First off–I just accidentally deleted a bunch of great comments. If yours don’t appear–I read them but just clicked the wrong thing and they were gone. So sorry.
Started out the morning with a sweet early stroll to literally smell the roses and a wonderful breakfast here at Locanda delle Valle Nuova.

We took off for Urbino. Of course, we got a little lost finding the “right” parking area and it didn’t help that the machine for the lot was broken and the attendant explained to me, in rapid fire Italian, where we should go. But we did get the car parked and began our day in Urbino. First thing we saw was a small farmers market including a few local cheese producers. This man was doing a demonstration right there:

They use partly sheep and partly cows milk. We sampled the cheese and of course, we liked it.
We walked to the Palazzo Ducale and bought tickets. The ticket seller gave us special treatment because he asked us a bunch of travel questions about Florida. He’s planning a trip to Miami and the Keys. We spent quite a while walking through the rooms with our audio guides. The inlaid wood panels like these were something I had never seen before–very realistic.
Here is a well in the “cortile” of the Ducal Palace:

Giulia had suggested a place for lunch which was right there so we went. It’s called 0 Km–or Zero Killometers–which is the phrase for very local foods. I was excited about the lunch because not only was it delicious but I ate 2 foods I had never tried before. One is crescia. The woman was describing it to us and she said, in English, it’s like a crepe but solid. (Ken thought we were getting crab salad–it was pretty funny–crepe solid/crab salad) Well not quite but close. I think of it more as a flat bread. Giulia told me the reason it’s so good is it had lard in it. Not surprised. Anyway you fold it around what ever you want–like pita but much better. We got a sampler platter of local pork products and cheeses. In the center was the other new taste. I can’t remember the Italian name but it’s a crispy pork skin/meat thing. Giulia says they boil it in the lard and dry it. Not my favorite thing on the platter but not bad either. Ken tried a local artisinal beer called Amarcord and it was really nice.

I had fun speaking Italian with the two women who worked there, too. I got some coffee and they gave me a little plate of cookies with it. It was a great lunch!
We explored around Urbino some more going up and down the steep streets. We peeked through an open doorway and saw this:

We drove back “home” and had a nice rest and then took a little nature walk. Ken visited the horse:

I took lots of flower photos and shots of the views. All the textures and shades of green don’t quite translate in my photos but the views are truly glorious.


We watched the full moon rise from our bedroom window–read and just took it easy.