A day in Orvieto

One of our daytrips was to Orvieto. We had read a lot about this town (city?) and wanted to see it for ourselves. Mind you, we went on Monday so the museums were closed, but the magnificent Duomo was open, and that was the main attraction for us anyway. When we arrived, we found the free parking lot at the bottom of the hill by the train station, and rode the funicular up to the top. (People can diss Rick Steves all they want, but his guidebooks are a fantastic resource for things like parking, public washrooms and information points!)

A walk up through the town brought us to the Duomo - wow, is it huge! Impossible to fit into one photo, given the tight quarters (it sits in smallish piazza surrounded by buildings, so you really can't get back far enough to get a photo from any distance). I could barely squeeze the facade in, nevermind the rest of the church, which stretches out behind in black and white striped marble. Very reminiscent of the Siena Duomo, which I hadn't realized. I snapped several shots of the details, such as the old rose window, some of the mosaics and bas relief on the facade. I don't seem to have any interior photos...must not have been allowed!

After our cultural hit, we were ready for some food! But weren't in the mood for anything fancy. This little cafeteria struck our fancy, and it did not disappoint. I had a fantastic veggie pizza with tomato, zucchini, eggplant, mushroom, potato and carrots on a crispy thin crust. Mom was very pleased with her pizza as well. We also "split" a half litre of red wine...the split being half a glass for me, the rest for Mom! (I was driving so obviously was being careful not to consume any quantity of alcohol.) I had been joking that I would need a detox period after this trip, but now Mom joked that because of being the designated driver, perhaps I would escape that fate but that she might need double!

We wandered into the church of San Andreas after lunch. It had some lovely fresco fragments, an eye catching ceiling, and some other interesting features.

We left through a side door, and on one of the buildings just outside, we came across an odd piece of art, I think it is a scene from Pinicchio but have no idea why it might have been on a tiny small side street in Orvieto!

When we made our way back to the funicular, we came across a park where Mom found a great shady bench on which to have a rest. I wandered about the small park for a few minutes, then we had to move because...I discovered a castle tower! With people on it, so clearly accessible - I must go there!

Fantastic views of the city walls and surrounding countryside, plus inside was a wonderful shady park with a pretty fountain.

Finally we returned to Cetona, to have a quiet supper at 'home'. I made meat and potatoes and veggies...which tasted much more mouthwatering than when I make such a basic meal at home! I also made a stew for the following night (and it turned out there was enough stew for another meal as well, and it tasted even better the second time!)

This particular day happened to be August 8, which was Dave's and my 24th anniversary. So I toasted him, and us, with my wine and wished he was here too!

Naturally the meal ended with dolce...in this case cafe gelato, made by Baci of Perugia, very tasty!