I was given the following instructions from the Bohagirls:
Be ready for an excursion
Don't eat too big a breakfast
Wear shoes
It took a tremendous amount of willpower for Paige & Sadie not to spill the beans. They planned a surprise for my upcoming birthday. Sarah, Paige, Sadie & my Dad certainly hit the mark.
An Organic Farm Tour
We drove 45 minutes from Amelia with my Dad to the small town of Todi, where we met farmer Valerio in a town parking lot. We then followed him in our car for about 10 minutes through a bumpy road. The end of this yellow brick road was a beautiful organic farm run by Valerio and his wife Silvia.
Valerio & Silvia
Romans, 14 years ago, and at the age of 40, they decided to change it up - buying land in rural Umbria to start an organic farm. Upon learning about our recent changes and round the world travels, they seemed to instantly understand where we were coming from with our journey. They have a 17 year old daughter, who we did not meet, as she was at school today.
Top of the Hill
The farm is named Azienda Agricola Poggio Brico. "Poggio" translates to 'knoll' or 'top of hill', where their farm sits atop 10 acres of lands. This spot and experience couldn't be any further from the over-touristed Italy it's so easy to trip over.
Farm Tour
Valerio and Silvia took us on a tour of their farm, which included picking and eating everything in sight. You name it, they had it: tomatoes, figs, wild spinach, zucchini, pumpkins, carrots, peppers, strawberries, mint, sage, chickens, eggs, onions, kale, fennel, potatoes, walnuts...
100% Organic
They adhere to 100% organic and we learned about how they often rely on their crops to determine where they'll go. The wild spinach for example, which they let move around the farm as it will find where it's best suited to grow. I was also interested to learn about the rose bushes planted on the outside of the fields, which provide an early warning system for any pest of diseases that might be headed the crops' way.
How About This Spot for Dinner?
Silvia cooks delicious meals from ingredients from the farm, which we discovered over lunch (see below). During our tour, Valerio showed us a treetop deck he'd completed in the middle of their walnut grove this Spring, after three years in the making. They now have a table in the trees where guest can have a delicious farm-prepared dinner. He told us just the other night their diners were spooked by a wild boar who stopped by to eat some of the fallen walnuts!
Farm to Table...For Real
After the tour, we sat down for a delicious meal prepared with the food and vegetables harvested during our tour.
Bread in Umbria - Fun Fact
We've noticed that the bread in Umbria is very bland, clearly lacking salt. We've wondered why this seemingly oversight in a food mecca like Italy. Valerio explained that in the Middle Ages a corrupt Pope imposed a high tax on salt in central Italy. The result was unsalted bread and the the habit of adding things like tomatoes, balsamsic, etc was born.
If you'd told me at 42, I'd be ringing in 43 in his way...I wouldn't have believed it. Thank you to the Bohagirls for hitting the mark and making me feel special.
PS...
Paige & Sadie are smitten with the dogs we see along the way. Dialogue at dinner tonight:
Sarah: "Would you girls like to live on a farm like we saw today?"
Paige: "If it means we could get a dog, yes!"
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