Yesterday we went to a hilltown called Pietralunga. It is a quite remote area past Montone up into the hills. Pretty drive and a very pretty town.

There were little patches of carpet each with a chair next to it along the streets and walls. It seems the town encourages artists to come and bring their work with them to sell and exhibit. There were a number of artists here as well as many empty spots (you can see some of the art in the 3rd picture below). It is a good idea to promote their town and bring visitors. We had come to the town to view the Civiteli Ranierie artists’ works which we did. They were interesting if not terribly notable.

Here are some pictures of the town. The first two are the main piazza and church (dating from the 8th century) area.

At the top of the town was this tower and these arches also dating from the 8th century.

These next two pictures are interesting. All buildings in Italy have metal covers over the water, gas and electric meters. In Pietralunga many of them are painted by artists. You can see that these are little doors. Much prettier than the ugly gray covers we have on our house in Umbertide.

After our visit we headed out to find lunch which was more difficult that we thought it would be. We ended up at Trattoria di Botticelli. It was along the road between Montone and Pietralunga. It was quiet and they cooked us a nice lunch to include antipasti of meats and cheeses as well as deep fried squash blossoms and bruschetti. Afterwards we had pasta and the guys got yummy desserts and they brought refreshing after dinner drinks of either melon or banana. These had been kept in the freezer and were frozen and slushy and yummy. It was fun.

Here is a picture from my walk this morning of a pretty chicory flower. The picture below that is of a farmers cart full up with buckets of roma tomatoes destined to become sauce. I love tomato season!

It was a slow day so we decided to go to Todi about 45 minutes south of us to visit a winery. Sadly it was not open even though we were there during designated open hours. That’s Italy for you!

So we decided to go to Todi for lunch at Ristorante Umbria. Todi is a beautiful example of an Umbrian hill town. You can see it for miles around. There is traffic in it but we always park in a lot outside the walls and walk UP. And it is always up. Here are a couple of pictures.

Arches near the Piazza Popolo up at the tippy top of the town.

Cherry picker working on medieval tower – interesting contrast don’t you think?

House with pretty terrace below restaurant – note the Etruscan satellite dishes.

Pretty table outside of our restaurant.

Picture from our table on the restaurant patio.

Us using my remote shutter for a pic at lunch.

My yummy raviolini with arugula and fresh tomatoes.

Luther’s faro, broad bean and chick pea soup. YUM!

Proscuitto e melone appetizer.

The wine.

A fun trip back to a place we had been to with our friends Vicky and Tommy a number of years ago. Still very good and soooo pretty!

Yesterday we drove to the Montefalco wine area. So sorry I forgot my camera! But I borrowed a few from the internet. It is about 25 or 30 miles south of us. It is a really pretty area all planted in grapes and olive trees.

We stopped in Torgiano, home of Lungarotti the huge wine conglomerate and they have a hotel, spa and restaurant. It is really lovely.

We drove through Bettona, an ancient hill town. Very cool looking. Borrowed picture below.

We stopped at a couple of wineries. They do tastings and they are totally free (unlike in the US!). And they pour quite a bit in your glass. You can’t do too many of them or you’d be drunk.

We visited a little town called Bevagna. It is completely surrounded by it’s old walls. And it is FLAT! Down on the plain beside a small river. Very cute place. Here is a borrowed picture.

Then we had lunch in a place called Trattoria di Oscar. We sat outside. I borrowed this picture from the facebook page for the restaurant. Nice outside terrace. They even brought out a copy of Saveur magazine who chose the restaurant for it’s “Best of” article.

I had ravioli stuffed with ricotta and in a really good tomato sauce with drizzled olive oil. The oil was incredibly flavorful. It really sang out in the dish. Luther had the tagliatelle with ragu. Yum!

OK, I know the title is titillating! Ha! But it is odd here. Earlier this week, when I was walking with Susan, we touched on an interesting difference between the United States and here in Umbertide. Men and women do not do things together. The men have their pals and pretty much associate with them exclusively. The women stay home and have their women friends. Marriage is more of a business relationship. Sort of “Sex, children, division of labor, man earns money, women do the house”. Kind of like it used to be in the 50s in the US. I am sure it is different in a more sophisticated city like Rome, Milan or Florence but here in the more old fashioned part of Italy it is still done the old way.

Susan said Emanuele asked her when he found out they were moving over to Italy “but what about Gary’s pals?!” That would be the attitude of an Italian man in Umbertide. When asked whether a man is a friend with his wife the answer is no. When you think of it, it is just the old way. In the middle east and in Eastern Europe it is still done the old way. And so it is here too!

Tonight we sat in the Piazza and Luther smoked his cigar. The tables were all full…. with MEN. There were 2 other women other than me out there. Just another example of the Sex thing.