Category Archives: Umbertide

Odds and ends

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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!

Rain, rain go away

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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!

Quiet time

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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!

Epifania

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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!

Market day

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The winter market is upon us. I was supposed to work at Books for Dogs on Saturday but it was so slow they sent me home. This gave me time to shop. We were, and still are, in a very cold, damp, dark and foggy time. It has been six, long days with a break on Monday no sun, but no fog. I have been hiding inside. Many friends around here who all live up in the mountains surrounding us are above the clouds that blanket the valley. They report bright sunshine and warmth. Envy, envy, envy.

I lucked out and found turnips with beautiful fresh turnip green tops. Not common here. I’m pretty sure people grow them because Vera once brought me some from her mother-in-law’s garden. Somehow they don’t end up in the market or grocery. Who knows why? 🤷🏻‍♀️ I love the spiciness of the turnip greens and cooked with pancetta, garlic and pepper flakes it is perfect as a pasta sauce, so that’s what we had for dinner!

This is cuisine povera. Poor people’s cooking. The pasta I used was around €1 for the packet and I used 1/3 = 30 cents The pancetta was one quarter of a two pack which was €2.95. = 90 cents. The turnip greens were a throw away so they were essentially free. Then there was a sprinkle of pepper flakes, and two garlic cloves, some olive oil and a sprinkle of pecorino romana cheese at the end. Negligible amount, maybe 50 cents. So we had two bowls of pasta with left over for my lunch for about €1.80 or about $2.10. AND…it was delizioso!

I grew up Southern. All my aunts cooked southern style. Luther’s too. Turnip greens were never wasted but they would never, ever make a pasta. That’s just too Italian. It’s nice to find nearly the same preparation they used to cook the greens here, but used in pasta dishes. Small world. Buon appetito!

L’immacolata

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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.

And so it begins. Enjoy the season!

Thanksgiving – 2025

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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!

Observations

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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!
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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 Roma
The 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. 🌧️ 🥶

Fave è Cicoria – perfect autumn dish

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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 😁)

Raw cicoria.
Dried fave without the skin. Very easy to use, all the work is done.
Cooking the cicoria
Cooking the fave
Final dish. Gnom, gnom.

Buon autunno! 🍁 🍂 🍁

This and that…

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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.