6. Todi to Siena via Perugia. April 16, 2023

Buona Serra – April 16, 2023

Greetings –

Arrived in Siena in the late afternoon, having left Todi mid-morning and making a very quick stop at the Food Coop in town to get some yogurt to eat on the road (breakfast). It was Sunday and most everything was closed. After so many rich and caloric meals, it actually seemed great to just have yogurt while sitting in the car in the Coop parking lot. And after 10 minutes we were off to Siena via Perugia. Perugia is the capital of Umbria and boasts a population of about 170,000. The drive was a big success—managing to avoid collisions, scratches, and other potential disasters given the fact that we drove half the time on streets so narrow the car could barely get through and on the autostrada where most cars are driving at about 50% above the speed limits.

We parked car in the public garage in Perugia and then walked for several hours checking out the town, which has many not-very-interesting buildings from the 1800s or so. With 8 times as many people as Todi, you can sense the fact that it is simultaneously a university town, a government center, and an industrial center of the region. We passed ceramics factories and chocolate factories. It is the largest city in the Umbria region and with its old town and gothic main square, it’s known as a center for chocolate and other delicacies. We strolled and saw several large churches, but all were closed even though it was Sunday and the city was quiet. This was intended to be a brief stop and a chance for lunch. Many restaurants were closed, but we lucked out in that L’Oficina was open and we had a very elegant destination meal. L’Oficina serves really creative, artistically plated dishes—all of which have a lot of ingredients that I cannot possibly remember.

Not wanting to eat a lot, we opted to share three different dishes—each of which were wonderful and thankfully, very small. Before we could even order, they came out with three exquisite tiny plates of different amuse bouche… I think that one was some kind of mushroom dish with potato foam. We also had a squid dish that was prepared in some kind of vinegar—very very yummy. There was also a pate of squab that had foam made from beans and a strawberry reduction. Despite the small size plates (actually large plates with small amounts of food), we were totally full at the end, probably because of the high caloric count. If you are headed to Perugia, put this place on the list—probably for dinner when you have more time to linger. The place was tiny, or so we thought. We ate in the front room with just 9 tables, but when I went to the ladies room upstairs there were two other much larger rooms as well as the one we were in. By the way, we walked past (and actually into the entry way) of a shooting school and range that has been in operation for about 200 years. It was quite interesting as the translated version of their materials explained the organization’s commitment to gun safety and to shooting/guns as a sport and not as weapons; guns are left at the range and only used for either sport or gaining accuracy or for hunting. The range is a teaching location and all members go through lots of training and constant renewal training.

Then we strolled back to the garage and we were off to Siena. Haven’t been to Siena in about 20 years (realizing now that all of our far more exotic travel has limited the amount of travel we’ve done in recent years to in Europe). The drive to Siena was fine, although Mike who is doing most of the driving was totally stressed out with cars speeding past at speeds well beyond the limit and a good deal of construction on the road, making the already narrow lanes even more narrow and eliminating lanes for much of the drive. When we got close to our hotel (Palazzetto Rosso), the GPS got a bit confused or perhaps the navigator (me) was confused so we wound up circling the medieval center at least twice before finding our way. Actually, we needed to go through an arch into the center, but there was a car blocking the very narrow entrance so we thought it was a restricted road and missed the turn. Anyway, we found our way to the hotel through streets where we were glad the car didn’t scrape the walls on either side. Dropped off our bags and went back outside the city walls to park the car… and take a series of six escalators back up to the center and almost to the hotel door.

Palazzetto Rosso is located in the heart of the medieval center.. and has apparently hosted travelers since the Middle Ages, when traders from all over the world came to the Tuscany area to find work. The building is from the 13th century and retains the original facade (albeit very updated) complete with wrought iron signs. But, if those 13^th century traders who stayed here could return, they’d be in shock. The hotel is a high design, elegant, tasteful, modern, and minimal statement. It has just nine rooms. We are on the top floor (third floor); the room is large including a sitting alcove and is furnished minimally with a glass desk, hip colors for accents (lime green and purple). There are Pedrali chairs and much of the furniture is by known high-end Italian designers. Given that we are on the top floor we have sloping beamed ceilings. But the architecture and shell of the building retain the old style with extremely high vaulted ceilings, frescoes, and arches. The floors are gray tiles and there are some pretty mod benches and light fixtures. It’s a good mix of the traditional Tuscan with modern design. Every room is different, we are told, and all contain some quirky combination of old and new… like painted friezes, beamed ceilings, Venetian drapes right next to modern design pieces. And we even have a large flat screen TV, so now—for better or worse— we can catch up on what’s been happening on the political scene. (or perhaps not). While we have a very modern bathroom, we were told that some rooms have sinks made from ancient fountains. We also have a glass wall between the shower and the bedroom so that you can see the view while taking a shower.

The location is quite central and so we can stroll and stroll and come back if necessary to refresh.

We had made reservations for dinner at Campo Cerdo; can’t remember where we got the reference. It’s only about 500 meters from the hotel and the walk there was easy—all downhill. As we happily strode to the restaurant at about 9 pm, we almost forgot that this easy stroll would mean a rigorous uphill hike on the return trip. Campo Cedro (translates to Cedar Field) was a big surprise… in a good way. It’s hidden away from any major or even minor street and indeed GPS had a hard time finding it exactly and led us astray a bit. The restaurant is led by a Japanese chef who has been cooking in Italy for more than twenty years. Like the hotel, the restaurant is in a centuries-old building, but the inside is very modern, stark- white with wood finishings. The food was wonderful— very fresh with interesting combinations. Michelin says it’s “one of the most interesting gastronomic stops in Siena.” For the foodies, I wrote down what we ate, except for the tiny starters (which like the ones at L’Oficina) were too hard to remember and they were not listed on the menu. We shared one antipasti, one primi, and one segundi, and one dessert…

First we had veal tongue which had some kind of cheese and it was all sitting on Jerusalem artichoke cream and garlic. Then we had risotto with eel and chives (fantastic), and then we had a miso duck breast with orange and “tubers.” We’ve gotten pretty good at picking local wines which we are loving. For dessert we had a tarte tatin which was “deconstructed” with saffron ice cream. Everything was great and we are getting very spoiled. Campo Cedro is recommended by Michelin although it does not have a star… probably just waiting for one (it’s only 4-years-old). And for those interested, our four course meal plus the little starters, amazing bread and homemade bread sticks, 5 glasses of wine (should have done a bottle but started out thinking we would go easy on wine) and sparkling water… was under $100. Siena is a bit pricier than Todi, but still so much less than the Bay Area.

So we began our day in the 600-year-old palazzo in Todi where it’s all traditional on the inside and outside, and ended in Siena where we are sitting in this very mod hip room. Amazing what can transpire in 24 hours.

Best 

Fern