FW: [Idyllchat] small umbrian towns

Thu Mar 20 21:47:12 EDT 2008

We  were in Tuscany South in September 2001 and  took a side  trip to 
Assisi,stayed overnight at the Fontabella for one night. We had dinner  at La 
Fortezza and when we were in Assisi again last April we had dinner there  again and 
it was as good as in 2001.  The new discovery in Assisi for us  was a place 
called Medio Evo on Via Arco (Orco?).  I am still trying to  find anything close 
to the lunch I had there.  A carbonara with wild  asparagus.  It was dreamy!  
Also, in 2001 we did a quick cruise  through Deruta, managed to spend a lot of 
money on ceramics, sent them home and  they arrived in perfect condition.  We 
had lunch at a restaurant in an area  surrounded by ceramic shops.  Lunch was 
terrific,  great service  and the other diners were so much fun.  As I recall 
a group of 3 American  women, two couples for Belgium and a doctor from Rome 
with his girlfriend.   Everyone spoke English except for the girlfriend and he 
translated for  her.  We had a very lively conversation with everyone and 
lots of laughs.We  asked a shopkeeper where the best place for lunch was in the 
area and they sent  us there. I can't find the name of it in my notes.  We are 
going to Tuscany  again this year in June/July and we can't wait.

Pat McGill
La Jolla

In a message dated 3/20/2008 10:40:16 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
judyzank at ptd.net writes:

Here are a couple of  suggestions including food, if you are looking for some 
 ….. 
This past September  we spent one week in Umbria living in a beautiful 
Etruscan walled  village called Bettona.  Umbria was everything that we had hoped it 
 would be.   The church bells ringing, the neighborhood chitchat in  the 
alley outside of our window, sitting at the bar in the piazza in the town  square, 
sipping a cappuccino or a glass of wine and watching the colorful  characters 
of this village, shopping in the market, watching the sunset each  evening, 
and waiting for the lights to go on in Perugia and Assisi just across  the 
valley from our panoramic view just steps from our door gave us a real  sense of 
the local experience.  It was so much fun living in a hilltown!  For a great 
meal, we heartily recommend Osteria Oio in Bettona.  It  was very popular with 
the locals, too.    
We enjoyed our trip  to Gubbio, especially riding the funicular to the top of 
the mountain and  having a café in the restaurant on the top with a 
magnificent view.   In Derugia, we found a fantastic ceramic bowl from one of the  “
Masters”.  It was so hard to chose only one.  There are so many  artists and all 
are so different and so amazing.  You can actually meet  and talk to the 
artists.  My piece is done by Miriam and it is  exquisite.  We didn’t eat there so 
no suggestions as far as food, only  pottery if you are a fan, like me.  In 
Torciano we sampled and purchased  some Langarotti vino, which is very popular 
in this region.  Norcia was a  lovely scenic drive and the pork on a hard roll 
sandwiches that are sold from  the lunch wagons on the side of the road were 
to die for! (they are safe to  eat) And truffles, salame, truffles, pecorino, 
truffles…there was great food  here!     
For something a  little different, one Sunday we took a ride to Lake 
Trasimeno to the very  picturesque village of Castiglione del  Lago.  There is a 
fortress and a castle that  you can explore as well as a tourist office within a 
palace that contains some  great frescoes.  There were several historical 
battles that took place at  this spot.   There is also a ferry that you can take to 
Isola  Maggiore, an island in the middle of the lake.  We enjoyed a lovely 
lunch  at Ristorante La Cantina Aurora which has a fantastic view overlooking the 
 lake.  The food was excellent!  If you want a table with a view, I  would 
suggest that you reserve it on your way to the castle.  The  restaurant fills up 
very quickly once the siesta starts.    
Have fun.  It’s  a beautiful place and you will love the people. 
Judy in NJ   

____________________________________

From:  idyllchat-bounces at lists.untours.com  
[mailto:idyllchat-bounces at lists.untours.com] On Behalf Of Russell Crum
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 10:27  AM
To: ronald  moline
Cc:  frdangelo at charter.net; idyllchat at lists.untours.com
Subject: Re: [Idyllchat] small umbrian  towns
I completely agree about Norcia and the Piano Grande!!  The scenery is 
spectacular and it is do different from the rest of Unbria. One  caution, however, 
would be if one is not comfortable driving narrow switchback  roads, it can be 
a bit harrowing. There were four of us. I drove and felt very  comfortable but 
a couple of the four were a bit nervous during part of the  climb up. 

Russ

On Mar 18, 2008, at 9:56 , ronald moline  wrote:

Hi Frank,

I think Russ has  given you excellent advice. I would definitely add Gubbio 
to his proposed list  of towns, but as for the smaller villages, as he says, 
they are all stunningly  picturesque, and not crowded. If you are staying in La 
Bruna, there is a  lovely town on the hill above it (a nice walk up from Casa 
Rossa, if that is your home)––an  ancient town with some prosperous 
inhabitants as well, judging by their  villas, named Castel di Ritaldi. I am sure it is 
home to many Spoleto  professionals and business people. Half-way up the road 
is a restaurant,  La Panorama, with terrific  pizza, that became our favorite 
spot for a light evening meal.

I also  encourage you to go to Nòrcia, an attractive destination in itself, 
but one  that requires you to drive through spectacular mountain country to get 
there.  Proceeding beyond Nòrcia, you emerge from the mountain driving onto 
an almost  surreal, incredible plain, Piano  Grande, which makes you think you 
are in Montana. Driving  through it, you can see for miles, and at one end, “a 
shining city on a  hill”--the ancient town of Castellucio.

We loved Spoleto, also a  very ancient city, and, again, if you are staying 
in or near La Bruna, it is  an easy drive (or bus ride). We always found 
parking on the outskirts, and  walked into the center of town.

I encourage you to read the trip logs,  for lots more pointers.

Buon  Viaggio!

Ron 

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