Getting deeper into Southern Italy.

Last night we dined again at the Agriturismo and shared a table with some other guests Craig and Debbie from Pittsburg U.S.A.
The meals here are very localised normally consisting of a pasta dish and then the main meat dish. Dessert has been thus far icecream.  On the menu last night, was a local pasta similar to orecchiette but much smaller.  The pasta was made in house by Nonna. It had an olive oil sauce with porcini mushrooms. The meat dish consisted of homemade meatballs and some fried potatoes (chips).

It was a pleasure dining with the Pittsburgher's with much conversation, covering topics like cuisine, work, cars, politics /Trump, differences in culture and gun laws.

This morning we woke and made our way back to the main building for breakfast where we planned a small day trip into the mountains, or to be precise, in them.

But first, it was in the car, here are some snippets from the journey.

Our destination was Grotte, di Castelcivita, a network of caves.  On purchasing our tour we were advised there were no English tours and the guide only spoke Italian, thankfully they provided (for a fee) some English audio guides. Into the caves we went and walked 1km return trip.

It was cooler in there, only about 18 degrees. The audio guide was great and explained many of the features in the cave. Leaving the cave we headed to a little restuarant for lunch that overlooked the valley.

Most of the dishes revolved around the Porchini mushroom, my favourite.

After lunch, we toured the valley and then the town of Bellosguardo, where we sat in the Piazza with the locals and had a cool drink.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent back at Agriturismo Villa Vea relaxing.

Ciao Bella.

P.S. Salami update. Yesterday we purchased a salami from the guy in the carpark, he had a basket of them. Tonight we cut it open and it was amazing. Packed with fennel and juicy with the exact quantity of fat and meat. I had started planning to get some more to bring home but have since found out Australia's strict quarantine regulations would stop this amazing salami as soon as we passed through customs.  If you know a good salami producer back home, let me know.