Woke up this morning to a shock (even though we’d seen the weather forecast) – overcast, muggy and threatening rain. Breakfasted in the dining room on pastries, cakes, bread and jam, then rushed out to the market at Chiusi. It was OK but not terribly special and I needed to find a chemist, which proved quite hard. And it had also started to rain properly. So we jumped back in the car to go to the supermarket again to stock up.
By the time we got back to the house it was tipping it down, all the doors were shut and we thought we’d drown outside before anyone answered the doorbell.
Drove up to Panicale for lunch at the Bar du Gallo meeting Lara and Peter and children there: a very nice, tasty risotto with asparagus and lovely olive oily bruschette. Waitress was a touch surly and stole my plate before I’d finished but never mind.
We then drove to Deruta and mooched around this sleepy (again) pretty hilltop town – well-known for its ceramic artisans - there were loads of shops selling gorgeous plates and what have you - some fairly pricey stuff: we bought a pretty garlic pot http://365project.org/boxplayer/365/2012-06-11, an olive oil stopper and a plate for a friend’s present.
Then more limone ice cream before driving back in amazing storm light and huge, threatening clouds.
Prepared dinner - sea bass in rosemary, white wine and olive oil, cheesy garlicky mash (Dave’s speciality) and spinach and courgettes. Then what a surprise, more chocolate and cheese and a glass of Vin Santo. A few thunderstorms in the distance this evening.
