- Umbria

"The Falconer" tower containing our apartment

Margarita, one of the two ponies on the grounds

We spent a week in Umbria in an apartment in the Spoleto hills. It was a nice place with a beautiful saltwater pool. All of Italy has been under a heatwave and we spent just about every day in the pool. We also caught up on the basics like laundry.  It was a good week of downtime. Beatrice, our host, also had two ponies and about 8 cats that lived on the property and the girls immediately befriended
them all. We gave each cat a temporary name that we used during our visit. This was a good break providing time to rest and relax. Quite frankly, I was getting tired of driving in Italy and beginning to relish returning the rental car next week.
While in Umbria we took a cooking class at a local vineyard. Our instructor Jennifer took us through the process of making gnocchi with a vegetable sauce, stuffed zucchini flowers, sausages cooked in white wine and fresh grapes, and finally a cheese and chocolate tart. It was all from scratch, simple in design, and very delicious - a truly authentic Umbrian meal. Cooking this meal as a family was a nice change from our recent plethora of sightseeing activities. It was great to enjoy an afternoon of working on something together. We shared the class with a family of three from South Africa traveling around the Adriatic. Our chef Jennifer was originally from Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle for a period time where she cooked at a Pikes Place restaurant before meeting her husband Frederico and moving to Umbria Italy. Frederico, a native Umbrian, now manages the organic vineyard where the class took place. While our meal cooked he provided a short tour of the grounds explaining their sustainably focused viticulture process, the economics of managing the business, and his perspective on the local wine industry. When the meal was done the nine of us enjoyed it together, and Frederico provided plenty of fine wine samples. They were all aged in french oak with an emphasis on retaining the grapes natural character (i.e. no heavy tannins in these wines).

At some point in the afternoon our designated end time passed without notice and the conversation continued. Frederico had some strong opinions about Umbria and Tuscany, as well as an many interesting perspectives on Italian life and culture. Jennifer, a transplant from the U.S. was fun to chat with also. At one point I asked her what kind of food she missed the most. "...all that is not Italian" was her answer. It was clear from our discussion, despite the wonderful food here, traditional Italians did not often venture beyond their traditional food boundaries. She shared one story when she cooked an authentic ethnic dish (Mexican, I think) only to have friends and family say, "hmmmm...interesting" and wonder why there was no chocolate in the dessert. She obviously enjoys Umbria and everything it offers, but it was clear she wasn't afforded the variety of food options seen in the states ("Oh, how I miss Pho"). We also talked about different driving habits between our three countries, the differences in legal drinking ages and its impact on abuse. We discussed food (of course), raising children, and much more. It was a very enjoyable afternoon with some nice hosts and interesting fellow travelers.

The Vineyard

Saint Francis' Basilica

That same day we visited Assisi, the birth place of Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals and the environment. His tomb is also in Assisi.

Roman aqueduct with Spoleto fort above.

Spoleto itself is a nice town with a self appointed claim-to-fame of stopping the Carthaginian general Hannibal in his tracks immediately after he handed the Romans their single greatest defeat at the battle of Lake Trasimene (Sploleto is just South of Lake Trasimene). According to the local story the citizens of Spoleto poured hot oil on Hannibal's men thus answering the great mystery of why Hannibal never marched on Rome after crushing the Roman army led by Gaius Flaminious. Personally I don't buy it, but it makes for a fun story.

Spoleto is built on Roman ruins and is a great little town to meander through and enjoy local art and cuisine. It contains a Roman amphitheater and a well-preserved ancient aqueduct. I didn't get a lot of running in while here; however, one morning I got up and ran across the aqueduct and into the trails across the ravine. Excellent run indeed.