Blogging In Italy

While wandering through a few of the stores in Castiglione d. Lago, the town above Lake Trasimeno, I, well my purse anyway, knocked over a bottle of homemade olive oil. It shattered, and most of the oil splattered on my right foot and shoe. Fortunately, all of the glass stayed on the floor. Anyway, the leather on the shoes was originally two toned…light and dark brown leather. Now the top of the right one, on left of picture, is mostly dark brown. I take this spill as a sign of good luck and figure I’ll just rub olive oil on the other shoe, just like Len used to do to his baseball mitt as a kid. (His grandmother wasn’t so pleased as olive oil was a luxury then.) And actually, the oiled shoe looks better! So, lessons learned:

• buy a smaller Italian leather purse, which I did today…(great excuse!)
• buy Clarke shoes, especially two-toned, because they are so comfortable and can accommodate color modifications
• buy new Italian leather shoes  (another great excuse, but who needs an excuse!)
• be grateful…it’s better to knock over olive oil than red wine!

Ciao,

Judy

I have mentioned this enoteca before, but it is certainly worthy of its own page. Roberto and Lucia are the owners and are here daily to serve and satisfy. The name, loosely translated, means drunken cheese. Apparently, their invitation is to enjoy cheese, drink some vino or birra, and thus feel good… and that’s exactly what happens at this lovely place on Piaza Signorelli.

Caccio Brillo is the first place Len and I lunched at in Cortona. We shared a plate of mixed cheeses and salumis, all locally produced and freshly cut. The main cheeses we eat are a variety of Pecorino, while the salumis (salami and sausages) are boar…all very delicious, even though I am not a big salami eater. To wash it down, we often drink a delicious and very reasonably priced glass of brunello,  but there are many wines and beers to satisfy any palate.

There is a small lovely room inside, but the best part is sitting outside observing all the people and events happening in the piazza, and meeting people. This is definitely a local gathering place, which we love. Meet Oreste, pictured below, who is often here with his buddies. He has never been outside of Italy, never been on a plane, and only been to Firenze because his in-laws live there. It is also from here that we observe the local children play soccer some evenings.

We have also met some lovely American and UK travelers, and today met the Hilder family from the UK. Even though they had their own tour guide, we had fun sharing some of our experiences and knowledge about Cortona with them. After all, we have lived here now for 11 days!  Many people from the UK tell us they visit Italy to get away from the rain. Although Mrs. Hilder was a tad worried they had brought it with them, the threat today cleared. Happy travels to the Hilder family!

Ciao,

Judy