Side Trip: Bologna

  This is year four for us here, in Umbria, staying extended lengths of time. 

  Every year we try to do an overnight side trip somewhere not too far, but far enough. 

  Every year Bologna is on the list. 

  Why Bologna? Well, firstly, it is the home town of Italian Artist Superstar, Giorgio Morandi. He is best known for his simply gorgeous still life paintings in muted tones. 

  We are both big fans, but Johnny was especially excited to have the opportunity to see the house and studio of Morandi. An important pilgrimage, to be sure.

  Me? Well, as much as I wanted to see these fantastic works of art, I also was more than aware of Bologna's claim as a major Italian food city. Land of fresh pasta! What's not to love? 

  We finally went for it, a week or so ago…I booked a room, we checked the train schedule, and high-tailed it north. It rained most of the 2-3 hour train ride, which was fine. Gave us both time to read/nap. We arrived later in the day, checked in, and went out in the rain to check the city out.

  I loved walking through town, snapping shots of amazing displays of goodness….

The fresh tortellini are famous here.

  I was tempted by each and every window….but I must say, as much as I love a good, aged cheese….this one just didn't do it for me.  I'm absolutely certain this cheese is a "foodie" wet dream, but come. Too much of a good thing, perhaps?

There she sits, third shelf down…..in the middle.
Expensive and rare, from what the sign indicates.

Ummm……I don't think so. Not for me, anyhow.

  Stinky cheese aside, we ventured along to see more sights in the evening light, and find a place for dinner. 

  

"Due Torre", the famous two towers of Bologna...

  Our friends, Roy & Diana had been to Bologna recently, and Roy told us about a little restaurant that was just the right place for us. 

  Small, friendly, and a little away from the fray, Incrocio Montegrappa is a local favorite, it seems. As we were somewhat early, we were able to enjoy everyone coming in, watching them greeted with hugs and kisses, lots of laughter and good vibes all around. It quickly filled up.

  I also noted a few tables of single men or women, dining solo, and just relaxing and enjoying. I love to see this in any restaurant…solo diners getting all the best service from the very attentive waiter.

  The main waiter was magical…able to give the best service to each and every person in the place, playing host as well. When it began to get real busy, he did have a couple of helpers.

  He also helped us in choosing dishes that could easily be made vegetarian, though there were some nice choices either way.

  We started with two salads...

Pear and pecorino.

Raw artichoke and parmesan…a favorite of mine.

  There were some tough choices for the pasta course, our main course….I was quite intrigued by the pasta made with Spanish paprika in the dough. It was served in a suase that had cherry tomatoes and fava beans. I asked them to hold the speck, a cured meat. Still great without the speck. Spicy and sweet, and nutty, too.

  Johnny had a super simple, but very rich tagliatelle, served in a creamy, buttery saffron sauce, with shards of aged parmesan….

  

  Both the pasta dishes were so different from what we've had in Umbria…naturally. Bologna is in Emilia-Romagna, an entirely different region of Italy. So close, but so far when it comes to cuisine! Each region has it's own special dishes, and theirs are THE BEST. Always. 

  I admire this hold on tradition.

  Oh, at the end of our meal, we were presented with an open bottle of chestnut cream liquor, and two tiny glasses…also, a small plate of crispy, buttery cookies…..

  Heaven!

  Home to bed, and up early to see the current exhibition in town of Vermeer's "Girl With The Pearl Earring", as well as many other classic paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and others. Glad we did this early, as we beat the crowds that showed just as we were leaving.

No photos allowed inside, so…..

  Then on to Mambo, the local museum that now houses the Morandi collection. The original location was damaged in the recent earthquake, so it is here for now. A fantastic retrospective show…including old photos, works he did as child, and all the best of his landscapes and still life paintings. 

  There was also a companion show by contemporary Art Star, and Turner Prize recipient, Rachel Whiteread. She sites Morandi as one of her biggest influences, and I can see why…the simple forms, subtle colors and vision of the works are very simpatico…... to me, anyway.

  The connection became even more obvious when we later visited Morandi's studio.

  Again, no photos allowed in these museums, but you can do your own sleuthing to see the like-mindedness of these artists.

Ok, I did sneak a shot of Johnny sketching Morandi's personal objects, in the
media/lecture room at Casa Morandi.

  We walked around Bologna for the rest of the day, stopping here and there to sketch, soak in the now sunny day, and have a sip of wine.

Beautiful porticoes that Bologna is famous for..

Street scene.

Cool old sign for a book/paper/card shop.

The colors knocked me out...

Near the university….

Peeking through the gate of a local villa…..

 Getting a bit hungry, we stumbled on a vegetarian friendly place I had read about online…

 Clorofilla. No website, but good reviews. 

Those of you who understand, will get it. We were so happy to see tofu, tempeh AND seitan on the menu! Wow!

  We had to have a meal here, certo!!

I had the seitan "steak", with fresh raw veg on the side.
Just having something different in texture and flavor profile! YUM!

Johnny had the special "light" plate..
Farro salad, chunks of tempeh in a curry sauce, and veggies.
Also great.

  We were very satisfied on all levels, having finally made it to Bologna. I loved the food, Johnny was righteously inspired by the art, and it was even a fun train ride. 

  Will we return? Who knows? For now, we are just happy to have finally made it to this important Italian city.

Satisfied.

And happy.

Il Tempo & Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo…Again!

  We always look forward to coming back to our favorite places here to enjoy a nice lunch or dinner…as well as discovering new places along our drives about the area.

IL TEMPO

  One of our favorite stops for lunch, Il Tempo, was just as charming and yummy as before. Of course, it would be…the young owners here are dedicated, hard working and attentive. On a visit about two weeks ago, we had a very elegant and delicious lunch. 

  We were glad to see some recent changes, including an outdoor garden area for drinks, food, and in warmer weather, music. Nice!

  I had written about Il Tempo before, here, and talked about it being a "tavola calda". This has changed, and we are just fine with the new menu, which had several vegetarian things to choose from.

  

  The lovely Olimpia and her husband Romeo, are the quintessential hosts. It was great to see them both again, and catch up on things. Then, down to the serious business of eating!! As always, we had to have a plate of grilled vegetables….

The small onions are in a balsamic glaze…incredible.
We had a plate of just the onions, too...

  I ordered a "crespelle", which is a stuffed crepe. In this case, stuffed with cheese and truffles. Yeah, it was that good…. Rich, sure, but just rich enough.

Johnny opted for a porcini risotto, which was very good.
 Very porcini-forward. He loves his risotto!

  We were not planning on "dolce", but were treated to a beautiful tiramisu to join the espressos we did order. A nice end to a great lunch, and an even more special visit with Olimpia & Romeo. We look forward to seeing them again this trip, but for dinner, next time.

Tiramisu for two!
Thanks, Il Tempo!!

OSTERIA IL GALLO NEL POZZO

  Another of our favorites is very close to home, being just steps away in Panicale's piazza. 

  Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo, run by the Simone & Lorena Gallo, is a great little spot for lunch, dinner, or even a sweet treat, after we've had dinner at home. These two are very easy going, professional, and seem able to handle any questions we have. 

  Simone is the man in front, knowledgable to the extreme about Umbrian wines, with Lorena doing some amazing things in the kitchen. There is a third young man, who's name I sadly can't remember..Franco, I think? He is always helping in the kitchen. It's a perfect combination of talents!

  We started with a nice bottle of Umbrian white, and this wonderful "fondue" type dish….

We love this grape variety, Grechetto. Very much an Umbrian staple.

We loved this dish of
melted pecorino with homemade fig jam and pistachios..

  There are always a couple of really interesting vegetarian pastas on the menu, which changes with the seasons. I was intrigued by these tortelli, because I love a nice saffron cream sauce. This saffron is special to the nearby town, Citta della Pieve.

  I enjoyed this. Not too heavy on the saffron, which can sometimes be a problem. This was seasoned just right, with a nice creaminess.

My tortelli stuffed with parmesan, aged for 30 months..
served with baby artichokes in a saffron cream sauce.

  Johnny just had me pick something for him.
  I chose the "Quadri", a large ravioli, that sounded fantastic..stuffed with 'ricotta fresco di bufala' (ricotta cheese made from buffalo milk) and spinach, the three pasta pillows were served in an aged pecorino cheese cream sauce, heavy on the black pepper, and then sprinkled with toasted bread crumbs.

These are so good…I will go back for this dish.

So pretty on the inside, and check out that pepper! It was a spicy, crunchy delight.

  We always switch our dishes mid way, so it's nice to taste everything.

  For our vegetable side dishes, we had a pea and zucchini mash-up, with lots of fresh spring flavor….

….and fire roasted red onions, special to a nearby region in Umbria. Nice caramelization….I like!

  We had stopped in a week or so ago after a home made dinner, for desserts, so we knew we wanted something different. Lorena's cannoli never fail. We shared one, and went home very content, very happy, very ready for a good night's conk-out.

  Before leaving, though, we had the nicest chat with Simone and Lorena, just catching up on Panicale, business, vacations... all that sort of thing.

  Really, a perfect evening.

  Thanks, Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo!!

Was not the first, and certainly will not be the last!

For info on either of these favorites….


IL TEMPO

OSTERIA IL GALLO NEL POZZO

Shadow Me

Killing time.

Waiting for Johnny to finish painting.

Playing with my shadow.

Playing with the sun and clouds.

I kind of dig it.

GIROMAGI!

  I love a great nursery, and am always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary. This holds true here in Umbria, just as much as back home in California. 

  Most of the local nurseries here are small family run operations that have vegetable starts, flowers for outdoors and houseplants….terra cotta pots, soils and compost, fertilizers….just what you might expect.    They're great, and I love the small greenhouses these establishments are usually housed in. 

  These places remind me of the old days when I worked in a wonderful nursery back home. We propagated lots of our own stock, made our own soil mixes and composts, and did it very "old school".

  Last year, on our way north around Lago Trasimeno, we came across this fantastic place, Giromagi….I could tell right off the bat that we would love it. Something so cool about a sign done on a rusty metal background:

  

Why wouldn't you stop at this place???!?

  The buildings, made of lots of obviously recycled (or as the young'uns now say, "up-cycled") wood, metal, and old glass windows, were just calling out my name….janelle….janeeellle…..

Oooooohhhh….Me likey.

  They offer a nice mix of new pottery pieces, old architectural salvage stuff, and inside, vintage furniture…. Along with an outstanding selection of cactus and succulents.

  I was amazed at the large pots on display. Where we live, you could rent these out for living spaces. I kid you not…just put in some carpet and a door….

These are seriously HUGE.

This is a 6-7 foot ladder…which Johnny wants to take home. Me? I'll take the pot.

  Where we live, there is a very good succulent nursery…award winning and well known. I'm used to seeing these types of succulents on display, just not here. I was impressed…and glad to see many customers driving off with carloads of these little beauties…
  I have to say, though, like in our neck of the woods, these plants are expensive. The larger they get, the more pricey….but what a great introduction to any garden that has the right climate.

Yep. This is how we like it.

  So, as you get further into Giromagi, you come across the fun stuff….

Yeah, I'll take these for MY garden, and can ya throw in that
fabulous sink thing?

Nice displays of cool cactuses.

Spikey AND fuzzy.

Oh, did I mention the artwork? Love the concept…art, plants, furniture…
and great rusty metal walls. Sigh. Texture Heaven.

Just another shot of the fantastic display of cactuses...

More interesting varieties..these were pretty large specimens, and the price reflects it
I think it says 110 euros….

  Giromagi, from what we learned, is owned by a gentleman from Rome…a garden/home designer, if I remember correctly. This would seem fair, as there are lovely vignettes throughout the place. A wonderful combination of the plant material and the collection of vintage furniture pieces….
  Again, you can see that someone has a great eye for both texture and color here. I love how they have mixed the old pieces with the new glazed pottery pieces.

LOVE this blue door. I want it for a headboard in the bedroom at home.

Playful, as well as smart, design ideas..

  These little corners of "scenes" are so fun! I just fell in love with it all. Using the specimen cactus as part of the design just makes it more delightful...

These colors floor me!

Adding the paintings, which are all original acrylic on canvas, just elevates the whole design
concept going on here. 

  I like how each little area is color coordinated, with the plants, artwork and various furnishings. I haven't seen anything quite like this back home. Close, but not like this. 

  Someone has a serious vision at work here.

Again, the whole texture/color thing just sings…..

YUM.

  So, we were also told that the interior spaces, which are several rooms filled with the best vintage fun furnishings ever, are for the parties/rental space events they throw here. Yeah, I want some of this action. I would love to be at a big old party filling these spaces! 

  Can't you just see it?

  From what I could gather….this stuff isn't for sale, it's for the parties. Have you seen the film "La Grande Bellezza"? This is what I imagine going on in here. 

  And if you have not seen this film…well, do yourself a favor.

  Seriously, room after room of nothing but really cool places to sit and mingle…of course, here, in these photos, there is no party going on…but I have a damn good idea of how it could be. Especially after seeing the old school turntables and stacks of vinyl...

  Anyway…I'm going to figure out who I need to know to be invited to one of these parties. 

  It will make one hell of a blog post, no doubt.

  In the meantime, I'll just go back and enjoy it as is.

 If you are anywhere near Lago Trasimeno….check this place out!! 

 Giromagi