Orvieto Exploring

Ciao!

After our crazy travel day the day before, we finally got to enjoy the views from the property! Since it's about 15 minutes outside Orvieto (a small town), it was so quiet and peaceful there. We had breakfast when it was available, including some pastries and cappuccinos. We then went down to reception to drop off our laundry (which they helped us with) and to see about planning some activities that they had included on the brochure in the room (but we were too late). So, we decided to head into Orvieto instead for some exploring!

We parked at the Parcheggio Campo della Fiera, a paid lot with a fun series of escalators (4+ of this size) going into the town! Thankfully, we also found another way to come in and out of the Agriturismo which made a huge difference in our ability to explore the surrounding areas!

Once we made it into the town, we walked around and explored, peeking into the many tiny streets and taking in the views of the countryside. There were lots of locals going about their days, including many who drove quickly through the small streets. We also realized there were a couple companies operating tours of the town on golf carts - so we decided we would attempt to follow their tracks to make sure we saw all the important parts of the town.

We then walked towards the Orvieto Cathedral, which is is famous for its Gothic façade, golden mosaics, and the dramatic Last Judgment frescoes by Luca Signorelli that rival the Sistine Chapel. While Ray and I chose not to go in this time, I remembered the good experiences from my (very brief) visit to Orvieto on the way to Rome during my family's 2014 trip! 

The main street had some fun shopping, so we went into and bought a few things from the stores, including a fun ornament from the pictured ceramics store and some local candies.

At this point, we were ready for some lunch. We ate at Caffè Montanucci where we picked up some pasta with zucchini, ravioli, and some steamed vegetables. It was really pleasant to sit on the terrace outside!

With the travel day the day before, we wanted some time to relax and headed back to the Agriturismo. We enjoyed the views of Orvieto on its perch (a cliff of volcanic tuff stone) and the surrounding countryside on the drive back!


We spent the afternoon by the pool reading our books and enjoying the property!


We ate dinner at Agriturismo Lapone and really enjoyed the experience! We had a bottle of the wine from their vineyards, the Sassolini del Lapine (with chestnut flour, porcini mushrooms, sausage, and chestnuts), the Cenneloni della Nonna (served with tomato sauce with ricotta and spinach), and the Coppa del Nonno (homemade coffee and hazelnut gelato with house-made coffee liqueur). Everything was really tasty and we enjoyed watching the sunset. We did choose to move inside after the main course, though, since there were a ton of bugs (we did leave with many bug bite souvenirs as well)!

Fino a domani! (until tomorrow!)

Amy