Cooking, Exploring and Eating (and Eating) in Tolfa

My last stop before my aborted/postponed Cinque Terre trip was Fontana del Papa, in Tolfa - a little hill town about an hour north of Rome. I stumbled across their site while searching for Veggie-friendly cooking classes in Tuscany. At first, I was hesitant, because I was set on being in Tuscany - not down near Rome. Thankfully, I had the good sense to change my mind and book with Assuntina and Claudio at FdP. I knew I had made the right decision when I got an e-mail from Assuntina just before my stay telling me she had discovered my blog and was following my adventures in Paris (she was a teacher in France in a past life).

I arrived at Fumicino airport from Barcelona, and was promptly picked up by Assuntina for the drive back to Tolfa. What a drive - only an hour outside of Rome, and we're suddenly on small winding roads cutting through hills where horses and various wildlife roam beside us. Assuntina tells me that a lot of it is public land where the owners of the animals pay "rent" to allow them to roam.

When we arrived at FdP, I was struck by the fact that not only did their villa look exactly like the pictures on their site - it was that much better in person. The result, I came to find out, of 3 years of hard work by Assuntina & Claudio to transform an abandoned, overgrown home with a collapsed roof into what can only be seen now as a luxury villa. I was amazed at the vision and commitment it must have taken to go from the before pictures they showed us to the end result I was now seeing.

I spent the afternoon wandering and taking pictures, before sitting down to a home-cooked meal with the only other guests staying at the same time - Arthur and Bobbie, an incredibly nice and well-traveled older couple from NJ. At first I found it strange that Assuntina, Claudio and the kids didn't join us - but I realized they were much too busy making sure everything was just right. Also - if you host people every day, I imagine you'd want a little time alone with your family.

The next day we awoke to an incredible breakfast of pastries/donuts, yogurt, cereal, bread, preserves, and fresh-squeezed blood-orange juice. I even got into the ritual of the morning cappuccino, despite not being a coffee drinker. After that, we were put to work for the first of our 3 cooking experiences - which took us from making and rolling pasta, to preparing sauce, to picking vegetables and greens from the garden, to making a vanilla cake. All under the (Italian-only) instruction of Gabriella - a great cook hired by the family. Despite the communication barrier, I got the distinct impression we did a pretty good job... and what fun is learning Italian cooking from someone who speaks english?

When not cooking, we were eating, when not eating, we were being endlessly escorted by Claudio and Assuntina to various local towns and attractions... the town of Tolfa and the Fortress of the Frangipane, the Etruscan painted tombs at the necropolis, and the accompanying museum in a palace in Tarquinia, a street market in Assuntina's hometown of Allumiere and of course a restaurant that clearly knows Claudio well and served us food for 12 people (there were only 4 of us), along with the best (and only) lemon gelato drink I've ever tasted in my life. This is the Italy you'd never see by following the beaten tourist path.

With all of that, it still managed to be the most relaxing part of my trip thus far... because really, it just felt like home (except for that Turkey who insisted on gobbling outside my window every morning - that doesn't happen often in LA). I think that's the highest praise anyone can offer for a trip like this.