9/06/11 Le Marche

As quickly as we had entered Firenze we began to leave, but not before stopping just outside the city centre for a bite to eat.  It was obvious that we were successful in avoiding a tourist trap since the place was full of locals.  Stomachs full and with a gas tank full enough we started the second leg of today’s drive: another three or four hours to the Le Marche region located about a half hour past the East side of Perugia.

We saw all kinds of signs along the secondary highways announcing the “Feast of the Red Potato”.  Funny, I had never heard of such a saint.  I referred to our family’s biblical expert who just happened to be occupying the navigator’s seat…nope, dad had never heard of them either.  At each curve in the road there was a different potato farmer displaying their yield, but at this speed how was an interested motorist to decide which potatoes to buy?  Seeing as how most of the farmers were burly men with tough leathery skin, I was happy that none of them had resorted to the oft-used “bikini technique” that some hot dog cart owners back home use to attract customers.

We were making really good time, possibly owing to the fact that I had finally stopped throwing the car into reverse while trying to find a sixth gear on the highway.  Every attempt to do so was greeting with a grinding noise that was is a painful to a gear head as chewing aluminum foil is to someone with silver fillings.  What can I say?  I’m a slow learner.

We arrived in Sforzacosta near the city of Macerata and received a warm welcome from our hosts Maurizio and Antonietta, along with their children Marco and Sylvia.  Maurizio is the cousin of one of my mom’s best friends, Lisa.  Unfortunately, Lisa died under tragic circumstances a few years back; and since Lisa always spoke fondly of this region it was important for my mother to visit as a way to honour their friendship which endured for nearly forty years.

Tired from our long drive, Maurizio had planned only one stop for us before dinner, a sixteenth century monastery located near his house.  The surrounding area had been turned into a conservation area and although still occupied by some monks, most of the monastery is now the property of the province.

Fact: The Monks of this religious order shun the decorative and ornate

The sun began to set and Maurizio advised that dinner would be ready shortly.  I saw that his son Marco was getting excited; he had a plan.