Walking...Always Walking

  You all are probably tired of these posts about walking here in Umbria.

  I'm sorry...we just walk so much, and I really like paying attention to our surroundings. I like to capture that moment...the light that morning, or some little flowering shrub I haven't seen. 

  Springtime is popping all over now, and the landscape changes so fast. I try not to miss a beat, you know?

  This week we have had some really good rain-much needed rain-here, so the next couple of weeks things will be exploding around the area. I can't wait!

  When we leave the house for a walk, the first moments are right outside the door (and down 30+ steps!). The yard is looking so gorgeous with all the daisies blooming...

The front path.

  We've always loved walking up to the old church/cemetery above the village. It'a local favorite stroll, for sure...

Rosemary pouring over an old wall.

  I like to see what's coming up. Interesting plants I often don't know, with cool textures and such...

  This walk has a very classic view of the village. 

Nice combo.

Getting ready to bust out all over!

This is the earliest I've seen the red poppies blooming...

  Another regular morning walk we like is just down to the local apple farm and back. We love to buy the roasted almonds there. Plus, it's got the best long driveway in the world...This was a windy day, so it's a noisy video...Sorry!

Apples in bloom right now.

Pretty!

Huge, old apple tree on the side of the road.

  These walks always give us an appetite, so we indulge!

  I roasted a bunch of potatoes and onions and a few bell peppers. Perfect over arugula, with a dusting of parmesan and tomatoes on the side.

  We love our vegetarian life, I gotta say-

  Now the weather has gotten cold and wet, so we may not walk for a day or two.
  I think I'll make some soup!

My Birthday Baby

  Twenty-four hours.

  That's basically what it takes to get from our home in California to Pizzeria Remo in Rome, Italy.

  It was a very close call this trip, as our flight from London to Rome was delayed one hour, and we know Remo closes at 1am.

  After dropping our bags off at our favorite spot to stay, we ran-walked...it was 12.30!

  

We made it just in time, and a mere 45 minutes into my Baby's Birthday, he was smiling as we dug into the best pizza in the world...we are 9 hours ahead, so his B-Day came a bit early.

Margherita with buffalo mozzarella.
What can I say?

Johnny entranced by what was going on at the next table.
The waiter was flirting with two cuties.

  All the hard work was worth it.

  Travel gets harder as we get older, but I gotta say, if there is pizza like this at the end of a brutal 24 hour journey, we're in!

Happy Birthday, Baby.

Last Night In Rome

  

  Our last evening in Umbria, we had a few pals over for apertivi and the sunset, and it was great way to say 'ciao' to The Nut, until next time...

A wonderful last evening at The Nut.

  We are back in California now. I'm actually at my work desk writing this. Can't help but go back through the last day's photos in Rome. Who wants to work?

  Especially with jet-lag.

  Anyway...

  We flew out of Rome on Saturday, but took an early train down Friday to spend the day seeing art and eating. Rome was sunny and very warm...and spring has sprung, for sure.

  

  On the Rome Agenda:

  1) Walk around, enjoying the sights until we can check in to our room, and things open up.

  2) Buy shoes.

Snappy!

  3) See the William Turner exhibition.

A few of my favorites...

Close up detail.

More detail.

Simple beauty.

  

4) Eat some treats at Supplizzio.

Just a little snack....hehehe.

Eggplant 'polpette'.
Delightfully good.

These are suppli.

Deep fried rice balls.
This is with cheese and black pepper.

This is traditional with tomato sauce.
Oh. Dear. God.

 5) Walk off the treats and view some street art.

  6) Eat fried carciofi in the Jewish quarter at Da Giggetto

What? One lunch is just not enough, dude.
It's just a little artichoke....

...a crispy, crunchy, salty artichoke from heaven above.

  

7) Walk off the carciofi, seeing more sights, because there is still more eating to do.

We came across this odd Cercis (redbud tree), with flowers on the trunk.
Just found it interesting.

  8) Relax with a late afternoon glass of wine.

  9) Take a nap back at the room.

  10) Go back out late to have pizza at Remo.

It was packed!

I wait all year for this pizza.
We actually stayed in Rome for the night, just to eat here.
I. Kid. You. Not.

Yes, I ate the whole thing.
Sigh.

   10) Whine about how full we are, then be really sad to leave, then be really happy we even get to do all this, then say 'arrivederci' to Italy, until next time.


  Now, back to work, Girl!

A Day Or Two

  

  Yesterday, we were like a couple of kids on Christmas morning...we woke up to a sunny morning!  Cold, yes, but actual sun and the chance to take a morning walk. Perfection.

  Since it was Sunday, we had to get some good bread from the nearby bakery (only open on Wednesday and Sunday), so we decided to get up and out early and walk for our bread.

  I thought this sight along the way was good enough for a photo...

The local spot to buy wood.
Literally busting at the seams...or so it seemed.

That's a whole lotta wood.

 

Further along, a nice view of the countryside...

Typical early March in our part of Umbria.
Beautiful.

  Afterwards, we decided to take a drive to Chiusi, a nearby town,  just to walk around the historic center.

   We'd never visited the public park, so this was also a nice treat.

Johnny finally found the perfect table set he wants
for playing dominoes. Now how to get it back to California?

Pretty cool artifacts throughout the park.

  We enjoyed a stop for wine, then headed over to Lago di Chiusi to see how it was looking with all the recent rains.  Beautiful, me thinks...

So nice to see the hills turning green.

Still winter, but so beautiful anyway.

  

Johnny wanted to stop and do some drawing, so we pulled over. I ended up dozing off as I tried to read. I think we are still catching up from jet lag.

I got the shot, then mozied back to the car for some shut eye.

  

  

There is an amazing and very large scale nursery in this area. They specialize in full grown container plants. I mean HUGE specimens, ready to be trucked/flown anywhere in the world, it seems.

  I've always wondered who buys these lovely trees and shrubs, all ready to turn an empty space into a full grown landscape overnight...

The larger plants are easily fifteen to twenty feet tall.

  Well, last year we made friends with a local gardener and his lovely wife. He is taking care of the garden of a very famous pop star who recently moved into the area. Our new gardener friend told me that the fellow wanted privacy from the fans who found out where his new home is, so could there possibly be a way to make a screen of shrubs? Big shrubs, mind you...

  I guess when money is no object, and you are tired of being spied on and having people trying to snap pictures of you and your pals in the pool...this is where you shop for plants.

  Nice! My question was answered. 

  Today, we are back to a grey, rainy day. Not too bad, though. It's warmer and there is no wind, so we  went to the Monday market first thing this morning for veggies and such, came home to make lunch and sit in front of the fire. Mr. J is asleep next to me while  I write this. I think the tasty lunch and a couple of glasses of wine are to blame.

  And the fire...the magic of the fire.

Some of that wonderful bread we bought yesterday goes on the grill.
We just can't get enough of this simple pleasure.

Salad fixings, fresh ricotta and little tomatoes from today's market.

I tossed the tomatoes in a hot pan with olive oil, garlic, spring onions and thyme.
It was warmed just enough to 'pop' the tomatoes a bit.

Yeah, life is good in front of the fire.
Now it's nap time for me, too.