This week was also about wine for us here at Via Umbria. For the visit of Liu and Iacapo we hosted a wine tasting here at the store, and then a dinner later that night in their honor. The weather turned out for us, and a beautiful and sizzling evening under the stars was had by all. This morning we are back in the store, reminiscing about last night and planning to bring more bottles home this weekend to recreate the magic. We hope you do the same!

Last week we wrote about the backlash against the McDonalds ad suggesting Italian children prefer Happy Meals over pizza. But the plot thickens, as threats to sue, mini pizzas meant to appeal to children, and a video made by pranksters pile up. The Washington Post takes a bite. 

There was a fire at the Rome airport, but don’t let that get in the way of your travels. See last weeks news, when it was listed as one of the cheapest airports to fly into from America this summer.

A major cocaine trading ring run out of Queens by the ‘ndrangheta was busted yesterday. Apparently the pizzeria was very popular, and had very good food, according to Yelp. In any case, 15 people were arrested after a major FBI investigation. 

Italy has a carpooling app for Vespa riders, Scooterino, which follows the Uber model!

A few towns in Italy have been crumbling, and are now becoming ghost towns. Dailymail gives us a glimpse into the ruins of villages (some of which are for sale).

In other more mundane news, the “Subscribe” button on the blog finally seems to be working!  Thank you to our loyal readers, and we hope you have a lovely weekend.

Ci Vediamo!

Via Umbria