On Arrival....

  After spending a night in Rome and having the best pizza ever (see previous post), we hopped a train to the station near us in Umbria, picked up our rental car, and drove the twenty minutes to our beloved "Nut". Our home away from home...

  We were greeted by our two furry pals, Nemo and Tiger Lily. 

  They watched as Johnny brought our bag up. 

  These stairs do get easier. 

Silly kitties.

  Below: 

  The view we dream about when we are not actually sitting here on our terrace enjoying it. 

  It's perfect for coffee at sunrise, lunch in the afternoon, wine at aperitivo time, and especially late at night when there is lightening way across the valley, like last night. Bats, too.

  I love to watch the train crawl through at night, too...like a caterpillar all lit up.

  After unpacking and doing some freshening up, we went to visit a very wonderful pal who had planned a little 'do' in her garden to celebrate Johnny and Gudi's birthdays yesterday.

  Lots of proseco, wonderful food, amazing cake. Fun was had by all, and we stayed way past our bedtime.

  It was perfect.

Watching the sunset from one of our favorite spots.

  Still jet lagged, we woke up this morning at 4am. All good. 

  Got to watch the sun come up, and later took this early morning shot from the front door...

We are blown away by all the growth on the trees and bushes.
The olive trees are massive!

 We popped down to a seasonally open fruit and veg farm stand that we normally don't get to enjoy in early spring. Picked up these goodies, below:

Looking forward to using the garlic, especially.

  Lunch fixings include the local tomatoes from the farm stand, arugula, focaccia and a fabulous baked ricotta we brought up from Rome. Oh my god, it's so good. Worth carrying with ice on the train!

I think this will add up to a pretty good sandwich.

Lunch is ready!

Our usual 'lunch with a view' that we so look forward to.

  So what's next?
  Well, after that lunch, it was nap time.
  It's a couple of hours later, and I think we'll go check out the local nursery to see what plants are around this time of year.
  And later...first night of the Panicale Wine Festival. Hmmm.....?

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.

Waiting To Return

  It' been a tough few weeks...But there is a very large light at the end of the tunnel. Something to look forward to is what the doctor ordered.

Says me.

  After surgery almost a month ago, immediately followed by hellish shingles...which I'm still suffering from...I'm ready to move forward. Knowing that we hop on a plane soon is much needed RX. 

  I'm a little concerned about how I'll be feeling, but we are determined to make it work.

  Slowly healing, getting as much rest as I can, and excited by our upcoming show of Johnny's 2018 Spring paintings.

  Then it's off to Italy. Sigh.

  Still much to do, which is always the case. New to me--trying to get it done without stress and worry. Breathe, breathe, breathe...count to ten, repeat.

  Stress and worry are my enemies. My constant companions, yes, but it's time to re-program the system. Easier said than done, but I'm working on it.

  A favorite way to relax....go through photos from the previous trip and start writing!

  So, following Doctor's Orders.......here goes!

  This will be our first time heading back to Umbria for a long chunk of time in the fall. We have spend a couple of weeks a few times, usually in Venice for the Biennale. But this year, for no particular reason, we are just going for it. 

  One reason is that our trip in spring was so damn cold! We want...no, we need...to be there when it's warm, damn it.

  

On arrival, March 2018.
Front yard at The Nut.

By the time we left at the end of April,
things were looking up at The Nut.

  We are looking so forward to warm days and nice evenings...Not the brutal heat of summer (see posts from July 2017), but the gorgeousness of autumn.

  I can't wait for my daily stretches on the terrace at sunrise....

Watching the sunrise turn Lago Trasimeno pink is a joyful thing.

  The slow and simple day to day routine....

Tending flowers and herbs on the terrace...

Enjoying the view with coffee...

Heading home after a morning walk...

Relaxing at the lake.
Though I doubt I'll need my 'puffy coat'!

  Taking drives to small villages, or through the countryside is always relaxing. Just being able to see the local beauty is what I love. And it does slow down my heart rate, big time.

  The surrounding landscape will be so different than springtime, and I just can't wait to see the changes.

  The markets will have seasonal treats we don't get to enjoy in spring. This will be fun! 

  And our local piazza won't look like this, below...it will be full of travelers from all over.

We do love the piazza in late winter, early spring...
Not many folks around. September will be a big change.

  I'm looking forward to some serious meals, of course. Both at home, and at our favorite hidden spots.

Dinner at The Nut.

Favorite pastas at a truck stop.

Ravioli and risotto at a wonderful Trattoria...

One of our favorite hidden spots...
Picnic in the car where ever we decide.

Suppli in Rome.

It does not disappoint!

Perfect twice fried artichokes.
Yes.

  I guess my very favorite thing is watching Johnny unwind. 

Why not hop the train and head to Venice for a night?

  Did I mention the day to day?

  Catching up with our pals is always a treat. We can't wait to hear all the news and spend precious time with them...

  When we left in spring, I was a sad cookie....

At the train station...boo-hoo!

  But after a tough couple of months, we're going back, come hell or high water, baby!

  I visualize myself on the terrace at sunset, a glass of wine at hand and a bowl of chips in easy reach.

  All is well with the world....

  Hey, if you want to stay posted about the upcoming show-Keep checking the link below. The show opens Sept 1.
 
  Coming Soon!

Day Trip: Montefalco 2018

  Sitting here at work...on a Saturday in June...waiting for magic to happen...WAIT!

  My whole life is magic happening, dang it.

  Glad I got that one figured out.

  In truth, I am sitting here contemplating on whether or not to write this post I seem to be writing.  Good music mix going on in the gallery (my favorite 80's & 90's alt rock), not super busy, sun is almost shining. Life is a-ok, baby. 

  So, let's get it on with this post I'm contemplating.

  

  Whist in our beloved Umbria this past spring, we did much driving about, hither and dither and where not and what not. Most every trip out was a trip to somewhere that Johnny could paint. He knew he wanted to paint around the land just north of Montefalco, in that valley out there, so why not make a day out of it?

  We love that area, and one of our favorite places to have lunch is in Montefalco...the wonderful L'alchimistsa. Oh, yummy.

  Day trip!

  We started out pretty early, enjoying the beautiful drive, listening to...as always... Italian Top 40 radio, just a pinch too loud...as always...We sing along at the top of our lungs, even though we have no idea what we are singing. Does not matter. It's fun. Plus, these stations also include a big dose of Top 40 hits from the States, so we can keep up with all that. Why? Don't ask me...just adds to the general goofiness, I guess.

  We do like to belt it out, I gotta say. The car is the place we really let go.

  We found a road that veered off to the right, one we'd never been on, and took it for a good mile or so. We came to a place that we could pull the car over, and there were views to be painted.

  

  

  

The beginning of a painting.

  Johnny let me know that he'd be in this place for a while, so I took a look around, spotted a small hill town down the way, and figured it could make for a good walk.

  It did.

The wee village of Torre del Colle, just calling my name...

  I'll admit, I was hoping for a small local caffe, so I could stop in for a sip of proseco, but it was closed. I really enjoyed walking the few streets, and the views out the other side were incredible.

  Here are a few shots I took just strolling around...

  

A sweet little borgo...really nice.
I think I saw just one person out and about, though.

  The views out over the valley on the other side were super. I told Johnny that we need to take a nice ride out that way next time, just to see what we can find.

See that little road on the left? I want to be on that road some day.

  I walked down a different route to get back to the car and Johnny, and I was so glad I did, because I wandered across several terra cotta sculptures just out in the fields below.

The way back to my baby.

I can't find any info on these delightful works of art...

This one was really cool, too...

Love it.

This was my favorite.

  We both had had a chance to work up an appetite, so off we went to L'Alchimista for another fab lunch. Man, I'm glad we made a reservation...it was packed, inside and outside. We had asked to sit outside when I called, and the day was just right for it.

  We were early, so we enjoyed glass of wine while people watching in Montefalco's sweet piazza.

Nice to enjoy some sunshine.

That's L'Alchimista, in all her glory.
I love this building.

  I believe we have had lunch here every time we've visited Umbria, except last July. Too damn hot to even consider it. It really is, for us, a must do. The chef always has something interesting for vegetarians, the pasta is great and they have an enoteca, as well, so we can purchase wine to bring back to The Nut.

  Speaking of Nuts....here's a couple of happy ones.

  Geez, I'm trying to remember what we ordered. I used to always take notes (smart!), but have become a real flake lately!

  I know we shared two appetizers...

A selection of goat cheeses with roasted asparagus.

This was really interesting. It's an artichoke sformata(like a soufflé) with burrata
and tiny lentils that the area is famous for. The pink is a reduced sauce of tomato water.

Johnny opted for one of the daily specials.
Stongozzi, a traditional Umbria type of pasta, with fava beans and artichoke.
Springtime in Umbria!

  Ok, I have to just put this out there. I almost always order the same thing here. I'll get Johnny to order something adventurous that I want to 'try', but I always know what I want.

  The 'house special' lasagna. It changes, but it's always beyond good.

Yeah, it's all that.
Porcini, red cannara onions, and radicchio. So good, I crave it.
Note the crispy pecorino cheese on top. Yep.

  We were super excited that they had agretti on the menu. We like it so much, and we never see it here in our part of California. I'll buy it at the farmer's market there, and cook it at The Nut.

  I would equate it to seaweed in texture, but not flavor. It tastes green.

Usually it's blanched, then tossed with good olive oil, garlic and lemon.

Dessert? Why, yes, please.
Biscotti with a glass of 'passito', a dessert wine made from Sagrantino grapes.
Happy artist!

I went down Decadent Avenue.
It was a good trip.

That would be almond gelato with a warm chocolate sauce. Thin toffee bits for crunch.
I seem to remember this being pretty darn great.

  It's fun looking back on this day.

Heavenly landscape around Montefalco.

  I do believe it's time to start planning the next trip back, eh?