Today we drove back from the Furlo Gorge, which we visited during the first week here, after a morning of collecting data in the field. Last night we stayed in a cheap hotel because Furlo is about a two hour drive from Coldigioco and we had a lot of work to do in just two days in the field. The highlight of this excursion was definitely the dinner we had at the hotel last night. For a cheap hotel they really spoiled us with linguine in a truffle sauce with sliced fresh truffles on top (my first truffles ever!), pork with a wonderful gravy, frittata with truffles, and salad. At the end of the meal our host gave Sandro a bottle of some sort of banana liqueur that he passed down the table to let us try as well. An incredible meal and a couple glasses of wine makes any hot and sweaty day in the field seem like the distant past. I should elaborate on the truffles as it turned out to be an interesting story that Sandro told us on our drive back from Furlo. The town of Aqualagna, just a ten minute drive southwest of Furlo, is a huge center truffle hunting and truffle cultivating, though being a small town. They have a market every year after the harvest of their most expensive truffles, the black and white, which draws foodies, chefs, and rich folks from around the world each year. We were eating summer truffles, the cheapest and most abundant truffle in the region though still wonderful to eat!
This is the first actually good beer I've had in Europe. Italians love wine above anything and while their attempts to make beer have turned out fairly popular, they also remain light, bland, and cheap. Peroni is the most widely seen Italian beer while Birra Moretti and Nastra Azzurro are a close second and third. These are very similar to a cheap American lager like PBR or Miller. This beer, brewed at an Italian microbrewery in the style of an American pale ale, was actually tasty and full-bodied. A wonderful relief to sip at the caffe in Furlo as we waited for our classmates to finish up in the field.
I feel like a view like this is just a staple of this blog but every time we pass through another gorge of the Apennines or achieve a mountain top vista, I am reminded of how beautiful this place is and how lucky I am to be here. This gorge is very near the town of Piobbico.
This sign sits by the road as you enter the small town of Piobbico, the international home of the "uglies." It's a bit of a long story but basically ever since the romantic period in the 1800s, Club dei Brutti has existed here in Piobbico in opposition to the trends in fashion and body shape that have defined especially the image of a "perfect" woman over the years. At some point about a century ago, the club began hosting a Festival of the Uglies in order to elect its president and celebrate ugliness. Their motto is "ugliness is virtue, beauty is slavery."
And an enormous moon awaited us upon our return to Coldigioco.
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