Orvieto

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Oh no! Our last full day in Italy. How to decide what to visit, but more importantly, we had to make sure that we had our final tastes of all the good Italian food. Luckily, because this is Italy, we were pretty sure to land on our feet no matter what we did. And, oh boy, did we land on our feet.

We decided to drive out to Orvieto through the Umbrian countryside. Absolutely stunning and, what amazed me, really different from Tuscany. One would think because they are so close together that they would be more or less the same. One would be wrong.

We arrived in Orvieto and found rock star parking right next to the cathedral. A word on the driving. Mom was an absolute star and did all the driving, which is saying something in Italy. She managed to get us from point to point without fail and she managed to negotiate the streets of these hill towns. I would not like to have to try that, even with a valid driving license.

We had picked out our restaurant on the way, so we strolled through the town until we found it. I Sette Consoli. What a treat! Again, we sat outside in the garden and had an absolute feast. We were going to settle for just the three courses, but Mom so wanted to try the fourth that we went down that route. I’m not sure how we managed to get up from the table, but after a much needed espresso, we did just that.

We walked up to have a look at the cathedral. Stunning! Certainly one of the most beautiful I have ever seen and it really stood out against the blue, Umbrian sky. Took loads of photos and wished for a better camera to truly capture what we were looking at.

After spending about an hour in and around the cathedral, we walked through the town for some retail therapy. I found a beautiful wallet and succumbed to the temptation. I consoled myself with the fact that (1) I really needed a new wallet and (2) I was paying in euros, not pounds. Glad I did it; I’ve used it every day and it makes me think of Italy.

For our final dinner, we went back to La Dogana for the mixed meat platter and salad. It was, without doubt, the single best dish I had in Italy. Remember I told you about this in an earlier entry? This is the place where Papa cooks the food on the open fire. Sheer bliss.

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Photos

The Umbrian Countryside
That's Orvieto in the distance.

I Sette Consoli
The garden where we ate our lunch.

I Sette Consoli
Lynn and a bottle of the local wine.

The Cathedral
Look at the stone against that sky.

The Cathedral
Another shot that shows its true splendor.

Orvieto
A small alley way. I loved the way the light worked here.

Comments

[Mandy]

Orvietto - revisted
John and I were here for our first wedding anniversary back in Oct. 1994 - wow, that was a lifetime ago. It still looks as gorgeous as ever!