Thursday 7th

Norcia is the capital of all things pork in Umbria if not Italy. In fact it produces the country's best salami - the word "norcineria" is synonymous with "butcher" throughout all of Italy - and the surronding area is one of the largest producers of the elusive black truffle. As you can imagine Ann was in heaven. It was all a dream come true for her.
We tasted, tested, compared salami, truffles, freschi sausage throughout this walled city all day and made friends with lots and lots of norcineria.
This town combined the sights, history, people and food. We loved it.
We drove back home through the Monti Sibilini National Park and at 1500 metres above sea level with snow on the side of the road and the mountains above us, we came across the village of Castelluccio. The town is famous for its lenticchie (lentils), pecorino and ricotta cheeses. But it's biggest call to fame is the "Piano Grande", a wide expanse that blooms with gazillions of wildflowers every spring and fills with snow in winter. We missed both but we could go back in a couple of weeks from the Marche side.
Further along the way home we travelled alongside the Nera River underneath steep mountainsides. It is along this river that trout and salmon farms abound. It was a food day so we stopped and bought some trote and salmon.