Perguia - The hills are alive

Driving north through Italy from Rome couldn't have been easier, the roads are clearly marked and the speed limit on the highway is 130 km/hr. I was heading for Perugia, which I had read about as being a beautiful mountain town with great views and good food, especially known for their truffles and the fact that the Baci Chocolates are made there.

Arriving in Perugia, I discovered that it is a warren of tiny streets with almost no parking, but the hotel was able to give me a permit and I basically parked the car as close as I could get to the hotel (about two blocks) and left it there for the one night that I was staying there. Everything in town is within walking distance and it is a gorgeous buzzing town. The centerpiece of the main part of town is a fountain in a piazza with several large sets of stairs nearby. These stairs are the major meeting place in town and every time I walked past them, they were packed with people just sitting and chatting.


Walking past the stairs, I entered the main street, which was full of people enjoying the evening and having appertivo.


Appertivo is a fantastic experience in Italy, it is usually the time between the end of the working day and dinner, when everyone goes out for a couple of drinks. The thing about Italy is that even the drinking is about eating here. During this time, which is their Happy Hour, most bars offer a buffet of finger food to the people who are there having a drink. Even though the idea is to have a little snack to get your appetite going for dinner, you can basically have enough to fill up for the price of one drink. The toughest part is choosing which bar has the best looking selection of foods. Some common ones are cold cuts, parmeggiano reggiano cheese with balsamic vinegar, bread and dips, antipasto, etc.


As the sun had not yet set, I decided to walk to the end of the main street to check out the view. It seems that you can almost see forever and everywhere you turn is a different, spectacular scene.


As the sun started heading down, I headed for a restaurant I had spotted earlier which caught my attention, Caffe Di Perugia. I ordered a Negroni (a bitter cocktail, often served for appertivo) before my meal and was also given a selection from the appertivo buffet which I didn't ask for, but was gladly accepted. I skipped the Antipasto and selected the Tagliatell con Tartufo Nero (Tagliateli with Black Truffles) and was not disappointed by the amount of truffles used as you can see.


This was quite tasty and simple, I really enjoyed it.

The dessert selection didn't really grab my attention, but I decided to try the Semifreddo Nocciola (Hazelnut Semifreddo).



This was way too sweet for me, but I'm sure all you chocaholics out there would like it since it had a chocolate center.

I loved this town and if I were to come here again I would definitely stay longer, but since the next day was Monday the many of the better restaurants are closed on Mondays, I decided to move on to Bologna.