I will be posting pictures in June of my first delivery, but for now, here is a picture of a typical CSA box in the U.S.
This is Easter week. Lot of religious things on the religious calendar. I am not religious, but I enjoy learning about things. There will be the usual Good Friday procession in Centro. Sunday is Easter. Everyone either goes out to eat, go to family homes, or make a feast themselves. After all, Lent has ended so it’s ok to pig out! Speaking of which, we have reservations at Calagrana with friends. This is the official opening of the summer season. The weather doesn’t seem to know that though.
Last week we had snow. It snowed hard for three hours, then turned to rain. It was pretty while it was happening. The mountains are still snowcapped. This from our terrace.
Today, we had a really nice lunch with our friends Steve and Roselyne. We decided on a very traditional, family owned place where they serve delicious, very traditional Umbrian food. There are fireplaces in the dining rooms so on a blustery and cold day like today they were welcomed. We’ve been coming here for 12+ years and it is not different food wise, but their two sons now work there. In the past Mom recited the food choices that day. Now one son speaks English and can do it in English which would be good if we ever took guests there. All of us today speak Italian reasonably well so we would have had no issue but it’s nice they can do this now. They have a ton of animals there. Outside there are chickens galore and peacocks. Inside there was a calico cat who had pride of place beside the fire. She also was an accomplished beggar.
We returned home and the wind and rain were fierce. We were full of wonderful food so we took a nap. While we did so the wind wrecked havoc on the terrace. It actually blew the entire sofa across the space it moved a glass topped table! And it ripped a door off the outside cabinet. I was amazed!
Trust me, this is NOT where this sofa was, or should be!
I am sure Spring will come back. Who knows when? But it will. Today, on the way home I grabbed couple pictures of a field of rapeseed plants. So pretty and yellow!
Buona Pasqua to everyone, even those who aren’t religious, like me.
We work our way through February. It has been the wettest February I can remember here. It is always the rainy season but not as much as this. It is good for the water table. We will enter the dry season in May and nary a drop for months. So we are going to be in good shape for it.
We had a lovely lunch at Calagrana on Sunday. They have been closed since Christmas. They actually got to take a month long vacation in the US with Ely’s sister who lives near Philly PA. I’m happy they had a good time. We had a good chat with Alberto the Chef. He tried Philly cheese steak sandwiches (loved), and hoagies (hated). And had a seafood boil (loved).
Sunday was their “soft” reopening. They had all but two tables filled. We had all missed them and were happy to go have a meal. We asked a couple, Sarah and Don, who bought a place and moved about 8 months ago, to join us. I had been meaning to get them there with us for a long time. I’m sure they will want to take guests, family, friends who visit there. We all do. We had a lovely lunch. Sarah and I had the tagliolini with cream sauce with truffles. So, so good. Don had the cheese soufflé with truffles. Luther, the ravioli. All the pasta was made in house. Both Don and Sarah professed to not really love truffles but I think they came away believers. They each had the roasted baby chicken, Luther and I had the rack of lamb. It was all delicious. We were so glad to be back and share with new friends. Sorry no food fotos!
It’s Carnivale time in Italy. Think Mardi Gras. All towns have some sort of celebration. We have a parade. I have videos but suddenly the video embedded doesn’t work. Anyway here is a photo.
Tomorrow we embark on a short trip to Salerno. It is the bottommost town on the Amalfi coast. It is not like the touristy towns there it is a real, livable town, year round. We have friends there and are also meeting up with Susan and Gary. Our present plan is to take the train there and check in to our hotel. The next day we plan a trip to Paestum. We have all been there before twice to see the famous Greek temples, which are incredible. This time we will focus on a Mozzarella di Bufala farm. This is the area where the best, creamy mozzarella comes from. I have always wanted to visit a farm. During our previous trips I stared and searched to see buffalo [these are water buffalo brought from India centuries ago. They have very rich milk which makes the best cheese] and I never ever saw one. Turns out, they are kept inside. In the barns. No wonder I never spotted one. So this time we visit an actual producer and have lunch. Excited! The next day we plan to visit Caserta. Very famous. I’ve never been and actually don’t know what I will be seeing! The last day we will spend in Salerno. With our friends for lunch and sight seeing. Should be a fun trip to break up the winter. Stay tuned for a trip report.
I heard there was gong to be a thaw of all the ice that has coated the U.S. east coast! Good news! Enjoy. Ciao for now!
The last couple days has been busy-ish. Yesterday I had an appointment for an endoscopy. I had never had one, ever, but knew what they were. Hence my reticence to get this procedure. The doctors were very pushy about it so I had to finally do it. It was pouring rain on the way to the Città di Castello hospital. But it seems everyday is nothing but rain. I went into the appointment with Luther so we could both hear what was being said. Then I got taken into the room where the deed would be done.
On a table, fully clothed. I got a needle in my arm as a port for meds. The nurse asked if I wanted a sedative to calm me, darn right I did! But after I got it I was fully awake and mostly lucid and aware of what was happening. Ugh. Horrible experience. I think in the U.S. you’re fully sedated, but not here. I don’t like things in my throat. I bet most people don’t. But finally the ordeal ended.
We went back home and I was just very happy to have that behind me. I had been dreading it. Now to take all my results to my doctor.
Today I woke to pouring rain. Again. My errand for today was to get a haircut. Normally I go to Sansepolcro which is about 30 minutes north, just over the Tuscan border at the head of the upper Tiber valley. Stefano was my guy. I hadn’t been all that happy with him lately so I decided to go back to Nada, here in town. She’s pretty good. And she taught me a new phrase in Italian. Sono stufa. Yes like the stove. But in this case it means I’m fed up. For instance “sono stufa della pioggia”. I am fed up with the rain. Which I AM!
I had a picture I liked and I had practiced my hair vocabulary but … as always, there were communication issues.. She got what I wanted, so that was good, but apparently there were a couple ways she could do the back of my hair. In rapid fire Italian she explained each one and I’m nodding, with no clue, and she finishes and asks which one, one or two? 😳 in the end I got a decent cut. Trying to grow it all a bit longer so the cut has to be small now to allow it to grow,
Walking back home I crossed the Torrente, which is a small stream that runs through town and into the Tiber. With all the rain it was indeed a torrent. I took a quick snap.
I realized they had made a new path through the construction zone which I’ve written about before. It’s nice. I have heard the construction has gotten slowed because they had finished all the new paving with lovely stones and then allowed a truck to drive though which should not have happened. It was too heavy and broke the new stones. 😞 So they had to replace it all. I also noted a bunch of new planters with new plants already planted. They will be very nice once the plants grow. I am sure it will be a nice space although the local Umbertidese do not like it at all. They don’t accept change easily. 😁 Picture.
I didn’t get to post this yesterday and I wanted to report I woke up to…SUNSHINE! It probably won’t last but it was nice to see the blue sky. I forgot to mention that we have lost our internet. It has been out for four days. We are exploring alternatives right now. Hopefully we will be back up and running soon. Ciao!
I had a new experience this week. I placed an order with a group called Villagio del Cibo. I was turned onto this group by friends and got on their mailing list. Every two weeks I get an email with an attached order form with all the available products. It changes according to the season and who has what. The products are provided by a network of producers who sign up to sell their stuff. It is brilliant. They are all from here in the Upper Tiber valley. Local and certified organic. This gives the producers a market and we consumers get the benefit of good, safe, food. Win, win. So I do want to support this. This being winter the veggies are limited to what’s growing now. I got broccoli, cabbage, radicchio, and cavallo nero (Tuscan kale). I also got fresh eggs, roasted hazelnuts (nocciole), dried chickpeas (ceci) and a bottle of passata (tomato sauce). First picture veggies, second a soup I made.
We have a shop here called Giorgio al Mare. It is all frozen food. Mostly seafood focused but tons of other stuff. They have whole kits for pasta al mare, seafood risotto, etc. Frozen of course. Also every type of fish and shellfish imaginable. They even have vegetables and sweets. In fact this store is where I buy my cinghiale. Only place I have seen that stocks it. I buy quite a bit of seafood there. Many fish fillets which make a quick dinner. Also all my shrimp comes from there (it’s deveined and shelled but you can get it uncleaned). All kinds of whole fish which I roast or grill. I like their salmon. Last time I went I got two tuna steaks. I made them last night. They were a big hit with Luther and I even liked it. The marinade made it happen. It was much like a steak, very meaty. I also served it with a a pretty salad with chickpeas, clementine segments, and cherry tomatoes. The salad dressing was the same as the marinade. I just seared the tuna, here is a photo.
A weird experiment. Luther mail ordered a bunch of food. Don’t ask 😑 So now it is up to me to cook it all eventually. One thing was a Wagyu steak. It is apparently a famous thing. So I thawed it out and cooked it. I bet it was 75% fat. I think that’s why people like it. The first picture is the raw steak, note the fat. The second was after cooking. It was quite tasty, and interesting, but not worth the cost.
Finally something that cheered me. I learned a new thing about Italy. January 29-30-31 are i giorni della merla – the days of the blackbird. It is a little-known period which has several legends. The one I liked was that this is the coldest the winter will be and the blackbirds shelter from the cold in their nests or near chimneys. They say that if it is cold during these three days, spring will come early. My friend, who posted this, said it beats a giant rodent (sorry Phil). I have a special place in my heart for blackbirds. This morning I had a treat. Our resident blackbird was singing his heart out behind our building in the middle of the night. At least he thinks it will be spring soon anyway! Sing my little friend, sing! 💕
This guy I photoed a few years ago in Liguria. It was his special day. He found a cherry!
OK this is just plain weird. Yesterday, January 9, we got a holiday card from friends in the U.S. It was mailed December 13 from Virginia. Happy to hear from them! We chuckled about the Poste Italiene. Then, I heard on Facebook from a friend who got three cards today. I was agog. But wait…then another two commenters in the friends post said they TOO had gotten two holiday cards today, So what’s going on? Did the Poste Italiene save all the holiday cards from the U.S. until today to send out to us stranieri? If so, WHY? I mean, did they say, it you see a card from the U.S., put it in this basket? We will deliver in January. 🙄
Of course we don’t really know who is at fault. One commenter said in tracking their card it went to Chicago and from there Indianapolis where it sat for several weeks. Why? Chi sa! The part that is still odd is why did so many of us here get our cards on the same day?
I recently read a post by a British couple who moved from the south coast of England to Languedoc in France for their retirement. They started out by asking themselves why couldn’t we have done all this in England? Why did we have to move to France? The south of England has no shortage of beauty, they said. There was a place to grow vegetables, they said. Access to beaches and the New Forest nearby, but they retired to France. Why do people up stakes and change countries to retire?
Well, this made me think. Yes, you can have a garden and enjoy the scenery in your home country, but somehow you choose to move to another country. I love my state of Virginia. I had all I wanted there. But I didn’t have much adventure. Everything was normal, hum drum, expected. And the pace of life, even in retirement was not tranquil. There was little stimulation. The decision to move was more a wish for new horizons. New things to see and learn. A whole different language! And yes one can have almost the same things here as at home, if one would want. But suddenly, in new surroundings I was encouraged to try so many new things. Places to see and visit, foods to make and try, restaurants to discover.
I have been here 11.5 years, so now, most things are “normal” to me. But I remember the time when going to the grocery store was a major undertaking. Deciphering the labels, figuring out that all the meats are completely different cuts, remembering to weigh all your produce, figuring out that eggs aren’t refrigerated here and finding they are on a shelf, seeing the types of flour nothing like home, figuring out the Italian equivalent of baking powder and soda. Every. Single. Thing. Was completely different. Going to the post office 😳. Getting all the permits you need to be able to live here. Going to the doctor. The pharmacy. All of the things you take for granted in the U.S. are now huge adventures, or obstacles, depending on how you look at it.
Everyone is not cut out for a move to Italy. People need to adopt a different reality to adapt here. Really, it’s true. Most people have heard everything is slower in Italy but until you’re trying to get something done here you don’t really understand. They calculate their worth differently. It’s not money that makes you rich, it is friends, family, connections, favors owed. So completely different from the U.S. where the dollar is king and the bottom line, your worth. It takes a bit of getting used to. You cannot approach your builder and offer more money to hurry up the renovation. That won’t work. They just, don’t, care.
I read a lot of the Facebook groups for people who move to Italy. Digital Nomads, Elective Residency Visa holders, students, repatriating Italians… The reasons to move are different for us all. Many come because the cost of living is half of the U.S. (except in the big cities); some come because the quality of life is better; some come for the quality of the food, which is less processed and cleaner; some come for the slower pace. Some, recently, are moving to flee the political situation in the U.S. Some come because they are descendants of Italians who immigrated and they feel the pull to return to their roots. Whatever the reason, many of us choose to relocate.
I know why I “upped stakes” and moved to Italy. It was for the stimulation and adventures. Now we are getting older and slowing down but we still plan four or five big trips a year. And more short ones. We don’t do as much around our area as before, maybe because it is familiar now. Who knows! But we still enjoy the life here.
Today was a very unusual Tuesday. My good friend Elizabeth, who is very well connected around these parts, invited me to join her at a tasting and luncheon at Vineria Del Carmine. Elizabeth is partner in a business called Altabella an Italian Villa vacation rental and Umbrian experience. She has lived here more than twenty years.
The event today was for restauranteurs and people who work in tourism in the Upper Tiber valley. Elizabeth was going and found she could invite someone else. We have been friends for a number of years and she appreciates this blog as promoting this area and tourism around here. So she asked me to join her! I happily accepted.
The tasting room had two long tables set for the event. There would be three separate lunches/tastings. At 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00. The table filled with many people. We were at one end of the table so only were near a few people. They brought three wines to taste during the lunch. A Trebbiano Spoletino (white), a rosato (rosè) made from Merlot and a big red called il Campanile made from Sangiovese and Merlot. All were very nice. We had a small lunch. They make their own very thin bread sticks and two dipping sauces with which we began. They also had delicious bread and their own olive oil. Then we had a nice small main from which we could choose — a polenta with a delicious cheese sauce or pork belly. We had the polenta. Finally a nice dessert which had a LOT going on. From crumbled chocolate cookies, dots of caramel, a panna cotta ring, passion fruit and blackberries. Very nice. Here are pictures with captions. The first two are the tables.
The polenta with the cheese sauce.The dolce.Across from the winery is an an abandoned church..
I really had a nice time. It was great to spend time with Elizabeth. Thanks Elizabeth for the invite!
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!
