Travel info meter set to 99% Saturday, June 3 We bid Florence arrivederci and head for the train station with nary a slip up. I can’t remember the last time we were lost, it must have been hours ago.
It’s a 2 hour ride to the Umbrian hill towns and we will be staying in the largest. Orvieto is one of the crown jewels, situated high on a hill with sheer cliffs on 3 sides. It boasts a cathedral of much fame that dates back to 1290, and it is massive for the size of the small city.
Upon arrival you exit the station and right across the street is the funicular that shuttles about 20 people at a time up the mountain to the old area at the top, probably 1 km above the train. There is a square with a fountain with a couple of roads to choose from and Carol, armed with a map, makes the right choice and we head up Corso Cavour which will take us down the main street (one car wide) with predominantly pedestrian traffic to our next destination.
It is a fabulous street with ancient paving stones and ancient buildings with interesting shops on either side filled with wares from the Umbria area. Lots of restaurants, leather shops, and of course gelato and coffee everywhere. This is the start of a 2 day gelato and wine festival, plus a medieval parade tied in with a huge celebration at the cathedral that will draw thousands of people to the square in front of it on Sunday.
Orvieto has a lot of local inhabitants, that while it is a big tourist destination, the locals outnumber us by a wide margin and Italian is heard everywhere. Also English is not common among the locals here so it will be a challenge to wave our arms and shout out the syllables to get what we need.
Italians are so different from the French and Spanish in that they are far more exuberant, loud as if they are always in an argument, and arms in motion even when they are speaking on a cell phone. They are wider in their girth and the older generation is quite short (I fit right in). They also don’t dress as stylishly as their counterparts but the women don’t give up anything in their beauty as a comparison. The young and middle aged men tend to wear close fitting jackets and fabulous shoes, the older men more of the practical variety with their traditional caps, shirts tucked in, and cuffs on their pants.
We are met by a young (30ish) girl, Eleonora, who looks after the bnb for her parents who live on the top floor, we are on the second. Well if the last place in Florence was a home run than this qualifies as a grand slam! It is a HUGE newly-renovated one-bedroom with kitchen and large bedroom, and even a dining area, king-size bed (as is becoming our norm), large tiled bathroom with a floor level drinking fountain again. On top of that it boasts a fabulous terrace lined by walls from 100s of years past and fruit trees and lots of foliage, all maintained by our upstairs neighbors. Pigeons roost next door and dozens of swallows criss cross the sky above us (can’t get away from the birds). This might be the best stay yet.
We acclimatize to our spot near town center and walk the perimeter of the cathedral which is a scant 3 blocks away. We eat, find a great outdoor patio with a very talented musician playing across from us in the piazza and sample some Italian beer. The sun is warm and the tourists are few as the biggest celebration day is tomorrow.
The view from the edge of the cliffs that the town is built on is one of the best that we have seen yet. We ended up in Orvieto because our friend Veronica (partner of Ted) lived here in the past and has many relations and friends in the area. We will be meeting up with them for Sunday and Monday and it will be great to see a friendly face after so long away (it’s been 4 weeks since we left).
We retire to our outdoor area in the evening to dine on local cheese, salami, fruits, and of course wine. Yup, this place definitely has potential.
Blue Delivery 