Blogs from Orvieto, Umbria, Italy, Europe - page 3

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Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto June 23rd 2011

Leaving the excitement of Roma and our Camping Village accommodation this morning , we made it onto the ring road and exited successfully at the right spot for the drive north to Bastia, near Assisi. Avoiding the toll road, we enjoyed some magnificent pastoral scenery as we made our way towards the region of Umbria. Fields of sunflowers appeared along with golden grains ready for harvest, ancient hill towns and the green of hedges and trees everywhere. Quite a sight under the hot sun and blue sky. One of our aims today was to visit Orvieto, a beautiful hill town we had passed by during our bus tour 10 years ago with just a glimpse from the autostrada. This time we were not going to miss it. From the moment we rounded a hairpin bend in ... read more
Orvieto
Orvieto streets decorated for a festival

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto June 20th 2011

Monday Just over two hours by train (15.40euros return) out of Rome is a beautiful city called Orvieto. Actually, there are many beautiful towns and cities as viewed from the train, but this is the one I chose to visit today, thanks to the blog of Miss Expatria again! Situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The site of the city is among the most dramatic in Europe, rising above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are completed by defensive walls built of the same stone. To get to the top of the acropolis you need to catch a funicular, which cost only 90 euro cents and included the bus ride to the center. The trip up took only a few minutes and immediately at the top I was rewarded ... read more
wow
pigeon holes
disc for crushing olives

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto February 2nd 2010

As a day trip from Rome, we wanted to show Mom the countryside and most importantly the impressive Cathedral in Orvieto. We knew it would be colder than our last visit in early September a few years ago, but we would deal. We rented a car for a day with a Never Lost navigational system, and, slowly, made our way out of the city. I was unsure if we chose shortest distance or shortest time, or most difficult route possible, on the Never Lost, but immediately, Eric was peeved. On the map, it seemed a short distance from the Hertz office to the highway, but the Never Lost took us through the city, making numerous turns and consistently saying “keep to the right” until we were a little lost, made our way back around, and finally ... read more
Mom's First Funicular
Opposing Traffic
Eric and Mom at the Duomo

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto January 13th 2010

Reading Under the Tuscan Sun (a great book) has inspired me to put up my pictures of Tuscany. I warn you though, they really don’t do the place justice. I would recommend that everyone just go there themselves. I know that I definitely want to go back. It was probably my favorite part of our half-term trip. We finally got out of Rome. Late of course. The phone quest had set us back time-wise. Luckily getting out of the city wasn’t too bad. Italian drivers are crazy. That is one stereotype that I am full-heartedly willing to buy into. We had managed to get an automatic, which was a godsend, because the hills of Tuscany are not exactly the best place to be trying to re-learn stick shift. We also got a GPS, which was extremely ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto July 14th 2008

A hillside and we mean hilltop really, town in Umbria. A funicular took you to the top of town, but we drove right into the centre in front of the cathedral. It was what you would imagine, four or five story terracotta bu8ildings, narrow lanes, people sitting in door ways, cobbled streets, a cathedral painted from tip to toe with biblical scenes and lots of al fresco dining. Unfortunately we arrived at English lunch time, which is Italian siesta, so most places were closed, but we went to a winery just in front of the cathedral that had good home made lasagne and little pizzas for the kids. Orvieto is famous for its wine, and we can see why. After a little white wine, we decided to make Jays day and get on some public transport, ... read more
On the road
Cathedral
Cathedral front

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto June 20th 2008

We woke up super-early to catch a train, which we had to transfer in a lil' place called Terontola-Cortona... where we met FOG and COLD! I was freezing on the platform as we waited... but I made it and we got on our train to head to Orvieto. Once we went through all the mess to do leave our bags (climbing a steep! hill!) we took the "funicular" -- a type of shuttle that used the weight of the other car to pull us up the mountain. Once we got up that contraption, and grabbed a bus, we found ourselves some breakfast, and made our way through the city... making it to the all famous church! Before we left Ferrara, my host mother explained to me that the church is built to be facing the sunset, ... read more
Very cold...
the "funicular"
mmm breakfast!

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto May 27th 2008

Night comes quickly to this part of Italy. Perhaps its something to do with the lack of light from houses in the towns or even the clear skies. Lights in the distance look like flyflies twinkling in the distance flitting from tree to tree. Thunder storms too feel more intense with the claps of thunder louder and the lightening looking like someone has switched a light on and then off returning us to darkness again for a few moments. It’s lovely to listen to the sound of the rain pounding on the terracotta roof tiles. By morning the storm had passed and we were left with a warm and sunny day in the pipeline. We ate breakfast watching the tiny green lizards which were basking in the warmth of the sun. Today was another urgent and ... read more
Orvieto
Orvieto

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto May 15th 2008

May 14, 2008 Orvieto, Italy This morning we drove from Livorno, after a quiet evening and night aboard the ferry from Sardinia, to Orvieto, Italy. Orvieto is a very interesting hilltop city that has been occupied for thousands of years. The city is home to a very famous cathedreal, and an important example of neo-gothic architecture, that is the highlite of the city. The city has buildings from midevial times as well as ruins from much older times. Old Orvieto was saved from bombing in the second world war because of the Cathedral but all the newer areas surrounding the old city were completely destroyed. The city is built on a hilltop and under the city are thousands of caves dug into the soft volcanic ash that forms the base for the city. Tunnelling and more ... read more
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Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto March 25th 2008

Finally, our time of travel begins. Lucy's been in Rome for two months and I've been for one, which has created a home away from home feeling. It's been great, but there's so much more to see in Italy! We've decided to spend the last month travelling around, and our first jaunt is to the small mountain town of Orvieto, where Lucy's Uncle Nigel makes his home. In preparation, Lucy's Father Iain flies out to Rome and we spend the day sight seeing, with weather showing it's slightly foreboding hand by dropping hail on us in the morning. Yes, hail. There's enough that I have to run back to the apartment we've been staying in (Jennifer's) and grab Iain's umbrella and sweater. Undaunted, we abandon cover and head out. We see a couple churches, have a ... read more

Europe » Italy » Umbria » Orvieto March 25th 2008

We've stayed in Rome instead of heading to Orvieto for the sole purpose of seeing the Pope lead a procession celebrating the stations of the cross on Easter Friday. The cool bit is that makes a speech in front of the colisseum next to a flaming cross, then leads the cross inside, simulating the stations along the way. As cool as this sounds, I found some pictures on the internet and it seemed a bit prosaic. Cool or not, the damned thing got rained out. Instead of going, we grabbed desserts and liqueur and headed of to Orvieto a day early. Our train trip and subsequent ride from the city were uneventful, and dinner that night at Nigel's was fantastic. Several courses with plenty of wine topped by a good torta ricotta and better scotch sent ... read more




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