A Lovely Drive in the Italian Countryside

Split up a little this morning. Greg, Elizabeth, and Ryan chose to take an early morning walk to look at the Roman Forum. Gillian, Audrey and I took the time to continue resting our tootsies and repacking since today was a travel day to Florence (Firenze), plus. I say plus because we had extra stops built into the itinerary. Those of you who’ve read our travel blogs before know we enjoy driving so that we can a better feel for the areas we’re in. We continue to believe driving is a great way to explore.

Our driver to Florence was Massimo; hopefully, he enjoys our family because we enjoyed our travel with him. First stop was in northern Lazio at Civita di Bagnoregio. This medieval city is 900 years old, and currently has only 50 regular occupants. The only way in and out is by a bridge—so walking for tourists, scooters (that really zip!) for supplies. We went into an Etruscan cave/ home set up in a more traditional way. This particular one was where they filmed part of “Pinocchio”—one of the many versions. The walk and climb are a lot, but it is breathtaking beyond the literal. There also happens to be a large population of cats. Audrey did her very best to document each of them with pictures. Back into the car after a too brief visit, and onto our next stop in Umbria—Orvieto.

Orvieto is famous for its Gothic cathedral and Etruscan ruins. Apparently also wine, but we’ve committed to enjoying Italian wine in every region! The glow of the sunset on the front of the Cathedral was spectacular. After peeking inside, we spend a pleasant hour exploring the streets and shops of Orvieto. It was so enjoyable! It’s difficult to describe the feel of the early evening. The quiet darkness. The lights strung over and down the narrow pedestrian streets. The hum of conversation between the shoppers with Christmas carols playing in the background. A wonderful night with family.

Back in the car and on to Firenze and the hotel. Checked in and then over to dinner at a restaurant Massimo recommended. As mentioned, we are committed trying the local wines, and also the local cuisines. Tonight we had a lovely (I need to pull out a thesaurus for more words for “lovely”.) Chianti Classico, tried the Pecorino (cheese made from sheep’s milk), Pappardelle al cinghiale (pasta made wild boar meat sauce), steak Florentine (do not try to eat this alone, it was 2 kilos!), onion in the ashes, and 2 Italian deserts. We are full! Tomorrow we take on Florence and refresh what we know about the Renaissance.