Pbenjay's Blog

BUT TO GET THERE…

We left Pineto in the morning, not quite sure how long it would take us  to drive from Abruzzo to Umbria, Pineto to Perugia.  Turns out it was about 227 kilometers and about 15 long tunnels.  I have to say that driving in tunnels is NOT my favorite thing especially the Lincoln Tunnel! BUT the tunnels going through the mountains of  Umbria were something else again;   Mostly they are one way with two lanes and of course speeding and passing are the norm, however the tunnels are wide, well-lit with high ceilings and big vent fans AND along the walls there were places to make an emergency call.  Driving through a tunnel at 94km with cars zipping past you at well over 100 was surreal.

I thought I was through with narrow winding roads, NOT! The road to la volpe e l’uvo (the fox and the grape), the farmhouse where Barbara and I were going to take cooking lessons and go on a couple of tours, was by far the narrowest, steepest, twistiest road I have ever been on, let alone drive on it!  Having driven about 3 hours at speeds I never thought I would,

116 KM omg

I was exhausted and this last leg was killing me.  It looked like we were going nowhere and at one point I stopped the car,  did one of the fifty 9 point K turns I made during this vacation, and said we were going back down the mountain.  Once we were at the bottom,  I asked Barbara to read the directions in the email again; Oh, it’s approximately 3 kilometers up? You didn’t say that before!  So back up we go, white knuckling the steering wheel when cars and even a truck came at us from the opposite direction!

We arrived- it was a beautiful setting and our little apartment was perfect.

The back of the farmhouse
la volpe e l’uvo

I love this kitchen! It is an updated version of the one in Nonna’s House

The pool looked inviting

Greetings and hugs from Raffaella, our hostess and teacher.  She explained that class would begin at 9:30am when we would meet for coffee in the garden.  Even though dinner was on our own, I told Barbara there was no way I was driving off this mountain and back up again. Luckily we had some food that we brought from Pineto and there was a strawberry galette in our apartment as well as apricots, yogurt and eggs.

What I really wanted was a hot shower and to go to bed early.  Good night.

To Be Continued….