We were able to spend a few hours in the old city of Sansepolcro, and found a wonderful kitchen shop and a fabulous shoe store. Interestingly the town is frequented by many Italians and Europeans but they see very few Americans. The shopkeepers were gracious and helpful, and I’d go back just for the kitchen shop and shoe store. We lunched at a sidewalk caffe, with Prosecco and Aperol Spritz, the Aperol and Prosecco drink that is the color of a beautiful sunset. And of course we all followed lunch with gelato, pistachio for me and an affogato for Melanie with hot chocolate instead of espresso. Jan skipped lunch and went straight for gelato…

Later that evening we did a group dinner at a local restaurant that provided a tasting menu in an elegant setting. Osteria Il Giardino Di Piero served four courses, with wines, a chiante and a Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Their menu included my favorite, their tagliolini in an asparagus and artichoke cream sauce bursting with lemon zest. Such a gorgeous room and lovely staff.

Enjoy some pics of our day in Sansepolcro…

 

Sadly our idyll in Tuscany came with a few bumps in the road. Mercury was retrograde, needless to say. Rental cars with flat tires, missed flights, lost luggage and all the other travel related things that eventually were sorted. Unfortunately the worst was that a few of us started with allergies that turned into sinus infections and in Jan and my case bronchitis. Several of us were quite unpopular on the plane home. But we managed to get 40 people to test negative for Covid and reenter the country, so that was all good.

Jan took to her bed on the day of Mark’s birthday party and missed the festivities, but was better for it the next. Again we had a frosting thief who needed a hit of chocolate before the party, and her name is Amelia. Chef Guilio did it again with a gorgeous dinner. His porchetta with wild fennel was unbelievable. If I’d known how good it was I’d have skipped the appetizers and had more meat. Mark’s cake was a cassata, a pound cake, or in Italy called Pan di Spagne, which I cut in layers and filled with ricotta, sugar, Grand Marnier, chopped pistachios, chopped luxardo cherries, chopped dark chocolate and cream, and frosted with a ganache of dark chocolate, espresso and butter. A jar of luxardo cherries went missing, and we still can’t account for them. Ciro, did they end up in your suitcase?

And Mark’s infamous pink Speedo made an appearance, because if you can’t serve wine to your guests in a pink Speedo in Tuscany for your 60th birthday then when the hell can you?

Mark’s brother Dan sent a slide show with pics of Mark over the years, a wonderful and fun tribute which you can watch here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nyw2eiqzzxpfqv1/Mark%2060th%20FINAL%20FINAL.m4v?dl=0

And so, other than possibly some recipes to follow, this will be my last Sansepolcro post. Many, many thanks to our host and hostess, Mark and Jan for this amazing experience, as well as the beautiful gifts they gave all of us. I’m loving my cashmere blanket. And I’m happy to have made so many new friends on this trip.  My final slideshow shows a bit of it all, and again many thanks to those who provided pics for the slides. Let’s all make sure Evelyn always has the bail money. Yes, love IS all there is. And friends. Don’t forget the friends.

Ciao,
Deborah