Bella Giornata Tours
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • BLOG
  • Tours Booking Now!
    • Booking NOW! Rome and Tuscany!
    • Booking NOW-Amalfi Coast!
    • Girlfriends on the Go!
    • Rome, Lower Tuscany and Umbria
    • Build Your Own Tour!
  • Client Buzz
  • Irene's wine rack...
    • Italian Wines
    • Pacific Northwest Wines
    • South American Wines
    • French Wines

All Good Wine Tours Must Come to an End, Unfortunately.

11/17/2014

1 Comment

 
Well, what can I say? Today is the last day of the tour. How did this happen so fast?! We have seen, done, and tasted an amazing number of things. But....today is the last day of the tour!
Picture
We pack up the van for the last time, and make our way back to Rome. But as per usual, I want them to see and experience just a little bit more before they go home. It would be a shame to leave Umbria without a stop in Spoleto, and to top it off, it is simply a gorgeous day!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
As usual, my goal in having my clients trek around these charming hill towns is to make them hungry for lunch, and today is no exception. The historic center of Spoleto can be very vertical. Combine that with the fresh air, sightseeing and shopping....and yes, we are ready for lunch! Good thing too, because we're in for a real treat. Today is our Farewell Lunch (sob, sob), so I've organized an elegant and fancy affair at Ristorante Apollinare. We will be in the hands of Chef Michele, who never fails to make me swoon with his delicious menus. Here's our starter. It is beyond amazing.
In Italian, Michele calls this, Tortino di zucchine con salsa di zucca gialla e fiore di zucca farcito di formaggio e tartufo, or in other words:  Zucchini pie with pumpkin sauce and squash blossom stuffed with cheese and truffle. Yes. I know. You can't believe it either! The zucchini pie was so tender, the pumpkin sauce so flavorful, the zucchini blossom so fresh, and then you get hit with the cheese and truffles.....swoon. All I can think is, "This is only the beginning; please don't let it end."
Picture
I apologize for the poor pictures, but from left to right, we had, Frascarelli della nonna con crema di pomodoro e pesto di basilico, Filetto di vitello al timo con millefoglie di verdure and Crescionda spoletina agli amaretti e cioccolato con gelato alla vaniglia fatto in casa. So what does all that mean?
The first dish on the left is pasta with grandmother's cream of tomato and basil pesto. Then comes the most delicious and tender veal fillet with thyme and layers of vegetables. It was Amazing with a capital "A". For dessert, we had a local specialty of amaretti and chocolate with homemade vanilla ice cream. That one made my eyes roll back in my head. Seriously. Delicious. I think I simply will never be able to go to Spoleto without paying Chef Michele a visit. 
Picture
And now that our Farewell Lunch is over, and we make our way back to Rome....it really is time to say goodbye. They take final pictures with our driver Christopher who has been by our side for the last ten days. 
This group has been SO amazing. They have been funny and fun. They have appreciated everything they see, do and taste. It has been my honor to escort them about Italy. I will miss them; they were such a joy!
1 Comment
Michelle Sommer link
4/25/2021 07:57:26 pm

Great reading your poost

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Instagram

    RSS Feed

    Follow Me on Pinterest

    Italophile......
    are  you one?

    According to Webster's, if you are "friendly to or favoring what is Italian", you are one! Interested in Italy?  Me too! Follow my ramblings and recipes if so inclined.  I'll try to visually capture memories of Italy and share some of my favorite recipes.  Want the real flavor of Italy though?   Then.....let me take you there.

    Archives

    January 2018
    November 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Amalfi Coast
    Art
    Assisi
    Bagnoregio
    Bevagna
    Bomarzo
    Capri
    Carnevale
    Chocolate
    Coffee
    Culture
    Deruta
    Drink
    Florence
    Food
    Girlfriends On The Go!
    Gubbio
    Lazio
    Lecce
    Markets
    Montalcino
    Montefalco
    Naples
    October 2013
    Olive Oil
    Orvieto
    Perugia
    Pienza
    Pompei
    Positano
    Praiano
    Puglia
    Recipes
    Rome
    Semproniano
    Shopping
    Sicily
    Spello
    Spoleto
    Spring 2013
    Todi
    Tuscany
    Umbria
    Walla Walla
    Washington State
    Wine
    Wine Tour October 2012
    Wine Tour October 2014