http://www.collesanpaolo.it/collesanpaolo/en/
The owner kindly showed us the property, up on a hill at the end of road lined by olive trees.
We arrived just ahead of Jay's sister Katherine and her daughter Ella. Our kids quickly explored the small playground and tore through the limited toy supply in the rented house. And of course, thoroughly enjoyed catching up with their new cousin, whom they had not seen since the winter.
Katherine kindly made us all some delicious pasta for dinner, which we rapidly consumed and then headed for a good night's rest. Somehow, we all seem to sleep better in the countryside. Here is Lanna, relaxed after a bath (pardon the nip-slip), and Sammy chilling on a garden chair (which also served as an effective car launcher!)
The next morning, we struggled to find the local bakery in the morning. The only downside of our Umbrian hosts was their non-specific directions. For example, "Drive to the beginning of town, then at the first roundabout take a right, pass fourteen olive trees, take a left, and then find the bakery on the terrace above the street." Thank goodness for Google maps coming to the rescue. The bakery was great once we did find it-- amazing dark brown bread, cheesy pizza squares, and of course some cream-filled goodies for dessert. Despite not speaking any Italian, we managed to successfully place our order AND get what we wanted! We also stopped at the grocery store, where I gave in to the request for some new racing cars. Alas, grocery store cars are not the highest quality and one quickly lost a spoiler after doing jumps off the garden chair. So my kindness in the end turned into tears... and requests for new cars!
We did buy some bubbles at the store, which were much less expensive and a huge hit! The boys chased and chased and chased them until Jay and I were light headed from blowing bubbles. Even the babies enjoyed bubble time!
After going through half a bottle of bubble juice, we drove back down the gravel path to the local dairy where they make sheep's milk cheese and yogurt. Alas, they did not have any fresh ricotta (apparently it is only available in August-September) but they did have some very strong parmesan cheeses and sheep's milk yogurt, which we bought. They also had a nice dog and a plethora of cats. Our boys named two of them (Croc and RockJaw). As we were preparing to leave, the boys were heartbroken to abandon their new friends. So the "kind" farm lady offered that we could take them with us! Luckily Katherine was there with us to politely refuse this offer in Italian, as we would have had to strap these cats to the roof of our car Romney style.
That evening, Katherine had arranged for a local chef (Michela) to cook an Italian dinner for us. She had prepared most of the food in advance, so our mouths watered as we waited patiently for everything to heat in the oven. Michela spoke great English, and we discussed how she came to be a cook and how she had even visited Philadelphia as part of a student exchange! Then our amazing meal started.
Course 1: stuffed zucchini and stuffed mushrooms with a delicious Umbrian white wine. These items were not super popular with the children (other than omnivorous Lanna), which was fine because it meant more for us.
Course 2: Lasagna. Not just any lasagna. Absolutely the best lasagna any of us had ever had. Including Katherine, who has lived in Rome for 15 years. The kids devoured it, and we finished up anything that they left on their plates.
At this point we were really full, but there was more!
Course 3: Turkey rolled with smoked mozzarella and other cheeses, with carrots and raisins on the side, plus an Umbrian spinach flan. It was a struggle, but we ate more of this amazing food. We did not manage to start the bottle of red wine, though.
And saving the best for last...
Course 4: Ciaramicola, a typical Perugian cake with several kinds of liquor. Including one that gave it an amazing pink color in the middle. I thought the kids wouldn't like a liquor-filled cake, but they loved it. It didn't taste like liquor, but it did taste absolutely delicious. Sammy had a complete melt down when he couldn't have a third piece. And it wasn't that we didn't want him to eat that much cake, but rather that we wanted to have more for ourselves!
Thank goodness Michela even cleaned up because we were pretty much comatose by the end of the meal. We rolled ourselves off to bed. The farmhouse had amazing blackout shutters, so all slept well (and late!)
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