24 October ’05, Monday.
We were up early enough to catch the camp bus by 8:30…it is amazing what we are doing for “Auntie Ann”… This morning we were going to catch the metro train to the “Terminal” station and from there catch the real train to Orvieto. I was afraid that if I showed up with the van again they would impound it right on the spot. Besides, the train ride was very comfortable, reasonable, and didn’t need a parking spot. The trip took us one hour and then as you come off the train there is a funicular to take you to the top of the hill…quite nifty if you ask me. Our return ticket was for 7:30, so we had plenty of time to visit every nook and cranny. Something that is amazing to us is the size of the main church or cathedral of each and every one of these hill top communities. Orvieto is no different, but it does have one of the biggest. The “Duomo” is quite striking, as it is made up of black and white marble blocks making the cathedral stripped horizontally inside and out. On the façade, there are white marble pillars that are carved with scenes of the world (Creation, Tree of Jesse, New Testament, and the Last Judgment). Then most striking to me, is the absolutely beautiful mosaic pictures that adorn the most of the front above the doors. In asking why such a church here in Orvieto, the answer was most likely because a blood stained cloth. In 1260’s, a Bohemian priest doubted that the bread used in Communion was really the body of Christ…as the story goes, the bread then bled, staining the linen cloth. So, with such a magnificent relic you must have a magnificent cathedral… After totally enjoying our time in the Duomo, we headed out to walk all the narrow streets and alleyways that Orvieto holds. We saw many “treasures” and views, met some wonderful locals, and as always did some shopping. As it is always necessary to eat, we did what is natural…we ate. For lunch we all had some homemade minestrone soup and bread, and then had to find the local Gelato Shoppe for dessert. Now we had to find something strenuous to work off the calories we had just finished. Finding St. Patrick’s Well, we decided to walk the 250 steps down into the well…and then back up… The steps were quite wide, as it was originally built so that the mules could walk down, have the barrels filled with water, and then walk out with out a problem. The interesting thing about St. Patrick’s Well, was that you did not walk up the same stairway as you walked down. They had designed it so that it could be in continuous use, and also well lit with natural light all the way down to the water. At about 5, we all wanted a glass of the local wine, so we went on the hunt. We originally started out looking for “tasting”, but we found none, so then we went looking for just the right spot to sit and enjoy a glass before dinner. Louise spotted a sign down this little alleyway that seemed to go no-where. Then, just when we thought it was a dead-end, a closed doorway appeared under a sign. It didn’t look like much, but we tried the door and looked inside. We found a small room, clean, tables set with checked tablecloths, and a mans voice from back in another room saying “Buona Sera”… He came rushing out to meet us with a big smile and a wave to sit at one of the empty tables (Hell, they were ALL empty…). We were caught… His personality, and the overall room made us feel we had found that just right spot, and let me tell you, we did. We had some very good local wine and we also found the best buy in town…we hit the jackpot. Now we had to hurry to find the right restaurant, have dinner and get to our train before 7:30. One of the things we have had trouble remembering while here in Italy, is the restaurants don’t open until 7:30 or later…we struck out !!! Oh well, we had a great time anyway, and the train ride back was good a well. Now let me tell you what happened when we got back to Rome. Getting off the train, we hurried to the metro only to find the gates being closed right before our eyes…the metro was closed for the night. Now what? The only real option for us is the bus…that will take us to the other train station and we can get home before 11:00. Running around looking for a bus, that we have no idea of were it goes turned out to be a bad idea. Then asking a couple of other bus drivers, they pointed to a location and said “MA-1”, so off we run. Just as we arrived, the MA-1 was pulling out and wouldn’t open its doors…all he would do was point back at the bus stop. OK, we’ll wait for the next bus. It wasn’t too long and it arrived. Great, now we will have plenty of time to catch the last train. Enjoying the ride, I noticed some Roman Walls we hadn’t seen before…”WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ??? Asking the bus driver if we were going to the train station, he shook his head and pointed back to where we had come from…stopping at the next stop, we ran across the street, caught the next MA-1 back the other direction. Luckily, we did make it, and I mean just, as the last train was still sitting at the stand…for another 5 minutes… Tomorrow…Rome one last time…
We were up early enough to catch the camp bus by 8:30…it is amazing what we are doing for “Auntie Ann”… This morning we were going to catch the metro train to the “Terminal” station and from there catch the real train to Orvieto. I was afraid that if I showed up with the van again they would impound it right on the spot. Besides, the train ride was very comfortable, reasonable, and didn’t need a parking spot. The trip took us one hour and then as you come off the train there is a funicular to take you to the top of the hill…quite nifty if you ask me. Our return ticket was for 7:30, so we had plenty of time to visit every nook and cranny. Something that is amazing to us is the size of the main church or cathedral of each and every one of these hill top communities. Orvieto is no different, but it does have one of the biggest. The “Duomo” is quite striking, as it is made up of black and white marble blocks making the cathedral stripped horizontally inside and out. On the façade, there are white marble pillars that are carved with scenes of the world (Creation, Tree of Jesse, New Testament, and the Last Judgment). Then most striking to me, is the absolutely beautiful mosaic pictures that adorn the most of the front above the doors. In asking why such a church here in Orvieto, the answer was most likely because a blood stained cloth. In 1260’s, a Bohemian priest doubted that the bread used in Communion was really the body of Christ…as the story goes, the bread then bled, staining the linen cloth. So, with such a magnificent relic you must have a magnificent cathedral… After totally enjoying our time in the Duomo, we headed out to walk all the narrow streets and alleyways that Orvieto holds. We saw many “treasures” and views, met some wonderful locals, and as always did some shopping. As it is always necessary to eat, we did what is natural…we ate. For lunch we all had some homemade minestrone soup and bread, and then had to find the local Gelato Shoppe for dessert. Now we had to find something strenuous to work off the calories we had just finished. Finding St. Patrick’s Well, we decided to walk the 250 steps down into the well…and then back up… The steps were quite wide, as it was originally built so that the mules could walk down, have the barrels filled with water, and then walk out with out a problem. The interesting thing about St. Patrick’s Well, was that you did not walk up the same stairway as you walked down. They had designed it so that it could be in continuous use, and also well lit with natural light all the way down to the water. At about 5, we all wanted a glass of the local wine, so we went on the hunt. We originally started out looking for “tasting”, but we found none, so then we went looking for just the right spot to sit and enjoy a glass before dinner. Louise spotted a sign down this little alleyway that seemed to go no-where. Then, just when we thought it was a dead-end, a closed doorway appeared under a sign. It didn’t look like much, but we tried the door and looked inside. We found a small room, clean, tables set with checked tablecloths, and a mans voice from back in another room saying “Buona Sera”… He came rushing out to meet us with a big smile and a wave to sit at one of the empty tables (Hell, they were ALL empty…). We were caught… His personality, and the overall room made us feel we had found that just right spot, and let me tell you, we did. We had some very good local wine and we also found the best buy in town…we hit the jackpot. Now we had to hurry to find the right restaurant, have dinner and get to our train before 7:30. One of the things we have had trouble remembering while here in Italy, is the restaurants don’t open until 7:30 or later…we struck out !!! Oh well, we had a great time anyway, and the train ride back was good a well. Now let me tell you what happened when we got back to Rome. Getting off the train, we hurried to the metro only to find the gates being closed right before our eyes…the metro was closed for the night. Now what? The only real option for us is the bus…that will take us to the other train station and we can get home before 11:00. Running around looking for a bus, that we have no idea of were it goes turned out to be a bad idea. Then asking a couple of other bus drivers, they pointed to a location and said “MA-1”, so off we run. Just as we arrived, the MA-1 was pulling out and wouldn’t open its doors…all he would do was point back at the bus stop. OK, we’ll wait for the next bus. It wasn’t too long and it arrived. Great, now we will have plenty of time to catch the last train. Enjoying the ride, I noticed some Roman Walls we hadn’t seen before…”WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ??? Asking the bus driver if we were going to the train station, he shook his head and pointed back to where we had come from…stopping at the next stop, we ran across the street, caught the next MA-1 back the other direction. Luckily, we did make it, and I mean just, as the last train was still sitting at the stand…for another 5 minutes… Tomorrow…Rome one last time…