Sunshine, delicious warm sunshine today and with the grass cut on the lawns at Bellaugello Gay Country House I was in time to ready the Giardino Suite for a couple of friends who telephoned this morning and are travelling through Umbria on their way to Siena which is not that far away and asked if […]
Tag: montefalco
Strada del Sagrantino – The Wine Road
A couple of weeks ago with snow still sitting on the tops of the hills I ventured out from Bellaugello Gay Guest House and headed south of Perugia to follow the Sagrantino Road. This road rolls meanders through soft hills and valleys littered with vines, and passes through enchanting towns with names such as Torgiano, […]
What a difference a day makes….
Two days ago the guys were sitting chatting at breakfast which in summer we serve on the terrace. The morning was a wee bit cloudy, but the breeze was gentle and warm, but it was real pleasant, when all of a sudden the heavens opened and there was a torrential downpour……… the first rain since […]
NEW PECORINO
An explosion of the senses………. This morning one of my neighbours who thankfully still farms in the time honoured fashion of traditional animal husbandry tumbled down the dirt road in his Apetto, those wonderous three wheel vehicles so evocative of rural Italy. An ancient farm, lovingly tended, chickens and geese wandering freely, both summer and […]
On the Sagrantino Trail part two: Montefalco
A drive along a narrow road south of Bevagna passing well cultivated vineyards brings you in less than ten kilometers to Montefalco, the home of the Sagrantino di Montefalco, Umbria’s rich, deep, intense and utterly divine red wine. How I adore Sagrantino, since moving to Umbria it has become one of my very favourite red […]
Bygone values – real friendships
Yes, unsurprisingly we still have snow here in Umbria, central Italy, at least places like Gubbio, Gualdo, Norcera and Norcia in the foothills of the apeninnes. The cold wind continues to blow from the east, and the road to Bellaugello Gay Guest House is blocked by a snowdrift. So, to quote a line from one […]
Hot
The weather here in Umbria seems to be getting hotter and hotter. Last week guys were in Spoleto, the wine town of Montefalco and Assisi and Perugia and all reported soaring temperatures. Here at Bellaugello the temperatures are in the high 30ºs, but thankfully there is a light breeze. Friends telephone, they are running out […]
BBQ
Last night here at Bellaugello Gay Guest House in Umbria, Italy we decided on a barbecue. Stephen loaded our bbq with fragrant wood, and I busied myself with making salads and baking potatoes and sweetcorn. The fire stubbornly refused to provide us with the necessary embers first off so it was a late start, however […]
Lampone
Bellaugello gay bed and breakfast commands a view south down the valley of the river Chiascio. On a sunny hillside slightly to the east of south sits Pian di Cascina, agriturismo home to Paul and Isabel, and a field of raspberries. In the relative cool of yesterday evening Tom and I found ourselves picking raspberries. […]
More social whorl
Out at dinner – what again I hear you say! Yes again. This time at Marco’s house at the head of the valley. It actually rained for a while this afternoon and for a bit looked as if dinner would be cancelled, but fortunately not. We feasted on fresh picked corn on the cob roasted […]