La Dolce Vita.
Joy called from Montefalco. I'll collect you and we'll go to Trevi she said, the market may be on and then we'll go and see Alison. I was pleased and couldn't wait. An hour later Joy collected me just outside Piazza Garibaldi and we left for Trevi, a stunning little hillside village pretending to be an important Renaissance painting.
Joy wedged her little car tightly in a small parking spot, a centimetre as good as a mile and I congratulated her cahunas, brrravissimo Joybelle. We coffee'd in the main piazza, wandered the back alleys and window shopped before leaving for Alison's.
An Italian dream, I thought; this vast Umbrian vista of rolling green and pale golden hills scattered with olive trees, round bales on their backs in the fields, sprinkled wild flowers and miniature compositions of homesteads tucked away in clumps of dark trees, utterly paintable.
Alison guided us through her home and studio, spacious, artistically arranged in old and modern Italian style. These women are not afraid live their dreams and I am madly inspired.
Alison's large loose paintings mirror the land and lifestyle. Her studio is of good proportion yet compact in its layout, everything is at hand. The garden is full and lush, a veggie patch provides everything needed in the household including strawberries for the grandchildren to snack on.
We lunched long on the terrace, sipped Prosecco (one of my favourtite Italian words after gnocci) nibbled on pecorino, pastrami, olives, fresh bread, followed by pasta and more Prosecco, then dolce, Prosecco and cafe....aaahh, the sweet life!
Soon it was siesta time, Joy took me back to Spoleto and we promised we'd do it again. I can't wait.