Poggio alla Croce

Not much more than a crosssroads (on a steep cliff, however), Poggio alla Croce, our homebase for the month of April, sits atop a ridge overlooking two valleys. Looking east we can see Fegline Valdarno and Arezzo and to our west, 20 kilometers away, is Florence.  At night Florence looks like a  huge diamond glistening in the distance.

Virgin's Bower (?)

With only a church, a restaurant (our landlord Danilo's), and a tabaccheria (tobacco/convenience store), we have to make the 15 minute, 8 kilometer (5 mile) trip down the steep and winding country road to Fegline for groceries and other necessities. Fortunately, Fegline has a brand new, modern grocery store (the Coop) that sells everything you might need. Italy is getting easier and easier for travelers; for example, all of the aisles in the Coop have English as well as Italian information. Really helpful when you are trying to find baking powder, etc.

Primrose

What Poggio does have is serenity and scenery.  The view west from our back terrace is spectacular and the sunsets have been great.  Now that spring finally seems to be sure about starting, the sun has come out, the sky is crystalline blue, and the wild flowers are bursting out all over.  One of our favorite walks simply involves stepping out of the apartment, turning left on the main street (one of two in the town), and walking for about ten minutes until we are out in the country. Violets, wild helleboros (Lenten roses), primroses, grape hyacinths, and other flowers which we cannot identify are growing in profusion along the roadside and in the adjoining woods and fields.

This week we decided to take a couple of days just to relax and rest here at the apartment in Poggio.  Sue, the introvert, always needs time to rest and recharge, but Larry also seems to have come down with a wicked head cold--the man who supposedly doesn't get sick seems to be having a series of bothersome minor illnesses since the trip has started.

Wild Helleboros (or Lenten Rose)

By Thursday we were recharged and ready to explore some more and decided to drive to Arezzo, about an hour away.  We arrived around lunch time and sought out one of the town's many "gastronomias." Unlike a normal restaurant, you select from what the chef has prepared that day which is on display in a cafeteria like area and then walk into the dining room, in this case upstairs, to your table where you order your water and wine. The pasta--a ravioli with pesto sauce was delicious, but the veal cutlet was not up to the standard that we have come to expect.  Still with the nice white house table wine and the conversation we had with the locals sitting next to us, we had a delightful lunch.  One of our lunch companions was in charge of "historic sites" in Arezzo and she was kind enough to give us suggestions for touring, since we knew nothing about Arezzo. We spent most of our time in San Francesco, a 13th century church noted for its fresco cycle chronicling the "True Story of the Holy Cross." Recently restored, it was certainly worth our trip to Arezzo. (No pictures allowed, as is the case with many fresco works, so we can't show you--you'll just have to visit Arezzo and see for yourself !)

After another restful day on Friday, Saturday morning we drove to Orvieto to meet up with our niece, Susie, and her friend, Shannon who are in Italy with the Choir of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The choir was invited to sing for the Pope at the Vatican and other sites around Rome, but Saturday was a free day for them and they were happy to meet us outside of Rome. Our timing was perfect as we arrived at the station just as their train pulled in (well, we did spend 15 minutes being lost and looking for the station.)

Susie with Sue & Larry

 Deciding to try to see Assissi, we headed out again only to get turned around and took the A1 tollroad in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, the next available exit was some 30 kilometers out of our way, but once we were off the toll road, we decided to take a back road that looked promising on the map. An hour later, after a ride through lovely countryside with farms and fields of bright yellow mustard, and alongside an incredibly beautiful lake, we found ourselves near Todi.  What a wonderfully serendipitous find.

Susie & Shannon in front of Todi's Duomo

Todi, like so many old cities in Tuscany and Umbria, sits high on a hilltop, with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Parking below the city, we took the free funicular/elevator ride up to the town itself. We have seen some beautiful views from Volterra, Pienza, Brollio, and other sites, but the views from Todi are amongst the best we have seen, and Susie and Shannon were as impressed as we were. 

An iPhone photo just cannot do justice to Todi's spectacular scenery

As seems the case in so many of our touring visits, we arrived at our destination just in time for lunch. We found our way to the busy main square, made a quick stop at the local tourist office to pick up a map and get some recommendations for important sites to visit.  We have discovered, however, that the tour offices cannot and will not make any restaurant recommendations--it figures that they cannot really single out any one of say fifty restaurants in town.  After looking and rejecting a few in and around the square, Sue decided to approach and ask a local man.  He gladly recommended Ristorante Jacopone "da Peppino" which was only a couple blocks walk away. 

A wooden panel on Duomo's Front Door (17th C)

We had yet again another fantastic meal featuring a great antipasto and what might be the best veal scallopine we have ever eaten.  What was perhaps the nicest part of the meal was the waiter.   An avuncular and friendly middle aged man, he was welcoming and patient and gladly accommodated our request to share the primi and secondi plates.  Topped off by a great cup of espresso, our nearly two hour meal was tasty and relaxing and gave us a great opportunity to visit with Susie and to get to know Shannon a little better. A visit to the Duomo and a little shopping followed before we drove back to Orvieto for more shopping, interspersed with great people watching during the evening passeggiata.  We were sad to say goodbye to Susie and Shannon and see them off on their train back to Rome, but it was a great visit nevertheless.