More from Today in Spoleto

I do have a car here, and sleep was impossible past 4:30 due to jet lag, so I took off at sunrise and reconnoitered the area.prior to a two-hour briefing scheduled for 11:00.  That led me to Trevi, the town shown in the earlier blog.  Driving the snake trail up the mountain to the town one passes through miles of olive groves, the biggest crop on the east side of the valley.  Since Roman times, the east side of the valley grew olives and the west side grew grapes.  Oil and wine being the two main products of  Umbria.

Here are a few shots of the men picking olives, the harvest has just begun.  After spreading the nets under the tree, two of them will climb the ladders and "comb" the olives off the branches.  They sometimes use a battery operated vibrating device but it damages the tree more than this tried and true method.

This next shot is of the same town, as the earlier post, but in the morning.  Parking can be a problem in these cities, where many of the streets allow a car to pass with about two layers of paint to spare.

Later in the day, I had a great treat, when I visited a farm owned by the man who owns the apartment I'm living in.  The farm dates to the 1,5 oo's and his family has owned it back to his great-great grandfather.  He walked me through the veritable museum of equipment used to make olive oil over the history of the farm, and gave me enough information to go into the business.

Finally, a few shots of the apartment I'm staying in.  I can't believe how modern and beautiful it is, given it is a rehab of an old farm building.

Untours, that helped me set up this trip furnished the basket of food (enough for three days) on the kitchen table to greet me when I arrived, and the kitchen is completely furnished with the dishes, and cooking utensils.  I can't say enough about UnTours (based in Philadelphia).  If you like to drive, as I do, they are the perfect companion to give you the tools to enjoy exploring anyplace in Europe.  

Ciao!