Provence, Day 2

On this day we went northeast of Avignon to the Gorges l’Ardéche and the Vallon Pont d'Arc. It was beautiful drive through the Cote de Rhone region. We didn't stop at any wineries, but we certainly saw tons of vineyards, and they were all being fruitful. Well, starting their springtime leafing out anyway. All the colors and the flowers in Provence were just gorgeous.

We drove along the rim of these gorges which are amazing in their variety. The landscape is quite spectacular. There are several of these valleys throughout Provence (the most famous being the Gorges du Verdon, the "Grand Canyon" of Europe), and each one has its own drama and beauty. We had picked up some sandwiches in a little town nearby, and found a great spot for a picnic on this sunny day. Here are pictures of the gorge and the lunch spot:
There were some goats of the region on the road and they were pretty cute! This one was the clear leader:
After we left the Gorges at Vallon Pont d'Arc we headed slightly southwest to go the the famous Roman acqueduct, the Pont d'Gard. It's the second tallest Roman structure (the Colosseum being 6 feet taller), and it was really something to see. (The second picture is Nancy and Eileen waving to Larry and Wally!)We had another beautiful drive through forests and farmland. The geography of Provence is very diverse, and each turn of the road brings another wonder.

Provence, Day 1

Leaving Moneglia took us through another series of one-way tunnels. When we finally emerged, we made our way to the autostrada for our trip into France. We zoomed out of the Italian Riviera into the Cote d'Azur. We didn't get off to stop in Monaco, so we can't add that to our list of countries visited! (Or...can we? We certainly saw it!) The car quality all around us increased significantly as we drove through the area. But it certainly beautiful, and even from the autoroute you get a sense of why this area has been so popular. (Please note language change for the freeway from Italy to France! Pretty cool, huh?)

After we left the autoroute we headed off into the Provence countryside to the town of Venasque. Just east of Avignon a bit, Venasque is an ancient town up on a hill, facing the slopes of Mont Ventoux, the highest mountain around. We managed to negotiate our way (with some local help) to our B and B, La Maison des Volets Bleus. It is a charming old place, run by the same couple for 26 years. She does dinner a couple times a week, and that night our meal was right there with two other couples staying there. It was very good, and a pleasant way to begin our time in Provence. Here are pictures of the entrance to the place, of Venasque, and the view:

Moneglia, Italy

When we left the villa, we headed northwest, eventually following along the Italian Riviera. We drove along the high road that runs above the beautiful Cinque Terre. It was amazing in many ways. First, it was a glorious day. The sun was shining, the water was calm and blue, and the views were spectacular. Second, it was quite a road. It twisted this way and that way, carving itself (literally, so it seemed) into the hillside far above the sea. Third, this was Easter Monday, or Pasquetta, as the Italians call it, and it was also 25 April, which is the Italian Fourth of July - Liberation Day. (The "liberation" is the end of World War II on 25 April 1945.) So this was a super-duper long weekend for the Italians. In the Cinque Terre, people were everywhere! So dodging cars, people, motorcycles, bicyclists and everything else made the whole drive a very beautiful and very sporty course! Here's a picture from the road. You can see the road in the left of the picture.
We finally made our way towards the town of Moneglia, on the sea just north of the Cinque Terre. That road along the sea had its own amusements in the form of old one-way tunnels. You wait in line for 15-20 minutes (the times are posted) and then go with everyone else through these tunnels that line the seaside. There were three sets of 3-4 tunnels!

We finally arrived in Moneglia and found our hotel. We set off to explore the city, which had a fair and dancing and other things happening for the special day. It was a lot of fun. We eventually found a place to eat that looked good. While we were sitting there, an Easter procession came by, much like the Good Friday ones elsewhere. People were dressed in different colors for their contradas, or neighborhoods. In this procession they carried three big crucifixes with ornate, very baroque gold and silver radiating suns. Others pushed on a cart (not carried) their local patron San Giorgio (St. George) complete with sword stuck in the dragon, and the requisite statue of Mary. The band was pretty good, and some people carried their own personal sound systems for chants along the way.We had a pretty amazing dinner with a big platter of local fresh seafood for the four of us. After dinner, we wandered back to our hotel through the beautifully lit streets. By chance Eileen popped her head into the church and came out and got the rest of us. It is a baroque wonder. It was very lovely to see. Here is a picture of the altar:
So all in all we enjoyed Moneglia and were glad to get some views and a little taste of the Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera.

Arrivederci Le Terrae

We leave today after a wonderful time. If you are coming to Italy, please keep this place in mind. Great for a family or a group of friends. It is a great place.

We head towards France now. One more stop in Italy tonight, then to Provence for 5 nights. I probably won't be able to blog for a couple days - not the great wi-fi we've had here.

So good-bye to Le Terrae! It was great!

Le Terrae, Day 16

Easter Day! Buona Pasqua! We went to the 10 a.m. mass in Vasanello. I think we had all expected a rather dull by the book mass, but it was a very lively service. The priest had tons of energy, and played the guitar along with some of the spirited liturgical pieces through the service. There were a ton of children there, including about 60 he had sitting up in the chancel transepts to help out with the singing and reading. The whole place was packed, and we were glad we got there a little early to get a seat where we could see everything. We could follow along well in the service. Wally and I have the bible on our iPhones, so we could follow along with the readings, which were exactly the same as they would have been at home, as was the Prayer of the Day and the Post-Communion Prayer. Let's hear it for the Western Liturgical Tradition! The priest had clearly seen these Americans, and during communion he picked a song for everyone to sing that had a refrain in English. When it started, people looked at us and smiled. Very nice. Everyone was very kind to us, and it was lovely to share the peace.

After church we came back to the villa and rested up a bit before starting Easter dinner around 1 p.m. We fixed our pasta with Alfredo sauce, mushrooms, and wild asparagus, and ate it while the meat and veggies cooked, and then enjoyed that wonderful food. It's great to be here and be able to benefit from all the fresh food that's around. Lots of fun.

The rest of Sunday was lazy, with some preparations for leaving on Monday and a couple last rounds of Bocce. The sun came out for a good while in the afternoon.

We read and packed and talked in the evening, and enjoyed one last glass of sweet wine from Le Velette. A fitting end to a great time.

Le Terrae, Day 15

On Saturday we went into Vasanello and bought a chicken leg, a pork roast, vegetables (including wild asparagus), bread, and fresh pasta for our Easter feast. We took it back to the villa and then headed out into a light rain for a trip to Lago di Bolsena. This is a volcanic lake about 40 km from here. We again had a lovely drive, and walked around in the town of Marta. We found a great local place for lunch. We had seafood antipasto, some pasta primi piatti and then three of us had the local lake fish, a white carp they call coregno. Jean ordered lake perch that said it came with egg noodles in the English translation, but what they meant was breaded! She said it was delicious however it came!

We walked more in the town and found some gelato. We headed home again, stopping along the way for parmigiano reggiano, cream, and we just happened to buy another Tre Marie Columba! (We had already stolen a march on Easter and eaten the first one we bought.)

The rest of Saturday was slow and easy, and the sun came out enough for a little more Bocce.

Le Terrae, Day 14

Good Friday. We had a leisurely start to the day, and then decided to go to lunch in the old town of Orte where we would also go for the Good Friday procession that evening. Just 7 km down the road, it's the hill town for this area. On Tuesday before the Faddens left, Del and Larry and I went to a hillside sanctuary across from the town to take morning light pictures.


We had lunch at Taverna Roberteschi, which specializes in fish. It was excellent! We returned to the villa and enjoyed the evening. We left about 8:30 for the "Dead Christ Procession" in Orte. These processions happen all over the hill town areas of Lazio, Umbria, and Tuscany, but the one in Orte is the oldest in Italy. They've been doing it for over 1000 years. It's basically a torch-lit procession made up of robe-clad groups from the contradas (districts) of the city.

We arrived in time to get seats on the stairs of the main church. At 9:30 p.m., the torch-lit processions came out one by one from all the streets around the piazza. Each group of about 60 people had 7 cross, including one very big cross carried in the middle of the group. All the cross-bearers also had chains around their feet, as did many of the others. Many were barefoot or in sandals. The colors of their robes went with the contrada from which they came. Orte old town maps on the walls of Orte show the districts by these colors. The groups were in red, white, black, blue, green, and black and white.

The groups walked into the piazza and then walked down the main street to the piazza down a ways. Then they all came back into the main piazza by torchlight, with the town band playing. At the end was a huge bier with an image of the dead Christ in it, carried by 16 men. That was followed by an image of Mary also carried by many men. Everything was candle-lit.It was all very impressive. After the local Archbishop/Monseigneur gave a sermon, there was some medieval chanting, then the whole works left the piazza by a different road, and everyone followed. It was very impressive to listen to the band, to the rosary said as the procession paused, and to see the candlelight reflected off the narrow stone streets. Many people were in the windows of their houses, some with candles as well.

We walked down the road and then kept going to our car, down the high road that drops off to nothing on both sides. We passed the villa that is literally built into the ancient Roman acqueduct that also belongs to the Vernaldi sisters. Quite a place. Anna's daughter is using it for her masters thesis at the University of Washington, and Peter Cohan is her supervisor!

Le Terrae, Day 13

Maundy Thursday. We decided to go back to Amelia and look at some the shops we had seen on Tuesday. (They were all closed for lunch when we were there.) So we headed out with plenty of time. We had a very enjoyable time walking the streets, dodging cars, and finding little treats. There was a charity sale for disabled people. They were selling wonderfully painted egg cups that were made in Amelia. They each had chocolate eggs. We all bought some. We also found the traditional Italian big chocolate egg for Easter. You crack them open and they have treats inside, but the real treat is the delicious chocolate! Here's a picture of the sale table:We walked a bit around the town outside the old town as well. We picked up a tourist map, and there was an advertisement for a restaurant in a hotel across the canyon on the other side of Amelia that looked beautiful. So we headed over there and enjoyed an excellent lunch with a fabulous view of Amelia. Here's the view:After lunch we went to the big Coop grocery in Amelia and bought some of our Easter provisions. We headed home and enjoyed more bocce and a light supper to round off the day.

Le Terrae, Day 12

Larry and I got up early to bid farewell to the Faddens. A little after that we took Wally, Eileen, and Jean to the train to go to Rome. Wally had never been before, so they thought they would take this opportunity.

Larry and I had a nice day at the villa, doing laundry and catching up on various things. We went into Vasanello in the late morning to check out the market and to see what time church was on Easter. We wandered into places we hadn't seen before, and marked a fresh pasta place and a meat shop where we could get things for our Easter feast later in the week. We were also curious about what was open and closed in Holy Week. We learned at the Tourist Information office (where we also had never been) that everything is open normally except on Sunday. Very interesting. Since the main worship events are very late on Good Friday and Sunday morning, that makes some sense. We get the impression that the Italians have a deep reverence for their Roman Catholic faith with a rather casual informality about its observance.

We picked the group up at the station at around 7:35 p.m. and heard about the crowds in Rome. Holy Week is not the best time to be there! We went back to Eureka for pizza - the end to another good day.

Le Terrae, Day 11

After the rigors of Monday, we made a more leisurely start to the day. We decided to drive to Amelia, a lovely nearby hill town that we had really enjoyed in our last two visits here with Bob and Sandi Dexter.

It was a beautiful drive up the hillside, with great views and all the glories of springtime - including lots of sheep! We parked outside the gate of the old town and made our way up the very steep roads. There was a lot of traffic - we hadn't remembered that from 9 years ago - and the roads are very narrow. So it was dodge vehicles and keep yourself pressed up against the wall! Here's Wally checking out the only cars that should be allowed on the roads in the old town of Amelia:We had hoped to see the extensive Roman cisterns that are under the city, but sadly they are not open during the week until the summer. So we continued up to the church from where there are gorgeous views. Here's picture of us at the top:
We found a little shop open that sold pizza, tramezzini and beverages and stopped there for a little lunch. Then we made our way out of the old town and headed down the beautiful drive back to the villa.

When we returned, we had time for some Bocce on the court behind the villa. It was girls against boys. Sadly, the boys won. The cats didn't care one way or another!We had Dolores leftovers (there were plenty!) for dinner and celebrated the Faddens time with us all here at Le Terrae.

LeTerrae, Day 10

Today was another special day, with two memorable events. First we drove back to Orvieto and went to Le Velette winery. One of the members of the family who owns it, Cecilia Bottai, is a tour guide colleague and friend of our daughter-in-law Sarah. Sarah thought we'd really enjoy going there, so she arranged the contact. And we really did enjoy it!
The property itself is amazing, with glorious views of Orvieto. It has been in their family about 150 years, but is very ancient with roman walls and ruins, and a whole history of overlays of cultural renovation after remodel! We had a tour of the house itself, including the 1/3 mile long tunnel under the house that serves as a wine cellar. Different owners added to it over the centuries. We didn't go down the whole distance, but it was pretty cool to be down there.

She showed us the current winery operation, and had us choose which wines we'd like to try. Then we went back to the house and went into the dining room for a lovely cold lunch and wine tasting. Over lunch we learned a lot more about the wines and the region and the family and the pleasures and perils of being a tour guide! We really enjoyed her and every part of this experience.We got back to the villa just in time to welcome Dolores, our Italian cooking class instructor. Dolores is a friend of the Vernaldi sisters who own this place, and is a wonderful local cook. She speaks almost no English at all, so the class went on with lots of hand motions and a great deal of laughter! She showed us how to make fresh egg pasta, the techniques used to roll the dough, and make the noodles. No pasta machines here! She also made a dough from just water and flour which we all learned to form into little hedgehog pastas by a flick of the thumb on the back side of a cheese grater! She also made real ragu from various meats, a chicken dish called spezzatini di pollo, some fabulous thinly sliced and sauteed eggplant with a spicy olive oil sauce on top, and a kind of parsley/garlic/oil/vinegar pesto to put on vegetables. Oh, yes. There was also the thinly sliced veal with cheese and prosciutto. Needless to say, we had a wonderful dinner that night!

Here are a couple photos of Dolores showing us the ropes.

Le Terrae, Day 9

This was a very special day. We went about an hour southeast of here to Tivoli, which is these days a big Rome suburb. We went to visit the people who produce Tibvrtini olive oil, which we've used at home for quite a while now. The owners' American partners are the daughter and son-in-law of one of Larry's bosses from Boeing. (That's how the pit got into the olive, as it were.)

We had a couple of screw-ups at the beginning of it all because we had a wrong post code to punch into the GPS, the wrong villa to meet at (we ended up at d'Este instead of Adriana), and Nancy had added one too many 5's in the phone number when she wrote it down! So it took us an extra hour to get to the right place, but eventually we did. We had a lot of help. Here's Wally getting help:
When we got it all sorted, we met Emanuele Lolli at the entrance to Villa Adriana, or Hadrian's Villa. He took us on a wonderful tour of the ruins of this ancient place, telling us all the stories of this emperor who traveled so widely (the eponymous wall in north England, as one example) and who had a great love of beauty, nature, conversation, and the arts. It is an amazing place and our guide, who teaches high school as well as growing olives and is, by the by, the Count of Tivoli, knew everything about the history of his area. Here we are walking up into what is now a huge park:We're learning here about the construction of the walls:
Hadrian didn't get here very often, and after his death the place fell into disuse. The local people came around and took the bricks and the marble and the columns and all and smashed them up for cement to build their houses and add to their farm fields. So there's a little bit of Villa Adriana in everyone's property round about the place. When the British and the Germans started all their archaeological trips in the 19th century, they started uncovering much of what was there. (The British, of course, took it home to the British Museum!) That began what has now been a couple centuries of discovery that is still going on. This pool, supposed to be a form of the Nile River (complete with crocodile!) was just a big dirt hole until it was excavated. They found the statues that lined the edges in the bottom. The current statues are copies of the originals.
Our tour ended with a climb to an tower that had a fabulous view right out to Rome. We could see the tower of St. Peter's in the far distance. Amazing.

After our tour of Villa Adriana, we went to the Lato's son's restaurant, which is in an old villa on a corner of the bigger piece of Hadrian's land. We had an amazingly wonderful meal of regional specialties and great wine. Emanuele then took us to his olive groves, and we wandered through the trees and met the donkeys who live among them.
All in all, it was a terrific day. Click here for more information on Tibvrtini Olive Oil and the area. Larry and I can also get you some if you're interested.

Le Terra, Day 8

We decided to go to Florence by train to avoid the driving and parking difficulties. It's easy to get to the train here, and parking is 1 Euro a day. We did the fast train up, and the slow train back. It meant a reserved seat going and a real time, which was good. Our train was at 7:13 a.m., so it meant an earlier start here at the villa, where leisurely mornings are the pattern!

As soon as we got off the train, we found a spot for coffee and pastries to get ourselves energized for the day. We had made reservations for the Uffizi Gallery, which is the only way to go, especially as it was the Italian cultural week when all museums are free. So tons of people go, as well as the loads of students. So even though the museum was technically free, we paid the normal price and the reservation fee to make sure we saw it. Our reservation wasn't until 2:15 p.m., so we started out going to the Ponte Vecchio and then walking through the Piazza Duomo. The line at the Duomo was huge (it had just opened), so we gave that a pass and kept walking towards San Lorenzo and the market. There was a demonstration parade going along our route. Turned out it was Ivory Coast people having a "Liberez (free) Gbagbo" rally, so we gave it a wide berth and headed for the market. It was lots of fun to wander around, although there's a lot more souvenir stuff than goods these days. Jean and Eileen bought the same style purse in different colors!

We went into the Mercato Centrale and oohed and aahed over all the lovely food. Here's a picture of Larry's favorite meat and cheese place:We were enticed to find some lunch, and did so at a fun spot in one corner of the market.
After lunch, the Faddens went to see the Fra Angelico's at the San Marco Museum, and the rest of us wandered about some more in the San Lorenzo market and Jean bought a scarf for a friend.
When we walked back through the Piazza Duomo, there was no line, so we spent a few moments inside.We all met again at just before 2 p.m. to get our tickets for the Uffizi. First there was a line to pick up our tickets, then the line to get into the museum (MUCH shorter when you are a ticket holder!), and then there was the line to go through security (which was a bit confusing and not terribly secure), and then there was the stairway way down into the basement of the building to find the toilets, then back to the main level and up the four long flights of stairs to the museum on the second floor. Phew! But oh, is it ever worth it! This is one of those must-see places, like the Louvre or the Met in New York, or the Prado, or the British Museum. It's not very big, especially compared with those places, but the scope and depth of the art, especially from the Renaissance, is just wonderful. It was, even with the staged entries, very crowded, but we manage to see all we could handle in about an hour and half. (Looking at art is hard work!)

After the Uffizi we went on a little errand to the Florence paper shop Il Papiro, found some gelato, and headed for the train. It was a lot packed into a short time, but we were ready to relax and head back to the villa. The total round trip train ride was 5.5 hours, but it was well worth the time. And we enjoyed the scenery from the comfort of the train.

When we got back, we went for pizza at Eureka in the Orte "suburb" of Petignano. Yum! Really good!

LeTerrae, Day 7

This was a very cool day, both in weather and activity. When we had been in Orvieto the Monday before, we had seen a sign for a performance of the Verdi Requiem conducted by Zubin Mehta scheduled in the duomo on April 15. We inquired, and learned that it was free! So when the Faddens arrived, we asked if they'd be interested in going, and we all agreed.

We started out by deciding to go to lunch at the same great place - the Trattori di Moro Aronne. We had another fine meal and then hung around and did some exploring and shopping. (Nancy and Jean bought shoes they had seen in a shop window on Monday!) We also saw more majolica (it isn't only from Deruta). Here's a photo of a woman doing very interesting working in her tiny studio just off the Piazza Duomo:

It was rainy and cold in Orvieto (we're convinced it's always cold there) and we found shelter here and there and then went for a coffee. We'd learned the duomo opened at 5:15 for the 6 p.m. concert. We saw that the line was increasing around 5, and we got there just as the doors opened. It was a kind of annual Easter time civic event as well. The main nave was cordoned off for people with tickets - probably local leaders and donors and the like -and the rest for all the others. It was also televised for broadcast on Good Friday, so our seats were behind the television setup. Watching the whole TV production was as fascinating as the concert itself, especially the big boom that was moving around right in front of us:
It was fun watching everyone come in and get settled. Some people had a quite proprietary sense, and Jean literally had a woman take her seat from her! It all worked out. Eileen sat next to a couple who were there with students on an architecture term from Kansas State University. They had a good conversation, and the woman told her they had been there the year before (it isn't always the same music or performers) and so this year they came prepared with wool hats and mittens! It was cold in there! But the performance was really splendid - great soloists, especially the American soprano, Kristen Lewis. The group, which has been conducted by Zubin Mehta for 20 years or so, is Florence's orchestra and chorus - the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. It was quite an experience to hear that impressive music in that space. We were very glad we could be there. Here's one more picture:
We made our way back to our car. We had planned to park as before and take the funicular, but we took a wrong turn and ended up in a much better lot actually carved into the bottom of the town. You accessed the town through an amazing series of elevators, stairs, and passageways. It was very neat! Although it was a long day, it had been a very wonderful one in Orvieto.

And thus ended our first week at Le Terrae.

Le Terrae, Day 6

On Thursday we decided to go to the northeast to Deruta, home of the famous majolica ceramics, and to Assisi. Both are about an hour and half away.

We got to Deruta in the late morning, and wandered through the shops in the old town. If you want to do serious majolica buying (i.e., a whole dinner set or the like), you do it in the big shops down in the newer town. But up in the old town you can still see the artists at work in their shops, and buy pieces done by them. It is painstaking work, but the results are so unique and gorgeous. There is a school there for people to learn the craft, it was most interesting to see the modern manifestations of this old form. Really cool stuff! Here is a picture of one artist with two painted pieces before firing:We had lunch in Deruta and then headed for Assisi. We found good parking and walked through the town jammed with school students to see the famous Basilica San Francesco. This had been severely damaged in the 1997 earthquake which shook many of the Giotto frescoes of Francis' life into tiny pieces on the ground. It has all been painstakingly restored to its simple beauty, and it was good to be there, despite the crowds. It was interesting, however, to observer the teenagers. There is something about Francis and his story that really connects with them.

We wandered down a lovely side street to go back to our cars. We drove in a huge rainstorm back to Vasanello. We spent the evening cooking our chicken and enjoying the results! Beautiful roasted potatoes and vegetables to go with it, and the requisite amount of wine!

Le Terra, Days 4 and 5

Tuesday was a quiet day. Jean had come down with a cold, so we all decided to take it easy at the villa. It is a great place to just sit and read. The spring is beautiful all around, from the 100 year-old oak in the back to the about-to-bloom irises by the door. There are pots of geraniums, azaleas, and begonias all around the porches and the deck, and the whole thing is full of bees and birds and a few geckos as well. Lavender is everywhere.
We were also awaiting the arrival of the rest of our group, Del and Sandy Fadden, who were flying into Rome late that afternoon. They were renting a car and driving up. We had coordinated some ways to connect once they were close. Well, that kind of went awry when they missed the sharp left turn to Orte at the toll plaza - it was really dark, and it's hard to catch in the middle of the day even when you know it's there! They called and we finally got them turned around and eventually they arrive at the villa, with Larry up on the road to make sure they got to the right driveway! (The drive from the paved road down the villa is a very sharp hairpin tight radius 180 degree turn!) It was lovely to see them and welcome them to the adventure. We got them settled, and all settled in for the night.

The next day, Wednesday, was market day in Vasanello, so we checked it out. These weekly markets are not as big as they used to be, but many people still get things like household goods, clothing, and especially plants and meat products here. We bought a chicken to roast in the outside oven, and went into the panateria for good Vasanello bread, and bought delicious veggies at the veggie shop. Here's a picture from the market - the stand where we bought our chicken:After taking our purchases back to the villa, we headed west to find Etruscan tombs. They are everywhere. The ancient Etruscans had their major population centers in this area, and so the ancient ruins and tombs are prolific. We went to find the ones at Norchia. First we drove around Lago Vico, an extremely beautiful park and resort area. The drive, much of it on a high ridge and tunneling down through brilliant green trees, was magnificent. We stopped for lunch at a little trattoria in a town along the way where they were grilling meat on an open fire in an inside fireplace. We finally found Norchia, after some odd turns directed by Dorothy, our GPS voice, and several map consultations. It was at the end of a road at the end of a road, and we walked down to it on a path along a farm field. When we arrived, there was a posted sign telling us (in English as well) about the town that had been there since 4000 BC! It was a deep canyon with tombs carved into the walls and layers of walls from several millenia of cultures. Everyone except Nancy (a bit steep and treacherous) walked into the bottom of the canyon to see what could be seen. It was nothing fancy - just a canyon by a field in the forests of western Italy. But all the peoples of the place came together there. Amazing. Here's a picture from Norchia:We enjoyed the landscape again as we drove back to Vasanello for supper at the villa.

Le Terrae, Day 3

One of the many great things about this place is how easy it is to get to many other places! You do need a car when you are here, but it is easy to drive to lots of fascinating and beautiful towns and sites.

Orvieto, famous for its cathedral (duomo in Italian), is only 40 minutes away. We parked the car amidst the tour buses and made our way to the funicular, the fun way to get to the top of the hill. At the top, we walked through the lovely streets, checking out the local shops as we went. Eventually we arrived at the duomo at the very top. It is an amazing building of striped travertine and tufa, with a detailed front that is glorious. Here's a picture of the duomo and a detail of one of the columns:
We added the St. Brizio chapel to our ticket and it was well worth it. In the south transept of the duomo, the chapel features frescoes by Luca Signorelli. They are quite amazing, and it was interesting to learn that Michelangelo came there and learned about painting nudes from this painter in the generation ahead of him. It is always interesting to learn all the connections between people, places, art and life. They connect not only through one region, country, or culture, but with the whole wide earth.

We had a great lunch at a recommended restaurant in Orvieto. Everything was closed down (the daily 1 - 4:30 p.m. lunch break!), so we wandered back towards the funicular, finding some gelato along the way, and taking in some of the scenery from this magnificent hilltop.