Umbria - why I can´t stop writing about it.

This time, my blog is part of a blogtour I got involved in by my new virtual friend Jen. Her blog about the love for her Italian heritage and her passion for Italian wines started due to her Italian roots and was followed by a study in Italy, that woke her interest in Italian wines. The drive to truly learn the insides and outs of Italian wines led to the birth of Jen´s blog Vino Travels, where she shares experiences from her travels through the world of Italian wines and information from Italian wineries in particular. Jen will be a certified Italian Wine specialist later this year.

The purpose of the blogtour is to enlarge the network of bloggers by sharing other people´s blogs and show you wht their world, work, knowledge and interests are like, whilst on the other hand I will try to describe why I write what I write.

What am I working on?

My one and only real important goal in life is living it in Umbria, Italy. Through the years, I met a lot of nice people from Umbria. Some of them really care so much for this beautiful region that they promote it in the world and made me write a few guestposts for them. It feels like the ideal combination, sharing the lovely things of my life and being at the place I love at the same time. I haven´t completely reached the last, but, as said, I am working on it.

How does my work differ from others in the genre?

Actually, it doesn´t. My blogs about the Umbrian villages and spots give no details that can´t be found in a regular travelguide. The difference can only be felt in my passion for the whole spectrum, from Umbrian food to wide views, from wine tasting in a cantina to a medieval market in Bevagna. I love Umbria´s famous attractions like Assisi, but have a strong feeling for it´s amazing countrylife as well. I can write about the wild flowers at the Piano Grande one day, about picking olives the next day. About the amazing works in Perugia´s Galleria Nazionale on day three and on day four I may have met a hunter who explains the ins and outs of his life and gives me a recipe for hare nonna style. The thrill I get and share from all these small things is what gives my work a personal touch, rather than merely an Umbria promotion.

Why do I write what I do?

Of course, it would be nice if other people become interested in the many things Umbria has to offer. It would be great when people would start to appreciate Umbria´s value as highly as I do and give Umbria´s tourism a strong injection. Besides, by writing about Umbria and about my passion for it in particular I can make people understand – a little – why I am who I am.

How does your writing process work?

Until now I haven´t been aware that there was something as a writing process. By thinking about it now, I realize that I can´t NOT write about Umbria. The love for Umbria, the impressions and feelings keep flowing and turn into words that I simply have to let come out. My experiences from Umbria are little pearls in my life, that all together form a lovely necklace. To me, writing is completing this necklace and I hope to finish it with the most precious jewel, my own place in Umbria and never having to leave it anymore. 

Before clicking `send` I want to thank Jen for this opportunity, and pass it on to my friend Simone. She is a foodblogger, professional food photographer and a gifted cook as well. Her blog offers an abundance of recipes, travel stories and of course pictures. An especially nice detail are the stories about and the pictures of her gorgeous cats, but the core bussiness is food, with a capital F.

Someone else whose blog is worth viewing is the one written by my friend Alessandra. She and her brother Leonardo from Discovering Umbria organize wine and food tours in Umbria that will be an unforgettable experience of years of culture and traditions across the magical land of Umbria.

Good luck Simone and Alessandra, and many thanks to all of you who read my blog.

EVOO 2013

I wrote about the frantoi aperti before but being here in Umbria in fall means being immersed in olives, oil, catching nets, trees, rastrelli (rakes), coffins and more often than not you´ll see people in stained working clothes. There´s simply no way to avoid it.

Almost every village has its frantoio, the mill, where the local famers have their olives pressed and while waiting, have a bruschetta from the fire to taste the olio novello.

(c) Monteolivo

(c) Monteolivo

Once a year, to show the less fortunate how the process from growing olives to picking them and turn them into this liquid gold proceeds, the frantoi aperti (open mills) are organized. You can visit olive groves, see the inside of the mills, taste and buy the new oil and related products.

(c) Monteolivo

The easiest way is to subscribe to an organized guided tour by bus and get a completely organized tour, but you can also make your own choice and pick one or two frantoi. For the last three years, I went to Trevi and visited the Frantoio Olio di Trevi, for they really know how to throw a party.

(c) Monteolivo

Inside you can visit the factory, see and hear how the machines run and how the oil is canned or bottled. 

There´s also a video running to show you the whole aforementioned process and some impressive, ancient used tools can be admired.

(c) Monteolivo

There´s a small trattoria to have a wine or a small dish at really acceptable prizes and think about the purchases you´ll make because the new oil is sold in the small shop in the front. You can buy different types of oil, olio famiglia, filtered or not, seasoned oil, olio delicato, several products made with olive oil, you name it. I wrote about that before.

(c) Monteolivo

(c) Monteolivo

Outside it´s always fun. I had a bruschetta again and admired the cheese and sausages that were sold.

(c) Monteolivo

I talked to some people who also enjoyed the atmosphere and the music played by Alter Ego and had a lot to say about olives, but we agreed on one thing: this is EVOO* and it deserves all four capitals.

(c) Monteolivo

When you have the opportunity: you can still go there today, or at least grab the chance next year.

Like I said, there's simply no way to avoid it...... because this is what we do in Umbria.

(c) Monteolivo

* Extra Vergine Olio di Oliva

Trevi - terrific oil

It´s about time to pay the debt I collected in March. The perfect time to write part I about a place that I have visited for the first time in Novembre 2012 for the Frantoi Aperti:

Olio Trevi il Frantoio.

Even though I pick my own olives and therefor have my own EVOO – Extra Vergine Olive Oil – and have written about it more than once, it strikes me everytime I realize that this heartwarming experience is so unknown to people outside of Italy. 

They know about olive oil, of course, but there´s a difference between knowing something and living something. The Umbrian people live their olives.

As I told you before I have stayed at Trevi for ten years and had a wonderful time. Even after having moved to the Todi area and fallen in love with it desperately, I visit Trevi every time I am in Umbria. The very view of the village, glued against the Monte Serano, will make you want to climb its alleys and discover what´s inside.

(c) Umbriaverde.it

Just outside Trevi you can find the Frantoio, but it´s more than just a factory selling olive oil. Visiting it during the Frantoi Aperti was an event I am planning to repeat, for it was really big fun. Click here to read about it and see what you too can find too.

After this I kept thinking about a way to get people acquainted to the fluid gold I love so much and let them taste a great oil over a merely good one. That brought me to Olio Trevi Il Frantoio again.

The smell when you step inside will make you hungry and greedy on the spot.

You will get a view of the way they turn the small blue and green marbles into the oil that makes every meal a party and that will change an ordinary slice of bread into a dream you don´t want to wake up from.

And there´s more. Besides various types of plain olive oil, Olio Trevi il Frantoio sells several sorts of seasoned oil. I mention peperoncino (peppers), basil, lemon, anice, oregano and rosemary.

To continue, try an olive paste or the one with porcini, name it and it´s there. Their oil is even used for delicate cosmetics.

It´s all sold in the little shop at the factory and the only warning that I have to give you, is that it all looks so lovely that it will be hard to choose.

To learn more, there´s an excellent website you can check. Or...

wait for my part II.. because I have a few things you can actually taste. To be continued!

Frantoi aperti - olives and fun!

Even though the invitations from the frantoi – mills – are always very attractive, I never went to see the Frantoi Aperti before. After picking olives for hours a few days in a row and having to spend another few at the mill to have them pressed, I mostly don´t want to see another olive for at least a week.

Not this year. I was supposed to be picking all day, but (un)fortunately it was raining when I woke up and it seemed to come to no end so I changed plans. There were a lot of frantoi to choose from, but I had read an announcement from Olio di Trevi. Since I have lived in Trevi for ten years and my heart has not fully recovered yet, it was a great excuse to drive over there.

It turned out to be a very good idea. One was allowed to take a tour and see the machines running, which was very impressive and the smell was ever so good.

There were also a few old tools exposed among which this huge barrel, that I could not resist to share because it is so beautiful.

The shop inside offered a large choice of various products and they all seemed very nice, but I stuck to one bottle of olive oil because there will be my own in a few days, but I assure you the Trevi oil is one of the best.

Outside was really Fun with a capital F. I had a freshly grilled bruschetta with a stunning olive oil and the nice lady that prepared it for me was not too greedy on olive oil, maybe that´s why my pictures are a little hazy.. the oil dripped between my fingers and I felt like a little girl again.

While eating I really enjoyed the band, Alter Ego, playing all well known songs like `I will survive` and they seemed to have a good time themselves too.

I ended my trip at a stall where cheese and sausages were sold. They sold various types of pecorino covered with corn, peperoncino, hay and a special one wrapped in olive leaves.

Even though I am sure that tomorrow by six o´clock I will tell you that I will never ever touch one single olive ever again, I know one thing for sure: I will go back next year, for I had a great time.