A Lazy Day in Tuoro

When I woke up on Thursday morning, I just didn’t feel like doing anything. Nothing wrong with that, in and of itself. Still, I reminded myself that I was in Italy and I had a car at my disposal. I considered driving over to Cortona, but it just seemed like too much work. I compromised. I decided I would stay local and finally see what Tuoro had to offer, and, if possible, get a haircut. I ate breakfast and showered. I loaded the dishwasher and put clothes in the washing machine. I was ready to go. I got into the Hobbit car and headed into town. I decided, too, to investigate the other parking options in Tuoro. One of the lots was actually quite ample. I parked and started walking through the town. It was a normal workday and people were going about their everyday routines. I came across one haircutter and saw an older gentleman walk in, so I knew she must cut men’s hair. I stuck my head in and asked, but she was booked for the day, she said. As I walked a little further, I saw another place and figured I would try my luck. A young hip kid with a post in his nose was at the register. He said that they were busy this morning but I could come back in the afternoon. That suited me just fine. Appointment in hand, I celebrated with a cappuccino in a local bar.

In my travels, I noticed that there was an actual human being in the Tourist Office, so I thought I would go back and ask about the Trail of Hannibal. The woman in the office was both very knowledgeable and very helpful. She gave me a map and explained the various ways I could approach the percorso, as it is called in Italian. With that information, I set off. Once I got the hang of what the various stations on the trail might look like, it was very well done. Some of them were a little ways off the road and it took a little luck to find them, but, once I did, the historical markers were quite informative. The trail took me down some not so heavily traveled roads, but it turned out to be an enjoyable adventure. 

Osteria La Pergola

Since I was already off the main roads, I decided to take the back road to Borghetto, a little hamlet on the shore of the lake. The road was actually the same secondary road that would have taken me to Cortona, and I half-regretted not going. Borghetto was very sleepy and there was not much to see, though the parish church was quite old. There were also no lunch prospects, so I decided to go back to la Pergola in Tuoro, the scene of the infamous three-hour lunch!

Although it was already one o’clock, I was the first guest to appear. They hadn’t even finished setting the tables yet. The nice woman who had taken care of us on Saturday welcomed me back warmly. I explained to her that everyone else had gone home and that I was on my own. She made a big fuss over finding just the right place and got the table set quickly. We had a nice chat while she set the tables and I thought about the menu. 

Stringhiozzi all'arrabiata

The day’s pasta special interested me – pasta all’arrabbiata, which is pasta with a spicy tomato sauce. That was a somewhat daring in staid Umbria! There was also a chicken with lemon sauce that sounded light and refreshing. I ordered both specials. A few more guests had arrived. They all opted to sit inside. Maybe it was a little too cool by Italian standards, but it was fine for me. I was determined to make the most of this pleasant weather before heading back to New Jersey for winter.

The wine at lunchtime made me sleepy. So, once back at the house, I took a nice nap. I set the alarm though because I didn’t want to miss my appointment. I don’t know what it is, but getting my hair cut in a foreign country has always been an anxiety provoking moment.  At home, I don’t like changing barbers either. I like to go to someone who knows how to cut my hair without my having to explain how to do it. It had been five weeks since my last haircut in Dublin, so I needed to get it done and this was my best opportunity. I walked into the shop, greeted everybody and sat down. In a few minutes another barber appeared, 50ish with long salt and pepper hair. He sat me down in the chair and said, “You want this short, right?” “Not too short on top, I said” hesitantly. Then he went to work with the clippers. Long story short, (pun intended) he reduced the sides of my head to stubble. The top, while indeed short, was OK. Normally, I would have been more upset about this, but, I had actually considered getting a crew cut. I had talked to my regular barber about this and he thought I would look good in one. So, I went half way, I guess.

After the barber, I made a quick stop at Conad, our local grocery store. I needed beer and some kind of vegetable for dinner. I was in the process of trying to finish all the food that was left in the refrigerator. There was plenty of protein – meat, cheese and eggs, but not much else. I was thinking

Baked Cauliflower and Cheese

fennel, but when I got to the store, there was half a head of cauliflower ready to go, so I grabbed it. When I got back to the house, I began working on the blog again. Somewhere around 8:00, I decided I should eat. I put water on to boil, got the cauliflower cleaned up, and plopped it in. When it was almost cooked through, I drained it, broke it into pieces and put it into a buttered baking dish. I sprinkled some of the parmesan on it, along with all the gorgonzola that was left in the fridge. I put it in the oven to bake and went back to work. When I came to check on it, the smell was heavenly. It still needed a little more time, so I started cooking the two sausages that had been hiding. Together, that was a great meal! Satisfied that I had accomplished so much on a lazy day. I watched some TV before turning out the lights.