La Tavola Marche

We've had the pleasure of spending the preceding four nights at La Tavola Marche (LTM). LTM is a agriturismo/cooking school run by two very hospitable American ex-pats. The accomodations are in a big farmhouse and meals are served outside on the patio when weather allows. The pool is refreshing if a little cool. There are several areas around the grounds to linger and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

We've included a picture of the LTM laundry facilities. About 4 hours after this photo was taken, we got the first rain we'd seen since leaving Ljubljana. So it goes. The final photo is from our visit to Fano Gorge.

Mr. Snootypurse and I shared an amazing private cooking class on our final afternoon here. We learned how to make three pasta sauces and two types of antipasti. Our focus was on vegetables (zucchini in particular) as we were looking for creative ways to use our farmer's market veggies. We were in a pasta coma following the class and look forward to practicing the lessons at home.

First day in Le Marche

Who can resist a cute kitten picture? The agriturismo where we're staying had six kittens in two litters about five weeks ago, and the kittens are a riot to watch.
Today we drove to the walled hill-town of Urbino and visited the Duke’s palace. The area adjacent to the walls was crazy busy and it took us a few tries to find the parking garage. We almost gave up but were glad we didn’t.

The palace is huge but it felt empty and cleaned out. The picture is of the courtyard. The highlight of the visit was the Duke’s study which is covered with inlaid wood. We tried to take pictures but unfortunately it was too dark [see here, here, and here for some pictures of the paneling]. There are also several sets of doors with wood inlay. I’m a fan of Rafael and enjoyed a painting of his on display. Rafael is from Urbino but did most of his work in Rome.