Four weeks ago to the day since we left Woodinville. It does not seem like that long ago.

To do something different we drove into the heart of Umbria. Above a bend in the Tiber River (Which eventually flows through Rome and into the Mediterranean) lies the little town of Todi. This was our target for today – 75 minutes from here. The town was like all medieval hill towns but in the softer, greener Umbrian landscape. This was my kind of town. At the parking lot below the town we took a funicular to the top level of the city. The four hours of parking included the funicular and set us back $2.50. Downtown Seattle should look carefully at this rather than the $4 an hour to park in the city center. In Bellevue it’s FREE. The Todi method actually encourages shopping and creates a thriving economy.

The lunch was the high point of the visit. We ate at the wine bar restaurant, Pane e Vino. For some unknown reason we both wanted the antipasto plate. Now in America an antipasto plate has pepperocini, olives (black and green), Gallo salami, cheese slices and a pickled red cherry pepper. Not so here. First off, the cost of this appetizer was $15. We split it (Una per due as we say in Italian) and we each had a small salad. The ubiquitous wine this day was a Rosso di Montefalco. Superb.

The platter came in three stages.

First the cold meats: Smoked duck breast carpaccio on arugula, salami of duck, deer and wild boar, and other various game sausages and salamis. Second the warm platter: Crostoni of lardo (For Ann), crostoni of Roquefort cheese and honey (absolutely outstanding), fried pancetta sliced like thick bacon and drizzled with old, very thick and sweet balsamic vinegar, and warm Savoy cabbage rolled around melted Roquefort cheese. The third platter had well aged crumbly pecorino cheese with a fruit jam condiment. My salad mix was arugula, celery and mushrooms (Large sliced mushrooms) dressed with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table.

These were taste combinations that I had never encountered before. Every dish was prepared perfectly. I am thrilled when something new comes my way.

Lesson for Day 28: There are new taste sensations in all regional cooking but cannot be experienced without the courage to experiment. For that courage, I thank Ann.