Sapori d'Italia

(Taste of Italy)

But before I go to that....

Thursday was Festa Della Donna (The Day of the Woman). Men gave all women sprigs of Acacia blossom known as Mimosa in Italy.


This day women are to go off to dinner with other women without having to worry about the welfare of the men folk. (Hmmm...sounds like my everyday routine)

I went on a tasting tour of Tuscany and Umbria and the Chianti area. We saw various parts of the beautiful regions, sampled treats from the area (olives, cheeses, salami/ham, olive oils, wines etc. ) and then had lunch at a nice country restaurant, Podere Bello near Lake Trasimeno. (pic 3) The views were amazing...typical of Tuscany and Umbria...just like in the pictures and movies.


The couple closest to the camera in pic 2 at lunch were from Arkansas. The people from England thought his voice sounded just like Bill Clinton. She made me hungry talking about her typical breakfasts of biscuits, gravy, fried bacon etc. She said the Italians eat very healthy compared to her deep frying everything.





The young Welsh guys became a little rowdy after a day of wine tasting (pic 4).

Pic 5 shows some of the wine barrels at the Contucci winery in Montepuliciano. Their Vino Nobile wine is famous around the world.


Pic 6 shows how they hand seal the wine bottles. He was working on bottles of Santo...dessert wines.

The group is learning about wine making in pic 7.

Picture 8 is of the 13th Century Palazzo Comunale in the city of Cortona. At the top of the stairs is a group of young school children on a field trip eating their afternoon sandwiches. We were laughing at the high pitched squeals as the little girls were running away from the birds trying to get a crumb or two.



Our guide was sitting at the bottom of the stairs taking a break and reading an art book. I'm sure he was trying to get away from the rowdy bunch of Welsh guys.


Picture 9 is a cute resident of Cortona...I couldn't resist...I think he was looking for a few sandwich crumbs too!


Picture 10 is a picture of Cortona as we were approaching the city.

Picture 11 was an old amphitheater type structure I found in a park when I broke away from the group for a little walk.

Picture 12 is a beautiful view looking out from the city of Cortona.

Picture 13 is the Medici family well.




Picture 14 is of a tribute with an anchor I found in a corner of the city. It says CORTONA AI SUOI MARINAI CADUTI. If my Italian is correct that translates as Cortona...to your fallen sailors.

Overall the trip was nice .....BUT...I think I would have rather been at the Chocolate Festival happening in Torino (North Italy)!

I also visited the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta and Cathedral of Santa Maria.