Lunch with Luciano...How lucky are we!!

We now have our little Peugeot car.. and yes Ashleigh you would love it... very tiny and for about the first day Mum and I thought it was a two door car until we discovered that it actually has FOUR doors..how bright are we!!!! What we thought was a fuel cap is actually a door handle. For those of you who may we wondering I am actually enjoying driving a left hand drive manual diesel car on the wrong side of the road with signs I cannot read or understand. Thankfully Dominique is keeping our 'travelling by car' all under control as I have requested her to keep reminding me to..."Keep Right Dad Keep Right" (the kids used to say this when D & I were driving in the USA)

We made our way out into the Umbrian country side and had planned to go over to Orvieto. Initially we hadn't planned to go this far but after Dominique had a long and detailed Italian conversation with the guy from the tourist information office, he decided that because we were Australian and we were used to driving long distances the Duomo in Orvieto was too beautiful for us to miss... it was only 100KM...so we went!!!! Boy are we glad we did.

Loved the drive in the country, over and around amazing green fields beside a lake. The jewel of this visit was to see the DUOMO. A masterpiece of Italian Gothic architecture.. again about 800 years old. The moment I saw it I thought to myself is this for real? The building was built with dark and light stone giving a stripped effect. The front facade was full of mosaics using many colours including heaps of gold, and dozen plus full size statues. The photos do not do it justice, simple breathtaking detail throughout both outside and inside. The precise workmanship, the engineering solutions that had to be made and the materials used...just great. Just as I was thinking this was old, we walk around the corner and look down this amazing valley to an old Etruscan Necropolis and it was 2500 years old...I cannot keep up with how old stuff and I am in awe daily. We were so glad to get the opportunity to visit Orvieto.

We had planned to head over to Spoleto but needed a bit of lunch first...yes more food and this one gets even better!!! We drove through a little hilltop village called Buschi. We discussed turning back to look for lunch here, being some bread, proscuitto and cheese and stop on the side of the road a little further down the road. We parked the car in a small piazza and walked over to a small pizzeria which sold pizza by the pieces. We figured this would do us.

UNTIL....the jolly restaurant owner invited us to come down into the taverna and was pointing to a hole in the floor behind a little fence in the corner of the pizzeria. He then opened the gate and we followed him down a very tight spiral staircase. With a bit of head ducking.. we were quickly into a small restaurant. He then walked us out of the back door into what we saw as a laneway, stone wall, stone buildings, spectacular sweeping views across the valleys. He asked in Italian (he only spoke Italian and understood little English) if we wanted to sit out here for lunch and before I knew it I was helping him carry out a table and 2 chairs. We had a prime lunchtime table.

We were the only customers. Our host asked (remember its all in Italian) did we like "Crepe Verde" spinach crepes.We figured this was looking a little better than eating on the side of the road. We decided to stay and have his crepes for lunch. Over the next four hours our host Luciano Domenic, (we later found out that he is 60, retired ex- Interpol Inspector) plied us with home made wine (merlot,cab sav), antipasto (home made tiny salami type sausages, local proscutto, toast with melted truffle cheese topped with a little orange marmalade, toast topped with thin slices of warm pork lard and also topped with marmalade). Then after much shouting to Tania somewhere inside that he had customers and she needed to come make crepes, our crepes came. MAMMA MIA so light and delicious and our host even grew the spinach.

Then Luciano was eager for us to eat more so he offered us some beans and he mimed them being tossed in a pan. We agreed as long as it was only a piccolo bowl. Half way through cooking them he came out and asked us to follow him into the kitchen so we could smell them cooking. Splendid. Foolishly we thought that was it for food.(our host wouldn't take the earlier plates back until we totally ate everything).

Luciano had other ideas. Out he walks with a big smile on his face with two platters of various Umbrian cheeses for us to try. Mine came with a small jar of honey and Dominique's with a small jar of orange marmalade (it is not as sweet as our marmalade and the rind was very fine). The platters were also accompanied with a bottle of Grappa, and a bottle of sweet wine for us to help ourselves to. To say the local pecorino cheese with honey on it was sensational is an understatement. The soft cheese with black truffles through it was even better. NOW WE ARE FULL

....but not according to Luciano who insisted we have a passagiatta (small walk) to make room for coffee and sweets. When he brought out sweets and coffee, (Biscotti and chocolate pie...we just couldn't eat this) he bought a glass and joined us at the table for the next hour or so. Now I need to also tell you that the whole four hours was in Italian. He spoke very little English, but was very interesting and the three of us were laughing a lot and I really enjoyed watching Dominique keep the conversation going and keeping me in the loop when I was looking totally lost...I must say I did manage to understand a little more of what Luciano was saying than I gave myself credit...but to keep it going for four fun hours..well done my little Italian wife. We had one of those magical, unplanned, impromptu afternoons you could only dream about and to have it in 95% Italian was just fabulous. A day I don't think we will easily forget.

We didn't quite make it to Spoleto.....