Todi, day two

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto - and this ain't Rome either! Getting to Todi was some trip - missed roads, missed signs, apparently missing some of our brains (the part that understands Italian, spoken or written). We made every mistake we could think of, but we still managed to find our B&B, down a dirt road, out in the countryside. And is it beautiful here! Sitting on a ridge about 4 km north of Todi, our property looks out across a valley of olive groves and vines toward the ancient town, an assemblage of stone buildings that cling to the top of the highest hill. Originally an Etruscan village from about 600 BC, most of the buildings date from 1000-1300 AD. Our agriturismo is mostly new construction of stone, brick and timbers, about 5 years old, so everything is modern, but the style fits the medieval town.

The family makes olive oil and their property sits on maybe 60 acres. Judging from the number who came to breakfast, they rented 8 rooms last night. Blessedly, they have wifi Internet access, but it doesn't reach our room, so these posts have to wait until we have free time in the afternoon on the patio. If our posts become infrequent, it's because of no connection. Also, photos will have to wait until we return because the network browser doesn't support images.

Sunday it rained off and on as a storm blew through, giving us an unbelievable fiery gold sunset, then cooling off this morning with a clear blue sky, temp in 50's & 60's. Today we stopped in a truffle shop to sample condiments made with the aromatic fungus, and sample salumi made from wild boar. Full-flavored is one way to describe it. At lunch we ordered antipasti which arrived with a selection of ten different meats, including some from the aforementioned boar. Wild and different, indeed! A local Sangiovese red softened the meal, as did a splash of local olive oil on our pasta dish. As our Umbria book said, at this restaurant, you know you are in Italy now. These are the local flavors we were hoping to find.