Springtime Immersive Umbria Tour

Today, we’ll stay close to home and get a taste of rural life and traditional Umbrian cooking, family style:

• Depending on the weather, we’ll get an early start and head out with a local tartufaio (truffle hunter) and his dogs, and watch as these specially trained pups sniff out and retrieve Umbria’s “black gold,” — pungent, flavorful truffles. (Note that we may swap this activity with foraging for mushrooms or wild asparagus.)
• Bring your appetites to a private lunch, prepared and hosted by Paolo’s mom, Franca, and sister, Anna Rita. Friends who’ve visited us recall “lunch with Franca” as the highlight of their stay. If we rounded up any truffles, mushrooms or asparagus, they’ll be on the menu!
• Free time after lunch to rest and relax.
• Tour of a village palace, the ancestral home of a local family, followed by tasting of local olive oil, wine and other products, including a bruschetta-making lesson.

We’ll dip into Lazio, one of the region’s bordering Umbria, and visit one of the area’s most enigmatic sights.

• Civita di Bagnoregio, la città che muore, or the dying city, sits on a dramatic tufa plateau just a short distance from Orvieto. We’ll walk across the long bridge — the only way to access the nearly-deserted town — and spend some time exploring and taking photos.
• We’ll stop for lunch at an underground restaurant situated in an ancient olive mill.
• On the way back, we’ll stop for a wine tasting at a vineyard specializing in Orvieto Classico, our local white wine. 
• This evening, those who still have some energy and appetite can join us at the bar just outside of town for drinks and snacks (walking or transport provided).

Weather permitting, we’ll spend most of the day outdoors, learning about the ancient Etruscans, thermal baths and foraged foods.

• Midmorning, we’ll head up to Parco di Villalba and meet our friend Adio for coffee, followed by a ~2-hour nature hike, where he’ll offer an informal lesson on edible wild plants and herbs. 
• We’ll end our walk at the cozy, wooded Hosteria di Villalba, for a lunch of traditional Umbrian specialties and local wine. 
• After lunch, we’ll ride about 20 minutes to San Casciano dei Bagni for a tour of the major Etruscan and Roman archaeological site that’s come to light there. Then we’ll head up the hill to take a dip in the thermal pools of a luxury spa, where water bubbles from underground at a constant 104F.
• This evening, it’s pizza party time!

On our last day in Umbria, you’ll have time to shop for souvenirs in Orvieto and make one of your own.

• We’ll start with a handmade marbleized papermaking session with our friend Lamberto. 
• Lunch and the afternoon in Orvieto are on your own.
• Late afternoon, we’ll meet at Piazza Cahen and take the funicular — a one-of-a-kind experience — down to our waiting van.
• This evening, we’ll enjoy a festive cookout and say arrivederci to Allerona.

We’ll say our farewells and, depending on your onward schedule, we’ll get you transferred to Rome airport or Orvieto train station.