EU Threatens Ban on Italian Mozzarella – New York Times
This photo was taken in Napoli in November to show how great a “Caprese” salad can look with some cherry tomatoes and a bit of dried oregano. With this news, look for every politician in Italy to be stuffing his (they are all men) face with mozzarella to “prove” that it is safe to eat.
This news from the New York Times should help people from smaller market airports get to Europe. LINK Flying to Italy through Heathrow, Paris or Frankfurt will also increase your options on where you land in Italy. Beginning or ending your trip to Tuscany or Umbria at the Florence airport can be a plus.
The well in the courtyard at San Damiano in Assisi.
Perugia has finally unveiled its new toy — the Minimetro’. It took years to complete, ended up way over budget, and is still being argued about in city hall but in the end it is by far the easiest and fastest way to get into the center of town from the train station or one of the large parking lots below the city center. For one euro each way, passengers are quickly and efficiently transported into the center of town without having to suffer the long winding bus ride.
The station at Fontivegge is a short walk from the main rail station in Perugia.
The Minimetro’ consists of 25 cars with maximum space for 50 passengers. The cars are spread in such a way on the track that the wait time is around 1 minute for the next car. This fluid motion keeps passengers moving even in high volume circumstances. I’ve used it extensively from the train station and find it to be a great alternative to fighting the traffic into downtown, especially if you are just visiting Perugia for the day.
Plate of Rigatoni “alla carbonara” made with sausage and asparagus
This is a local early spring favorite of mine from Perugia. It was a bit too early for wild asparagus but the cultivated ones are almost as good. There was just a hint of pepperoncino and black pepper in the sausage. Delicious.
The “mimosa” on our terrace is in full bloom. I’m told that this is not actually a mimosa but something called a Silver Wattle. It comes from Australia originally but we see a lot of them around Umbria in the early spring. It is tradition in Italy to give these to women on March 8 in celebration of the Festa della donna (Women’s Day).
