The alarm went off excruciatingly, horridly early at 2.30am. Dressed and washed in a state of delirium before driving out into the murky, drizzly barely lightening still-night to drive to Stansted to catch our plane to Rome. Terminal was heaving with people which seemed very odd at that early time of morning, but it was the start of half-term and the long Jubilee weekend – it did mean ridiculous queues for the toilets and to get my paper in WH Smith’s. Still drizzling when the plane took off (quite smooth take-off thank goodness but could have done without the endless adverts for lottery cards – they’re not air stewards any more, they’re sales reps) so was lovely to land in Rome to warm sunshine.
Anna met us at Ciampino in the hire car and we started off for Umbria, me catching flies in the back. Stopped off at Narni, a wonderfully atmospheric, and incredibly sleepy-looking hill town – lots of old, textured stone walls, arches and little, winding alleys and passages. We wandered about for a bit, then stopped at a lovely restaurant-cum-hotel, La Loggia dei Priori – where we ate in their pretty back terrace, full of hydrangeas and general leafiness. Fabulous spicy scrambled eggs and spaghetti a la vongole with a jug of red wine. Was stuffed after, first time I’d eaten quite a lot in a while, as had been too stressed for a few weeks to eat much. We then met the Harvey-Mantels, organisers of the holiday, for the first of many ice-cream stops – a scoop of limone sitting outside and it was very nice.
Drove off after that to continue on to the property we’d rented, located in between the two hilltop villages of Panicale and Paciano, the little Panda struggling up the hairpin bends. The place was a fantastic medieval tower with loads of rooms and space, lounges downstairs and up, bedrooms gradually climbing up the tower. Lots of nice antique, interesting furnishings and stuff – pictures, ceramics. Dave and I ended up in the room with the ridiculously sumptuous four-poster bed with drapes on the second floor (
http://www.tuscanynow.com/images/Property/Cards/TorrediPaciano_016.jpg) – not through design but the logistics dictated other rooms for the families with children. Lovely views from the room facing west to the setting sun.
Took a few pics, then drove off to the big Pam supermarket at Chiusi with Anna and Lara where we stocked up three trolleyloads of food and alcohol for our starving housemates. Memorable moment at the meat counter when Lara, not well-polished in Italian, had to try and ask them what meat the mince was made out of – and resorted to making various animal noises.
Didn’t return till 8.30 so dinner was late but delicious – Anna’s tuna with balsamic, caramelised onions, pan-fried potatoes and asparagus – plus the ubiquitous prosecco, red wine and chocolate and cheese selection. By this time, I was very sleepy and went to bed – to be woken at some unearthly hour by fireworks – the reason Narni had been so sleepy was because it was a national holiday. Was also very cold – the bed, for all its sumptuousness, basically only had a sheet as a cover.
Narni shutters
http://365project.org/boxplayer/extras/2012-06-02
2 June 2012
Narni, Italy
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