[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
May 6 - The Road to Panicale
I had forgotten what a pain it is to have to pack up and move! Today we leave our hilltop hideaway and move to the little Umbrian hill town of Panicale. Margene has been in love with this place for a couple of years now and keeps a close eye on local real estate as it comes on the market. There are a few American ex-pats who have settled here and taken to blogging on the Internet which may account for its rise in popularity. As it becomes "discovered" of course, real estate prices climb ... and perhaps a bit of the Italian charm is lost. There goes the neighborhood!
We actually had sun for part of the morning but the afternoon brought a fierce thunderstorm driving rain, flashing lightning and the whole package! Fortunately we had our lunch outside on the main piazza before all this hit and were safely back in our hotel when the heavens opened up. As seems to be our routine, Margene napped and I made a valiant effort to get current with the diary. I didn't quite make it, but have great hopes for finally being up to date by tomorrow when, if we are to believe the weather reports, the rains will finally end. We should enjoy more seasonal sunshine for the rest of the week ... and we are so ready for it!
Being a small town, it seems that everyone in Panicale has several businesses to keep themselves going. The woman who owned the little caffe where we ate lunch also has another restaurant in town and was shuttling back and forth between the two all afternoon. Stefania, our proprietor at the Masolino Hotel also runs one of the best restaurants in town. We thought it was only fair to try her out for dinner ... and it was all we were led to believe it would be. As usual, we ate more than we intended, but how can you turn down such fabulous food when it is just there for the asking?
Dinner at the Masolino Ristorante
© 2007 Restaurant Doctor