Palmabella's Passions

We were a little sad to leave Ascoli, and we know we will return, but excited to see more of northern Le Marche, and visit Giulia at Valle Nuova.

We looked at the empty piazza and church on a beautiful early morning, then had a last coffee at our favorite bar, loaded the car, and off we went.

We drove up the Adriatic coast to Ancona, then headed inland. Our first stop was Jesi for a coffee, and a stop at Caseificio Piandelmedico. Here we sampled several wonderful cheeses and bought three, including a buffalo gorgonzola.

From there we followed Giulia's detailed directions, and the closer we got, the more beautiful the scenery. There were rolling hills, mountains, farms, and small towns along the route. Every turn of the road was another gorgeous view. WOW! Once we were close, we followed the signs to Valle Nuova, and were warmly greeted by Giulia and her parents.

It was about one by the time we had settled into our comfortable room, chatted with Giulia, and met her dog and several adorable cats.

It was lunch time, so we headed to the cute little town of Cagli for lunch at Alimentare. This is a wonderful little deli/gourmet food shop with 5 tables in the back where lunch is served. The place was full when we arrived, so we were told to return in 15 minutes. We had a coffee in the bar and returned for two great plates of pasta. (Too busy eating to take a photo.)

After lunch we gave ourselves a brief "nickel tour" of Urbino.

We returned to the locanda, watched the sunset from Giulia's terrace, and had a picnic dinner of cheeses, salami, fruit, breadsticks and wine from Ascoli. We were looking forward to exploring northern Le Marche for the next few days.