Che bello essere di nuovo in Umbria!…How wonderful to be in Umbria again!!
Aahhhh! It was incredible to be back “home” again and to see friends and our Italian” family”, to go to new places we had not seen before and to return to some of our favorites spots too. I cannot believe how quickly time goes – a whole month – seemed to fly by and yet we did return to Seattle once again….for now.
We had hot and sunny weather with highs in the mid 80’s for about three weeks, and realized we had not taken enough summer clothes with us for such warm and lovely days and evenings. We spent one whole day doing nothing but drinking prosecco under a beach umbrella, on vivid blue loungers and swam in the sea when it got too warm. Yes, that is a great way to live! We went to wine tastings being held on the beach or in town and got great wine glasses, which we brought home with us.
John, our dear friend, Richard, who traveled with us for two and a half weeks, and I enjoyed each town, village, and experience with great fun and adventure. We laughed a lot, drank great wines, talked to so many people, and just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. John and I then traveled to new places we had wanted to see but had not gotten to when we lived in Italy, and enjoyed the surprises we encountered and loved seeing new art, history, and scenery.
We ate so much good food this time …seafood…clams, prawns, mussels and lots of fresh fish….and freshly made pastas with lamb, cinghiale (wild boar), porcini mushrooms….risotto with all kinds of delectable delights…and some of the best food we have ever eaten there before. We celebrated our friend, Susan’s, birthday with a 6 course luncheon, with three desserts, and as much wine as one could drink over a three and a half hour timeframe! We ate at roadside restaurants with some of the best food I have ever eaten and in some small villages that you would never know there was even a restaurant. AND we lost weight with all of the walking we did…they don’t call them hilltowns for nothing!
We arrived in Umbria in time for many feste medievali ( medieval festivals) and it was also nearing olive picking time so there were many feste to celebrate the new olive oil that would be made. We tasted many new wines that were either last years or two year old wines as the vendemmia ( wine harvest) had just ended and there are many celebrations to welcome in the wines that had been aging for the past couple of years. So many tasty reds and whites to try along with some wonderful wines from Emilia Romagna that were frizzante but dry and fruity. And grappa and limoncello and vin santo and….well, you get it!
We saw the incredible Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna and walked this beautiful city for two days. We went to Faenza, a town known for its ceramiche totally different from anything from Deruta or Gubbio or Orvieto, and bought a commemorative plate for our wall to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We said our new vows to each other in a beautiful church, Madonna della Stella (The Madonna of the Star), near Montefalco as we had dreamed of doing since we had been in that church so many times when we lived there.
Seeing all of the dear and loving people we had to leave when we moved back to Seattle was the best part of it all. We wondered if they would remember us, would they be happy we were back for a visit, and would I be as sad as I was when we left to come back having to leave them again – more about that later??? All those questions whirled around in my head but once we were there and saw everyone….it was as if we had never left … in fact in some instances, people we didn’t even know came up to us and said how happy they were to see us back in Montefalco again! AND I actually had an hour and a half left on my computer card from the Internet spot I always used in Foligno. Nicoletta, the new owner, had been working there when we left and now she owns it…she was so excited to see us, she cried! Baffo, our cute and loving dog also remembered us and leapt into John’s arms when we he got out of the car! Baffo is doing well and looks great!
We rented an apartment for about two weeks in Spello this time and it was a beautiful apartment, complete with one the best views ever of the entire Val’Umbra! We had a garden, a huge bathroom, kitchen, living room and plenty of room for just hanging out. We would definitely rent from Gina again, especially since we now know people in that hilltown and where to eat, shop, and when market day is.
We are both so happy we were able to return so quickly and now look forward to where we will stay the next time, how we will spend our time and how much time we really can spend with each family while we are there. We will make sure to take time for ourselves too. So, coming back again was actually somewhat happier in many ways because now that we know that ” you can go back again” and love it as much as you did before, in fact, for me, I love it even more. Our life in Umbria remains something we will do again and until that time comes for us to move there to live for a much longer period of time, we will love being part of it in our hearts and memories always.
Add comment November 17th, 2009
