Umbrian Appetites Tour Day 1: I've died and gone to heaven again!

Agriturismos are definitely the way to go. We have found ourselves in another lovely one called Camiano Picolo in Umbria, just a short, but uphill stroll, from the medieval town of Montefalco. The accommodation is wonderful and the gardens are beautiful. We have apartment-style accommodation, with 2 rooms and a bathroom. There is even space in the bathroom, more than enough to turn around in and get dressed. You can even shower and wash your hair without bumping your elbows. Whilst I have a tendency to embellish the facts, if you have stayed in European hotels you will know what I mean. We have been enjoying the accommodation so much we haven't taken any photos of it yet. These will come later.

Eating outside for breakfast and dinner is perfect under big shady trees with a panoramic view. The temperature is above 30, so the large pool should be well used.

In true Italian Agriturismo style we were served an outstanding lunch on arrival. What a delicious antipasto plate:

I must make a special mention of the porcini mushroom, egg 'flan'. It was delicate and sublime. There was a lovely 'wild' rice with 'tasty bits' (apologies for the lack of detail). Unfortunately I am a day behind with this blog and have become absent minded already. It must be too much sun. This was followed by the most amazing lasagne I have ever tasted:

You might think it looks nothing like a lasagne and you might be right but it was very clever. It is likely  that it was individually constructed in a muffin tin with a large sheet of fresh lasagne lining the pan with overlapping sides. There were layers inside of the traditional meat sauce (not too much), ricotta cheese and small cut squares of lasagne. The overlapping layers were then gathered up decoratively, cheese sprinkled on top and baked until crispy. On the side was a stong, thick cheese sauce. I am hoping that we may make this in a forthcoming cooking class.

Of course there was more: fillets of pan fried pork with veg, then strawberry panacotta. Sorry, no pics. We will soon be back in the swing of taking lots of food photos. So far, we are the only folk taking photos of food!

After lunch we took a 'stroll' up to the historic town of Montefalco. For the history enthusiasts, there is much to see and learn. The town is beautiful and immaculate. 

I am hoping to find some free time to go back and investigate the lovely shops, such as linen and wood (this should get Tony back up the hill to go shopping I hope!)

There is a interesting museum and stunning church that you can wander through at your leisure; no queues, no one in uniform barking orders, no push and shove, no time limits ....

In the square at the top of the Montefalco village we enjoyed a wine tasting with compulsory cheese and cured meats. They are a fantastic combination.

Dinner was back at the accommodation. It was great to enjoy a wholesome vegetable soup, followed by veal scallopine and homemade chocolate ice cream. I am still missing chocolate so even though I wanted to skip dessert, it was therefore virtually impossible to do so.

We expected this tour to be much larger than the Calabrian Table Tour but are pleasantly surprised to find that there are only 6 others, 5 more Australains and a lovely lady from New Zealand. It is interesting that only 3 of us are actually doing the food tour Umbrian Appetites, whilst the other 5 are doing the Living in Umbria tour. This makes for a very flexible itinerary as there is overlap between the two tours and the option of swapping around. 

Chrissy and Barb, if you are still reading this, it is shaping up to be just as good as the last tour. Even the 'cave lady' is alive and well and has already become part of our shared vocabulary. Salute!