One of our errands today was to stop in a bakery in Viterbo and order some “Pansucchio” for Christmas, for ourselves and as gifts for friends. Pansucchio is a panettone-like cake, made only at this bakery, using their 70-year-old mother yeast. It is filled with chestnuts, dark chocolate, and then doused in rum. it is BOOZY and really, really delicious. Half an hour before eating, you are supposed to turn it upside down, to let the rum soak through.

We sometimes think that we won some sort of lottery to find a place with vicini (neighbors) as wonderful as ours in this little town. They have made us feel so welcome and cared for since the moment we moved into our tiny place in 2019.

Supermarkets and big-box stores (more or less the equivalent of Lowe’s or Kmart) exist in Italy, especially near the bigger city centers. But in the small towns that we like to visit (and in which we live!), the individual shops - often family-operated - are often the most convenient. They’re also where you can get the best service - the folks working there are invested in and take pride in offering good products and helpful assistance when needed.