Heading To Our First Cooking Classes.

After the tense wait for the suit cases we make our way through customs without a hitch, then out to a very old, smoky, hot and un-air-conditioned arrivals hall. Everyone standing in front of the arrival hall is smoking so the fumes are coming back in big time, welcome to Roma ..... it's a bit different to Dubai that's for sure.
The cooking school has left a message on our phone saying that our driver won't be here to pick us up for another hour so it's a hot wait as far away for the smoke as we can get. Memories are coming back from last year as we wait close to where Marina picked us up from.

So finally we are in the air conditioned comforts with our driver heading north for the 1 hour drive to Fontain Del Papa. This time I'm paying that little bit more attention in readiness to when I get back behind the left hand drivers seat. But first I want to get off my tight flying stocking which is some feat when you are traveling at 145 km an hour !!! The fields that we pass are the same ones as last year but this time parched by the summer heat.

We arrive to warm greeting from our host Asusintina  who with her daughter Emma will be doing the cooking classes. It was a bit of a double take on Anna's behalf once see puts a face to our emails, when we left last year life at Fontain del Papa was in turmoil with her and her son Luka for those who read my last blog on the hardships of a family run business at Fontain.

So up to our room in the 600 year old villa, it was nice to be back in the same space but in a very different season as it is very hot, humid and dry. Mind you I can still smell the smoke wafting up from the kitchen below but as it is summer it's not the fires that the smoke is coming from it is from the Italians smoking in the kitchen, o well it is Italy after all !!!!
This time being the last month of summer so it is as hot as it is in February back home, the very Italian and very hand made pool is open, it sits high on the hill over looking the 600 year old villa and the distant valleys so it not long before we are up having a cool off prior to our first class.