Ascoli Piceno

Posted on September 4, 2010 by John
Friday. Off to Ascoli Piceno, the nearest big town which is about an hour away. Me driving and the Tom Tom (aided by Bob) navigating. The drive is interesting to say the least. The roads are tarmac and wide enough for two cars (unlike many around here), but they wind their way up to little hill towns perched on peaks, then wind their way down to the valley on the other side then wind their way . . . you get the idea. Lots of gear changing and wheel twirling in our Renault Megane diesel and a few heart-stopping moments when white vans come hurtling towards you in the middle of the road. Italian drivers do not move over for anyone and they have some very interesting hand signals. One hand signal was used to me by the driver of an Ape (the tiny three-wheeled vehicles based on a scooter) when I apparently displeased him by getting in his way after going just a tiny bit the wrong way up a Senso Unico. It involved moving the back of the hand under the chin in a rather aggressive manner. Back to the journey, and the good bit is that the scenery was fantastic. The hills went from rounded and swooping to jagged and cliff-sided. When we reached peaks there were sweeping views of more peaks and in the distance rolling hills crowned by small towns. We ignored the Tom Tom at one point when it pointed up a tiny twisted road and followed the sign along the main road signposted to Ascoli instead. We found our way to the old centre and had a wander round some delightful piazzas. There were lots of interesting clothes shops but they were all putting up the shutters as it was 1pm and they close from 1pm to 4.30 for lunch! We have learned now (a little late in our holiday) that everything closes at 1pm. Some interesting old buildings and a lovely church with frescoes and a crypt. We had some lunch sitting outside an art deco café (Caffe Meletti) in the Piazza del Popolo (which has ‘graceful columned porticoes’). The atmosphere was slightly disturbed by what appeared to be the local eccentric – a woman who harangued everyone loudly. The tourist leaflet said the Caffe Meletti was the setting for several films including Alfredo Alfredo (1971). Hmm! Later, Jan bought and we tried the local gastronomic speciality – olives stuffed with meat then deep fried. The drive home took a slightly different route with even steeper roads and more spectacular scenery. The countryside is amazing. Dinner at home with Jan-made pasta. 
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Photos

Posted on September 3, 2010 by John
Yes, it does rain sometimes in Umbria.

Just some catch up photos from Tuscany – near Assisi and in Perugia.

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The sea

Posted on September 3, 2010 by John
Thursday. Breakfast on the terrace, then set off for the half-hour trip to Porto San Georgio, a holiday town on the Adriatic. The town was interesting, lots of low-rise hotels and apartments along the beachfront and lots of sunbeds and umbrellas to rent. We had a look around the local market and stopped for coffee then wandered back home. Later, Jan and I set off for nearby Montettone for a ride. We found t to be a sleepy hill town with almost everything shut for (long) lunch except the bar/café on the town square. That was nice so we stopped for a couple of beers and a shared panino and listened to the locals chatting to each other and to passers by. We had a wander around the town, not much to see but some interesting steep streets with views of the hills through them. Then back home for a swim. No snakes but some interesting centipedes dead on the bottom of the pool. Three nice cats belong here, two friendly and one shy and all three a bit wary of being picked up. 
Tony took us to a local restaurant for a meal in the evening. We had a lovely meal over in the next valley (about 15 minutes on gravel roads!) at the pizzeria and spaghetteria Mama Rosa. Big outside courtyard with a huge log fire burning in a central pit. Food about three euros a starter and four to six euros for a pizza or pasta. Decent house wine was three euros a litre. Great atmosphere with lots of locals eating there. 
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Le Marche

Posted on September 1, 2010 by John


Wednesday.  The sun is so bright that it is a bit hard to read the screen as I type this on my little laptop beside the pool. It is 6.30 pm and the sun is just a hand’s breadth above the horizon to the west but still strong. Yesterday we drove west from Umbria and climbed into the Sibilini mountains, the mountains that had formed a spectacular backdrop to our terrace view for the past few days. Up close they were still beautiful. One big one with a bald top was a very old volcano, our host, Michael, had told us.On our last morning at Genius Loci, Michael took us for a tour of his tiny winery – a hobby rather than a business. We climbed down a little spiral stair into the tasting area and he showed us the little table for four set into a giant wine barrel that he had installed. His family had been making wine there for generations the old fashioned way, with a hand press and just a few small tanks and a few French oak casks. We bought a bottle of white and a bottle of red (Montefalco Sangiovese) to take with us.

So, over the mountains and into Le Marche and the tiny town of Belmonte Piceno. (the Piceno refers to the Piscine tribe that lived in this region.) 
Tony Burke, former brother-in-law of Julie came to meet us and show us the way down a tiny gravel road to their farmhouse and the Casetta where we where staying. Lovely spot, amazing landscape. Not Tuscan though – here the hills are more rounded and less steep and there is more variety in the crops and not so many vineyards. As I look around there is not one flat area in view – everything slopes and waves in scallops and swells and dips. The Sibilini are in the distance with contrasting sharp, jagged forms against the skyline. (Bob has just brought a beer and I cracked a couple of the hazel nuts we gathered from the trees in the garden.)
We were made very welcome here with an evening meal with Tony and Madelaine and Tony’s son Tristan who lives in Sydney – we met him there. Tony served up some fab wines and Madelaine some fab food. The garden here is full of herbs and veggies and some lovely tomatoes.
Lazy day today. We went in search of hats (local specialty) but the places were all shut. So we stocked up at the local supermarket to feed ourselves. Supermarket had fabulous meat, huge steaks and other stuff. A man was expertly cutting wafer-thin slices from chunks of prosciutto – there seemed to be a choice of about 50 different sorts. Bob found a machine that gave you a degustation sample of several wines and Jack Daniels –  he tasted the Jack Daniels. Later, by the pool, Bob saw a snake. He said it was a King Cobra, but this seems slightly unlikely. It might have been something to do with the Jack Daniels. Must go now, I have to light the barbecue and cook dinner.
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Assisi

Posted on August 31, 2010 by John
Monday. Assisi was a 20 minute drive from the Genius Loci and our host here told us about the best car park near the top of the town. Assisi is a fabulous place with tiny cobbled streets and houses that lean over the paths. We wandered around the Duomo then dodged a rainstorm by having a beer in a cafe. We set off for the Basilica which has the tomb of St Francis beneath. Fantastic paintings and frescos. Very  pleasant snack lunch before tackling the Basilica. The souvenir shops are full of little statues of St Francis – as well as crossbows, slingshots and air pistols! There are lots of monks and nuns in town, as you might expect. We did the smart thing and caught a taxi all the way back to the car park at the top of the town. We were a bit worn out on our return home, so we got takeaway pizza and salad and dined in – and sampled the wine made from the grapes growing in the vineyards that stretch down the slopes outside our windows. Yum.
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