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

11/17/2014

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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!
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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!
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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."
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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. 
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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!
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Tour Journal 6.0:  All roads lead to Rome

10/17/2012

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Dear Diary,

We started in Rome, meeting for the first time, and getting to know not only each other, but also the busy and hectic city.  Out here in the country, the pace has been more relaxed, and we’ve had time to talk over leisurely meals, during strolls along medieval streets and during time spent traveling together in our van.  As the tour winds down, we spend our final days in Umbria in the towns of Perugia and Spoleto before making our way back to Rome.

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October 10th has us in Perugia, where the group fans out on their own to sightsee for the morning.  We meet up for lunch at a cute little osteria where we have a delicious light meal and a glass of wine together.

First came a little appetizer plate followed by a delicious bowtie pasta with zucchini and sausage.  Yum!

After lunch we head to Frantoio Trampolini, the oldest olive oil mill in the Perugia area run by multi-generations of the Trampolini family.  We have a fantastic time here as Alessandro explains to us how the olives are made into olive oil, and shows us a short DVD so we can see the process.  Afterwards, we’re in for a real treat as in preparation for our arrival, they have built a fire in the fireplace and inserted the grill grate.  Sure enough, they start toasting bread over the open fire, and serve it to us doused in beautiful olive oil and sprinkled with salt.  It’s oh-so delicious and we munch away while we talk about the different varieties of oil and make lots of purchases.
Bellies full, we return to Spoleto with plenty of time for everyone to relax, or stroll and sightsee before our group dinner.  Dinner tonight is very special.  Chef Michele at Ristorante Appolinare has prepared a delightful menu for us.  He uses local and traditional ingredients, but prepares them with a special gourmet flair.  His friendliness has us all charmed and in addition, he presents us with the wine corks from the very bottles we have consumed for dinner, made into key chains! 
The following day (Oct. 11th), after a morning to further explore Spoleto, we board our van to return to Rome.  Some how, the van is much fuller than it was on the way to Umbria!  Everyone has made purchases of olive oil, ceramics, cashmere, leather, cookies, grains, and of course….wine.  Federico, our driver manages to make it all fit and helps us to unload as well when we reach Rome again.
All that’s left now is our farewell dinner.  Dinner tonight has been organized at our hotel in order to give everyone time to repack and reorganize for their flights home the following morning.  Pipero al Rex, is a tiny, but very elegant restaurant serving intriguing gourmet food.  It’s a good thing our waiter explains every course to us, or we might not know what we are eating!  It’s all unique and delicious and we have a fun evening reliving the highlights of our time together the past ten days.  
It’s been an absolute joy getting to know this group.  We’ve enjoyed each other’s company and seen and experienced so many fabulous things together.  Farewell hugs all around, and they’re off to return home; bags filled with wonderful treats and hearts filled with a new found love of Italy.  Arrivederci!  Until we meet again.
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