First Stop in the Morning...Bar Gallo.....Due cappuccini, per favore

The day starts here.......at Bar Gallo with cappuccino, and sometimes a cornetto con marmellata. Aldo and Daniela own Bar Gallo and serve an incredibly good cup of coffee, and an enormous amount of hospitality. Daniela always gives my cappuccino a sprinkle of cacao!

Bar Gallo is the center of activity here in Panicale that goes well beyond a cup of coffee or a cone of gelato. People are here are neighbors, catching up on important news as well as much chiacchiere (chit chat). Visitors , like us, are made to feel welcomed. There is something about this town that embraces you, that draws you in.....and Aldo's is part of the spirit and soul of Panicale.

Aldo is the source for information here. He has told us about festivals, written out maps with directions and given us tips on extraordinary place to paint and draw in the area, places that we never would have found on our own. In the bar, we ( especially James) have an opportunity to practice speaking and listening to Italian..........and getting our bad pronunciations politely corrected. Believe me, we will take all the help we can get!

Often in the morning we find our new friends Katia and Massimo here with their family. They too have been very kind and have introduced us to many people on this visit. Grazie!

Bar Gallo is a lively place.

Bar Gallo may be our first stop of the day, but then sometimes before dinner, whether dining in or out, we stop in for an apertivo.

For me that might be an Americano, made from that wonderful red colored Campari, and for James una birra grande alla spina (beer on tap). Aldo provides a light snack, sometimes chips, and other times a bruschetta. Yesterday, a bruschetta pomodoro, and another with tonna and carciofi( tuna,that was like a pesto with fresh artichoke on toasted bread.). Simple goodness.

Yesterday, we joined a group of sitting outside at the bar

under the awning in the Piazza Umberto I....to enjoy the late Umbrian afternoon.....early evening with the sun still in the sky.

Really, what could be better?

Now it is time to go prepare dinner.

Tomorrow morning we will return to Aldo's for coffee

and greeted with " Ciao James, Ciao Elizabeth"