Day 2, from Assisi to Villa Poggiolo. Back out the way we finished yesterday, by Santa Maria degli Angeli, then on the way to Deruta for a tour of the
Grazia ceramiche fabbricia. Beautiful stuff, way too expensive and impractical, but nice to look at. Nice to see how they make it. A big lunch, then pressed on. Some big climbs in the afternoon.
The villa was lovely. Even better was dinner down the road at the home of some friends of the tour operators, a charming family in a beautiful old brick home. Magnificent Italian dinner: 5 kinds of cheeses ( a remarkable ricotta, bufalo mozzarella, two kinds of sheep manciano, parmeggiano, and the best gorgonzola I've ever encountered), walnuts and bruschetti for appetizers, primo piatto of pasta with pesto, secondo piatto rolled beef with insalata misto, then homemade cakes and gelato for dessert, each course with a different wine. Charming, charming family. Two sisters, about 50-ish, their mother, and the daughters of each sister, assisted by the young girls' boyfriends. A beautiful table set outside, then a storm drove us in, and without missing a beat a beautiful table set up in the kitchen. A wonderful evening.
This is a pretty amazing tour in terms of the compatibility of the group. No one lagging behind, no one champing at the bit to go faster. A good steady pace, apart from the long cappucino and lunch breaks, which are no so bad either. I am getting some Italian lessons from the guides, Marco and Beppi. Very cool.