Orvieto

We arrived in Orvieto last Monday, April 21.

Orvieto originally was meant to be a one night stop. And our main reason for going was actually as a stop over to get to the town of Civita do Bagnoregio (see separate post). However, we fell in love with Orvieto, our room and hostess at the Magnolia B&B, and ended up using it as our home base for exploring Umbria and Tuscany. We stayed for a total of four nights.

Orvieto is a hill town, built high on rocky cliffs. It is in the Umbria region of Italy, which borders Tuscany on the southern side.  You can drive up to the town or take the funicular. We did both. I'm sure you can walk, too, but we did not explore that option:)

We arrived on the Monday after Easter, which is a holiday in Italy. Therefore, the town was busy. In fact, our first impressions of the town were not great just due to hectic people lined streets. However, when we checked into our B&B we quickly learned that it was in fact a holiday and the town would be quieter the next day. This was confirmed by a local shop owner where we purchased several kitchen utensils made of olive wood.

We used that first afternoon to explore the town, following a walking tour that described the local buildings and sights. We also hit a chocolate festival that was happening in the town square up near the duomo or cathedral. It sits at the highest point in the town and is elaborately decorated. Depending on your vantage point when viewing Orvieto from outside its limits, the church truly sits up higher than everything else.

Our dinner that night was one of the best, at a local restaurant called Trattoria Del Moro Aronne recommended by the owner of the place where we were staying. It was the first meal that we really tried to eat like Italians, including all of the courses in the meal. So, starting with the appetizer course, followed by primi which is normally pasta. Then, secondi which is normally some kind of protein and then dessert. We did skip the salad section which follows secondi, but felt good about what we were able to enjoy. The menu was also the first entirely in Italian (no English anywhere) so thankfully with the help of their WiFi we were able to do some on the spot translations.

The next morning, we scrambled to try to put together our plans for the day, and in the process made the decision to spend one more night in Orvieto. Getting to the town of Civita is not very easy.  Which, was one of the reasons that we wanted to go. We were promised an experience that would make it worth the hassle to arrive. We did some laundry, which was also an interesting experience as the washer went longer than expected with locked doors and so we were unable to get our clothes out. As a result we missed our first bus to Civita. To make a long story short, we tried to catch the next bus which was late, we were nervous about having enough time to explore and the Hertz rental office was nearby so we decided to get a car.

This being the day of interesting stories, the fun doesn't stop there. First, Hertz was closed for afternoon siesta so we decided to wait. Then, Ben had left his drivers license in our room back up on the hilltop, which is of course required for car rental, and in Europe just about every car is a manual. Let me tell you, I learned how to drive a stick from a friend in high school, but with no need for practice I am far from ever mastering the skill. But, I became the driver and Ben gave me a quick refresher before I started the car. Fortunately, I did better than expected, backing out into a traffic lane and maneuvering through Italian hill sides. It was both fun and frightening to drive those curvy roads in a car I could not skillfully drive. I drove for probably 30 minutes before a wrong turn brought us to a stone parking lot in a small town where I stalled the car for my first and only time. Ben drove the rest of the way. That was enough practice for me! We had the car for two days and I will detail those explorations in another post.

Our four nights in Orvieto were amazing. The town is calm and quiet, with some tourist traffic but not overwhelmingly so. And, at night, it's mostly locals out for their evening stroll. As of right now, Orvieto is the place Ben says he would choose first as a return destination because it had the great views, the right pace, good accessibility to explore and we love the local wine Orvieto Classico.

As I type this we are on a train to Florence, I was sad to leave our hilltop home with its comforts and relaxation, but it is time to move on. Orvieto and our extended time there represents so much of what I hoped from this trip, unplanned, we were able to linger when we fell in love with a place and not force ourselves on until we were ready (or the B&B no longer had an available room) :).