Category Archives: Umbertide

Buon Ferragosto!

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Tomorrow is Ferragosto. The August holiday which is dead center of the month. The month of VACATION!! Big parties tomorrow.

This is a mundane post. I got out early since the predicted high today is 38C. That’s 100 degrees in US speak. Hot. So I was up and out before eight. I did my shopping at our local market first thing. The high summer bounty of fruits and vegetables are beautiful. It was hard to stop buying. Here are a few pics of the deliciousness to come.

Zucchini, borlotti beans, eggplant, sweet red onion, greenbeans
Every week we go through quantities of tomatoes. And I’ve not even gotten to making sauce.
What’s better than a Caprese salad when the tomatoes are at peak? This is locally made near Montone

I ran into some friends and we had a chat. Mostly about their recent vacation to Como, and the wonderful food in the market. We shared some recipes.

I didn’t only go out to shop. I wanted to get in my walk early before the heat. And like I often do, I decided to combine my walk with an errand. I had finally gotten some more charcoal and was planning to grill. I’ve got a skirt steak that I aim to make into fajitas. It was calling out for an avocado to go with it so I walked to the so-called “Egyptian” market 😁 It is owned by immigrants and I guess people think they are from Egypt so they call it the Egyptian market. I kinda doubt that. But anyway, they have things available there that cater to the immigrant communities in Umbertide and the surrounding towns. Things like cilantro. They have it reliably. And they have avocados that are perfect, and reliably good. So I make a point to get my avocados from them. So, as part of my walk I got two avocados and while there I even decided to buy four ears of corn. I’m sure it won’t be up to my standards of sweet American corn, but I want it so badly, I’ll try anything. I’m going to grill two, for a salad, and boil two, to test how good they are. I asked where they came from and he said Sicilia. I think most of their stuff comes from there.

Here is the corn. All trimmed up.

Doesn’t look so appetizing but we’ll give it a go.

On my way back, I was amused by this little grill on the sidewalk at our little corner store that sells all sorts of things for the household. The amusing part was that it said it was a barbecue “Professionale”. Right. Looks pretty flimsy for professional use!

That’s about it. I’ll try to remember to post a picture of our dinner tonight. And the corn whichever way I do it.

Ciao for now…buon Ferragosto wherever you are! 🌈

Fidelity

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This is a follow-up to a post back in July. I had to go look it up. I posted on July 17. It was about the pigeons entrappolati inside the Comune building across from our house. At that point the pigeons had been trapped inside the building for five days. That means it’s been exactly a month since then. Of course, all the pigeons inside have died by now. But I was amazed that at least two lasted more than two weeks. I tried to get them rescued but it never worked out. I’ve moved on. But not so this guy.

He sits on that windowsill all day, every day. Waiting for his mate who has died inside. Of course he doesn’t know she has died. He just knows she’s inside. I looked up pigeon mating habits and, much to my surprise, I found out that they mate for life. 😢 I feel so sorry for this guy. I hope he moves on soon. I have been an unwilling spectator to this whole drama.

Hot, hot, hot

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Big heat spell here right now. Temps near 100F. No rain for months. I hope Italy doesn’t have any fires. We are pretty much managing the shutters and attempting to keep the heat out in the daytime and letting the cool (if there is any!) into the house at night. We have even been using our AC during parts of the day, and at night. I dream of a cool front coming through, or a nice thunderstorm. No sign of one 👀 Sigh.

We have no trips planned for the rest of this year after our fun trip to Sardinia. It may have been a risk. But we suffered no harm. And good memories. Luther is talking of a trip to Milano in September. We shall see.

Umbria is doing very well. We haven‘t had a death in weeks. Crossing my fingers it stays like this. We have hardly any UK visitors which is very unusual, and not many US visitors either. We seem to have German, Belgian, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries.

We are now in Agosto, August, which is the big vacation month here. Businesses and government agencies shut down. Don’t even think of getting anything done in August in Italy.

Dinners and lunches are cool affairs. No baking, no roasting. If I use heat it will be to make something ahead to use in a salad at night. Or I will quick sear a thin cut of meat. Chicken cutlets are a popular choice. Or a thin steak. Last night we had a Greek salad. Tonight we had left over Greek salad in pasta served cold and chicken cutlets in pesto from my basil. We are out of charcoal but when I get more, grilling will be an option.

Hot time! Summer in the city…

Traveling to Italy – Updates
Italy began its Green Pass mandates this week. People will be required to show the pass for access to museums, galleries, theatres, cinemas, sports stadiums, theme parks, indoor swimming pools, spas, gyms, and indoor seating areas at bars and restaurants. US residents can show their CDC card and it will be accepted in lieu of the Green Pass. A person can also show a negative test within 48 hours of entering one of these venues, or proof you had Covid and have recovered. As of September 1st, the Pass will be required to travel in planes, ferries, busses and long distance trains.
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Since things have gotten so bad in the US, there is talk of the EU closing travel to US travelers. Again. They say within the next two weeks they will make a decision. Today The Local, our “go to” English language online paper, had an article with the latest. I cut and pasted since there is a pay wall. (By the way, it is not at all expensive to subscribe and it is a wealth of information.)
Here is the article:
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At the moment Italy allows arrivals from the US for any reason, including tourism. But as coronavirus infection rates rise in both countries, readers have asked if and when the rules could change.
Question: We are traveling to Italy soon and are hearing rumors concerning Italy or the EU imposing new restrictions on US travelers. Do you know if and when this is likely to happen?

As the coronavirus infection rate in the United States has now risen well above the threshold for removal from Europe’s travel ‘safe list’, there has been media speculation in recent days about whether a change to the rules is imminent.

The European Commission regularly reviews its ‘safe list’ of countries from which non-essential travel is allowed, and news reports from Reuters and Bloomberg this week have cited EU officials saying rules for those arriving from the United States could be reconsidered under the next review.

After initially saying the ‘safe list’ review could come as soon as next week, the same officials have now reportedly stated that it will happen in two weeks, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

The rate of new coronavirus cases in the US has risen to 270 per 100,000 inhabitants over the previous 14 days, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The EU’s ‘safe list’ limit is 75 new cases.

The seven-day average of Covid-19 cases in the US now stands at around 100,000 per day, up from under 20,000 in June.
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Stay safe and wear your mask. Andrà tutto bene 🌈

L’estate ☀️

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We have been having our typical summer weather. Hot but not oppressively so, not humid, cloudless skies, no rain. I’m really enjoying it.

Today was Saturday so our local market was in the piazza. All the summer veggies are here in abundance. Love it! I have been really into salads and things that don’t need a lot of cooking to keep the kitchen cool so I’ve got a picture of one of my salads below.

I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures at the market. Most of them came from one of my favorite stands called 3 Orti or 3 vegetable gardens, over by Montone. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

The first melanzane, eggplants…
The summer tomatoes are incredible as always.
Friggitelli – I love these fried!
The first borlotti beans!
German style bread – lots of seeds!

Luther’s birthday was this week so we went to dinner at Calagrana. To make your mouth water take a look at this, my appetizer, vitello tonno.

I also did some cooking with the rest of my fresh tuna. A salad with seared tuna. A la a Niçoise.

Some summertime pictures from our walk along the river to get pizza from a new pizzeria we wanted to try.

We also had a lovely lunch with two people who subscribe to my blog. He has the distinction to be the only person to have read the entire thing…TWICE! I should have some kind of award for him! We have corresponded and we met them today. They are on a house hunting trip. Always fun!

Tomorrow, Sunday, is the BIG GAME. Italy vs England for the European Championship. It will be chaos in all of Italy, to include… Every. Bar. In. Every. Town. They will all have big screen TVs set up in the squares. Madness. Forza Italia. Azzurri!
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Enjoy the summer…or if not in the northern hemisphere, enjoy my summer vicariously through my pictures!

Catch up

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Sorry it’s been a while since I posted. We have been doing a few things. Mostly mundane. We had a Calagrana lunch last week with two couples. Then we had a lovely invitation from Vera and family to their mountain house. It is three kilometers up a winding mostly gravel and dirt road. They are at the very end. So beautiful up there. It was just us and the family. A simple barbecue but so nice. Le regazze!

Some of the food.

The week was full of chores. We have to replace some of our zanzariere. Zanzara is the word for mosquito. Say it out loud. Doesn’t it make you think of the zzzzzzz noise a mosquito makes beside your ear? Two of the screens are ripped and several no longer hook down as they should. They said they’d come next week. And yet again we are trying to get our Tessere Sanitaria renewed. But we needed an appointment so we go next week.

Finally today we had a little fun. We met up with a friend who is buying a house here. He has been stuck in the US because of the travel restrictions but he finally got here this week to see his house. And we had lunch at Nonna Gelsa, a nearby restaurant. Ravioli with pistachio pesto.

Tomorrow I start packing for our little getaway. Leaving on Sunday. First trip since our lockdown from last fall. We are going to Sestri Levante on the Mediterranean. North of the Cinque Terre and south of Genoa. It is to celebrate our anniversary. I will do a trip report, of course!

Ciao! 🌈

Umbertide is back!

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Eurocup. Italy versus Turkey. Back in the olden days. Before Covid. We had exciting gatherings in front of Bar Mary to watch sporting events. Mostly soccer, or football as they call it here. Since Covid things have been different, but tonight! Tonight! There’s a huge crowd outside. Bar Mary, as of old, has set up a big TV and the chairs are all pulled up to watch the game. Cheering erupts at intervals. I can hear it well up here. See the fun…

Makes me happy.

Best laid plans…

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I just re-read my last post. Nothing worked as planned…no surprise!

First, the day we planned to go to the new Asian market happened to be the day the Giro d’Italia was in Perugia. Streets closed. Public transport closed. Traffic nightmares. So we decided against that trip for now!

Lunch Saturday also called off. The restaurant is fully booked both Saturday and Sunday. All the restaurants are very busy since they’ve been allowed to reopen. The main issue is the limited number of outside tables. Now we have to regroup. It looks like we will need to plan a little farther ahead.

Due to some great tips and recommendations from one of my blog readers (thanks Matt!), our trip for our anniversary has moved from our original destination up the coast to a town called Sestri Levante. It sits between Genoa and the Cinque Terre along the coast. We have been a couple of times to the Cinque Terre but never have we explored the coast north of there. The town of Portofino is just near Sestri and I’ve always wanted to see it. We also want to visit Rapallo and S. Margherta Ligure. I am told they are nice villages. And then, possibly we will take the train into Genoa. I want to have some downtime too. So we will see.

Buona serata a tutti!

Where is May!!?

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I’m getting tired of this cold wet weather. May is usually so reliably nice. But not this year. Last weekend up to Monday was nice. Then the cold damp came roaring back for the rest of the week.

Big news! Finally. After almost two weeks. We managed to get into our garage! Whoo hoo! Things always take longer that you expect here in Italia…one gets used to it… Now we can take the Angelo Giallo out for a spin. (Note to self…get a second door key)

We still aren’t doing very much interesting so I’ve not been writing too much lately. We did go out to nice dinner with friends at San Giorgio this week. It was fun and good to get to know our new friends. I had Bottoni…a pasta dish. Means buttons. 🙂 descriptive as are so many pasta names.

While I was waiting to pick up my Tikka masala on Takeaway Thursday. I took this pretty shot of the Lido – the park by the river. Once it actually had cabanas and people went there to go swimming, go dancing and sun bathe.

This is now….

This was then… so very different from now. Dancing and partying. You can find this same vibe today along Lago Trasimeno. In summertime it is disco dancing and partying non-stop. Lots of Italian tourists. Nowadays you will see women…I note there are none in these pictures except the dancers.

1939 cabanas in the Lido
1934 Pommerigio festivo alla piattaforma
1934 when the Tiber was clean…It is not dirty now…but I suspect there was a time when it was…

Today, the Saturday Market. I picked up some coriander plants at the Books For Dogs/Libri per i Cani special plant sale. Then we met some good friends at Bar Mary for drinks. They just arrived home from the US this week. They have a home in Montone and are residents of Italy so can come here with no problem. We were interested to hear their experiences for their trip home. They said many people trying to travel without citizenship, residence or an acceptable, essential reason were turned away by the airline in the US.

This man, nicely dressed with his “man purse”, on his bicycle had a 3 liter container of vin sfuso from the wine booth. Looked like a nice rosato. You can just see it in his left hand. Wish I’d gotten a better view! It was classic!

Italiano phrase for today. “Ho messo in ordine tutti i libri” — in English — “I tidied up all the books”. Pronounced…oh mays-so in or-dee-nay toot-tea ee lee-brie.
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Get vaccinated everyone, if you can. Here in Italy it is slow…but in the US everyone now is eligible — so please, do it for the greater good…and thank you 🌈!

Catching up

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We took a drive Monday up to Arezzo in Tuscany. We visited a big grocery there that we like. We drove the Porsche which hasn’t been driven since January. The trip takes around 40 minutes. It was nice to see new scenery for a change. And to stock the larder with food.

Over the weekend we were awakened at 5am by our resident Hoopoe. Our bedroom window was wide open and he perched on the clothes line just outside where he proceeded to sing his (loud) two note song which is the origin his name, they say. Oddly, just last week I opened a bottle of wine which had a glass stopper rather than a cork. I noticed something painted on it. It was a Hoopoe! It seems every time I turn around I’m reminded of this cool bird.

Saturday local market was cheerful. We still have mostly winter vegetables. But I saw asparagus today. Also, everyone has piles of fresh eggs. The chickens lay more eggs in the spring apparently.

Plant booth had some pretty plants but I was going to take a trip up the hill outside of town to the big greenhouse so I just admired his flowers.

I’m happy to see both of the bars are welcoming folks.

San Giorgio, the restaurant across the piazza from us. They are happily serving lunch and dinner again.

I went out to the nursery just outside of town. I bought petunias and a bunch of herbs. I still need the sweet alyssum I normally plant and couldn’t find. I guess it will become a quest! This is the view up to Civitella Ranieri, the castle that hosts fellows in the art world. They were empty last year so I hope all goes well this year. Isn’t the sky pretty and the winter wheat so green!!

Spur of the moment we decided to have lunch at Patrick’s Enoteca. I’ve missed it. The “clown” train passing on the tracks across from Patrick’s.

Lunch.

So that was my week. Oh, except I locked the key to the door of our garage inside the garage. So now we can’t get to the car! And we were going for a ride today. Oh well. We are trying to figure out how to get in! This was the very thing I reminded myself never, ever to do…and I did it 🙄
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Italiano phrase…”era un bellissimo sabato”. In English “it was a beautiful Saturday”. Pronounced — era une bell-ees-see-mo sah-bah-toe.
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Stay safe everyone! 🌈