The first year we visited Caifiordi in the winter we arrived in Pietralunga on December 27th, having left the States the day before.
We were so terribly unprepared, it was laughable.
I had taken a pair of Wellington boots for each of us, which were packed in our suitcases in the trunk of our car.
We also had warm thermal socks and gloves, also packed in the suitcases in the trunk of our car.
We landed in Rome and began our normal trek toward Caifiordi stopping along the way to pick up the essentials for our two week stay.
First, we stopped in Umbertide, a city about 30 minutes south of Pietralunga, to shop at a supermarket named "Coop".
At this point in time, the only Italian unit of measurement I knew was a kilo-roughly 2.
2 pounds.
So, needless to say, we ordered a kilo of proscuitto ham, pecorino cheese, asiago cheese and anything else we needed from the deli counter.
(You will be relieved to know that I have since learned "mezzo kilo"-half kilo and "un etto"-quarter kilo.
I am also working on grams but am almost defeated there).
So we bought way way way more cheese and ham than any two people could consume in two weeks and also stocked up on nuts, olives, fruits and the marvelous fruit juices they sell in Italy.
Next stop, our favorite wine shop where we stocked up on our favorite white-Orvieto Classico-and any number of red wines plus a couple bottles of Limoncello..
The entire back seat of the car jiggled with the sounds of bottles and smelled like an Italian grocery.
We stopped in Pietralunga at the florist to buy flowers for our house; at Locanda dei Fiorucci to eat dinner and, around nine pm, started up the mountain to Caifiordi.
Someday I may understand why we did not think there would be snow on the roads at this time of year in the mountains of Umbria.
When that is explained, I also want to know why we thought it best to leave the boots, warm socks and gloves safely packed in the trunk of the car.
We asked ourselves these questions several times after me slid off the road and got stuck in the snow on the shoulder.
First, we laughed-at ourselves and at our plight.
Then, we reassessed our situation.
It was pitch black, we were halfway up the mountain stuck in the snow, and there was never much traffic up and down that mountain at night.
Ugh oh.
Our first thought was to have me try to push the car off the shoulder and turn it around so that we could head back to the village.
Miserable failure.
Finally, after we had retrieved the boots and gloves from the trunk and were figuring out whether drinking wine all night would keep us from freezing to death, a car came up the mountain.
The driver dug us out of the snow, took us back to the village and waited while chains were put on our tires.
We then proceeded up the mountain like native Italians.
This entire adventure was worth the hassle.
We had to park on the main road and walk down our long driveway to Caifiordi.
It was dark, the wind was whirling the snow about, and it was quiet as the beginning of time.
I felt as though the two of us were alone in the world.