Day 20 – Orvieto

Being our last full day in Italy, we had planned to head to Arezzo, but we are so used to the pace of Orvieto..slow.. we decided to simply cover some of the areas we hadn’t seen as yet. It was a wise decision. We headed in the direction of the Roman gate which has some of the best architecture and views in the town!

The photographs below  show the areas we covered.

On our return we had a nice lunch at La Pergola, followed by an afternoon stroll. The photographs below show the school and other buildings close to our apartment.

Before dinner at home,  we had our last Aperol spritz in Italy, for while  at least. They know how to serve a drink

Day 19 – Orvieto

With all the “monuments” and attractions on Carta Unica covered, today was day of strolling the medieval quarter of the town, and down towards the Pozzo di San Patrizio and the funicoular.

Etruscan Temple remains near Pozzo di San Patrizio

Avenue climbing up to Orvieto

We also passed through Piazza del Popolo, and its Thursday markets.

Palazzo del Capitano del popolo

Markets in Piazza del Popolo

 

For lunch we stopped at Al Saltapicchio a delightful restaurant with a modern twist, yet housed in an ancient building. A charming young lady tried to help me with my Italian!

Exterior of Al Saltapicchio

Interior

Pasta and porcini mushrooms with a spicy twist.

Wild boar and spices

Now that’s an affogato!

During our strolls down Corso Cavour we have regularly passed Bottega Michaelangeli, which takes up a small street of the Corso. This area is full of artistic woodworking and is world renowned.

After some shopping we headed back  for a  relax. The photographs below show the entry to our apartment

Steep stairs to our apartment

Our apartment( middle window) from the entry

Dinner is at La Palomba, one of the most popular restaurants in the town. Grilled steak and lamb were our choices with chips and vegetables. How do Italians make simple food so good! Another bottle of Montefalco was chosen and it seems I have grown partial to a Vin Santo to finish a meal!!!

Ciao

Day 18- Orvieto

The day started with what we thought was a short trek to the Necropoli del Crocifisso, a 6th century BC Etruscan burial area. But it turned out to be a steep decline via a trail that appeared to be….. well underused. The area is clearly of archeological significance, but having said that there appears to be little or no maintenance of the site.

Nevertheless it was interesting and the walk back up gave a good view of the northern walls of the city, including a church seemingly cut into the side of the hill.

View form Etruscan necropolis

Etruscan Tombs

Walking back from Necropoli del Crocifisso

A church cut into the hill

Inside the church “in the hill”

After our climb we had lunch at La Grotta, and although probably not up to the standard of the first nigh’ts meal, it was still good.

After lunch Sue visited the two other small museums while I poked around the town. Later in the afternoon we met up to take part in an organised tour of man made underground caves of Orvieto. There are well over 1,000 of these caves which were linked to private residences on the surface by tunnels. They were established  many centuries ago, commencing in the 14th century if my memory serves me correctly. They were not linked to one another and each owner used them for whatever purpose they required. We visited a pigeon “coop” and area where olive oil was made with the press turned by donkeys. There was even a donkey stall. An amazing piece of history that with ongoing restoration is now a great tourist attraction and a fantastic example of ingenuity from centuries ago.

Underground Cave tour

Donkey Stalls- Underground Cave Tour

Underground Tour of caves

Pigeon Holes in Caves..real ones!

Dinner was at home

Day 17 – Orvieto

Today we moved to our B&B, Casa Vera. It is located in the centre yet quite part of town and is fantastic! And unbelievable value.     http://www.casaveraorvieto.it/indexen.html

We are staying in the Orchidea apartment and it is of high quality and huge. Highly recommended. It would be great spot for a long stay as it has a full kitchen and everything you could possibly need.

Orchidea Apartment – Casa Vera

Today is very much about orientation. There is so much to see here. We purchased  a Carta Unica pass which provides entry  to a range of Orvieto attractions plus significant discounts at many restaurants and shops. At 20 Euro is great value and a necessity if you stay here for a few days!

Today we covered:

• The Duomo and Cappella di San Brizio
• Torre del Moro – the tower
• Museo C. Faina – one of the museums
• A trip down and back to the rail station on the funiculare
• Pozzo di San Patrizio – engineering masterpiece of a well with a helix stairway 248 steps both ways

As well as lunch at Trattoria di Carlo. Excellent organic food.

We finished the day with dinner at Antico Bucchero

Looking to Duomo from the Torre del Moro

View from Tower

The tower from below

Etruscan Vase

Cool and windy…the weather that is

Museo C. Faina artwork

View from Musea C. Faina

Seahorses…Uni of Newcastle???

Lunch Spot. Great food at Trattoria de Carlo

Chicken and Wild Boar and Pasta

Chicken was so good

Looking down- Pozzo di San Patrizio (the well)

Pozz di San Patrizio

View near the well

A drink was required after the well journey

The Funiculare

Antico Bucchero

 

Day 16 – Travel to Orvieto

It is time for Sue and I to travel alone with the kids off on their separate ways. So we catch the train to Orvieto which is in Umbria. It is a new place for us and we plan to have 5 relaxing days there.

Due to a miscalculation by yours truly I did not book our first night at the B&B we are staying in for the following 4 nights. So we booked into Hotel Duomo for one night.

Orvieto is situated on the flat summit of a large volcanic tuff of rock. 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 called Tufa.

The drive in the taxi from the station was longer than we thought but we did have fair climb. We were dropped right outside our hotel, a normal Italian hotel, and headed out soon after. At first I wasn’t that impressed. The Duomo was a magnificent structure but the surrounding area, well, didn’t excite us too much. But that view was soon changed as we found the main part of the town!

Duomo

Sunset

Attractive narrow streets

 

We found a great place to eat, Trattoria la Grotto, where we had an excellent meal and a fantastic bottle of  Montefalco red.

http://www.trattorialagrotto.eu

 

Artist Trattoria La Grotto

Quality Food and wine

 

 

 

Day 15 – Cinque Terre

 

Although missing the youngsters we were pleased when we arose that the ferry was running today and it was a beautiful day. The ferries hadn’t run the past few days due to a slight swell. Sorry about that Tim and Cassie but I am sure Venice is good too!

before we head off..near marina

Our ferry

 

So off we headed, first stop Monterosso. The most northern of the five towns, it is a little different as it is not built into, or on, the cliffs. It is also naturally divided into two parts, the old and new towns. We headed straight to the old, took photographs, looked at the sights and shopped. Then came the decision on where to eat. It was Emma’s choice today and boy she didn’t let us down with her choice of Ristorante Ciak, a superb seafood eatery.      www.ristoranteciak.net/

 

Ristorante Ciak

Being the only non seafood eater, I wasn’t let down as the pesto gnocchi was fantastic. Eric’s seafood antipasto had him in uncontrollable joy…well maybe exaggerating there but he loved it!…and it just kept coming, about 8 different small servings! Sue and Emma’s meals were also great. In fact one of our best meals on the trip. Two bottles of an excellent local white and some limoncellos helped, well….liven the occasion.

Sue and Emma’s!!

Eric’s feast!

caprese salad..cinque terre style

Molto bene gnocchi

Em’s enjoys!

Beautiful white wine

After such a great meal we hopped back on the ferry headed for our next stop, going back towards Riomaggorie, Manarola.

 

 

Ahhhh….

Pitcure perfect

To Manarola

The new part of Monterosso

Eric and Sue in deep conversation

Manarola, adjacent to Riomaggorie, is also a charming little town.

 

 

Manarola

Manarola

Manarola

Spritz time..again

Beautiful Manarola

Shopped and Photographed out? Never!

So we headed home to Riomaggorie. It was such a warm day that Eric, Emma and I decided to go for a swim. Simple, walk down to the beach which was about 50 metres away. Not so simple. No sand here, just smooth rocks of varying shapes and sizes. Not too bad to navigate with thongs but entering the water was not so easy. It may have been the wine, limoncello and aperol, but I had a difficult time getting to, and then into the warm Ligurian sea. Although I wasn’t by myself here. Emma and Eric faced similar problems as did others game enough to try and enter the water. The cool Italians simply laid on the rocks and probably laughed at the tourists. Eventually we got far enough in to get wet but a small wave knocked me over so there I sat on the rock bottom, of the ocean that is, with the water washing over me. Emma and Eric adopted a similar approach. The hysterics continued when I tried to get out! A great end to a fantastic day. Unfortunately I have no photos of the event but Emma may be able to provide some later.

We had a quite dinner in Riomaggorie that evening as we were all leaving the next day. Sue and I were off to Orvieto and Emma and Eric to Bologna then Venice. So the journey with our kids and partners was over. All were sad! But what a great trip it has been. The best holiday of my life! And what fantastic company. We all love our kids but Sue and I  are so lucky to have a pair who we can call our best friends. And love travelling with. And that goes for Eric and Cassie too!!

Next stop for the oldies is Orvieto!

Ciao

Day 14- Leaving Tuscany, destination Cinque Terre

An early 7 am start as we have a busy day. Drop cars at Pisa. Train to La Spezia then a short trip to Riomaggorie. Should take about 4 hours….or so I thought.

The GPS took us on a new route in an area that we had previously travelled, but this time we were to spend about 4 kilometres the A1 Autostrade, just out of Florence. Bloody GPS. About half way on our brief A1 journey we came to a screaming halt……for 2 hours due to an accident. This was one of the few times we actually had a booked seat train…which we missed. Eventually we got to Pisa and while Eric and I dropped the cars at the airport Sue and Emma rearranged our train travel. No dramas. Until we were delayed outside Riomaggorie for 10 minutes, eventually arriving about 3pm!!

 

Cassie and Tim met us at the station and showed us the way, uphill and down dale and up again to our apartment. A tiny four storey place but with great sea views and located right on the marina. Tim and Cassie had found a great wine bar in Vernazza, a couple of train stops away, so off we went.

Vernazza

Vernazza

After photos etc by 5pm we were sitting in this magnificent venue with unbelievable views. Two hours later the days problems were long forgotten.  A highly recommended place to visit.

the Place!

Perfect Location, Company and wine.

And some tasty nibbles

Sunset over paradise

 

 

Fully relaxed we headed back to Riomaggorie where takeaway was enjoyed overlooking the Marina. And our four young travelling companions presented us with some gifts…great kids. Unfortunately, well from my perspective anyway, Tim and Cassie leave for Venice early in the morning before heading to Paris and London!We will miss them tremendously but it has been a great 2 weeks!!!!!

View from our balcony

Sue enjoys the food and view

Day 13- Group Change and Arezzo

 

A bit of a sad day as Tim and Cassie head off to Riomaggorie in Cinque Terre ahead of  the rest of the group. This involves a fairly early rise and a drive to Empoli to drop the youngsters as they train it to Riomaggorie. But we will catch up with them the next day and they have the difficult task of locating our accommodation amongst the myriad of sloping streets that make up the beautiful seaside town of Riomaggorie!!

All goes well with drop off although on return the hectic pace has caught up with me and I decide to spend a day lazing around Romitorio di Serelle while the others travel. I miss out on a great  lunch but also a gruelling drive!

Dinner that evening is back at Romitorio di Serelle. A few snaps of this great place

Ristorante

Dinner Menu

 

And some snaps from Arezzo.

 

 

 

Day 12 – Siena and Monteriggioni plus Dinner at Casa Emma

 

Another hours drive to Siena this morning. Our GPS took us to an unusual entry point to Siena and it looked like a daunting climb……but we were near the biggest escalator, or series of escalators, I have ever seen. As a result we ended up quite close to the centre of Siena. The town is the capital of the province of Siena  and is one of the nation’s most visited tourist attractions.  It is famous for its  art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year in the huge main Piazza del Campo

 

Unfortunately after a half hour or so it began to rain…and rain ..and rain. We have been very lucky to date so I won’t complain. After a little sight-seeing and shopping we opted for an early lunch, yes on the main piazza!

After lunch the sun came out so we did some more sight-seeing before heading to Monteriggioni, a small walled town on the way back home. This is a tiny village full of character and well worth a visit.

 

 

We were booked in for a wine tasting and early dinner tonight at Casa Emma winery. Sue and I had visited here 5 years ago and loved the place, and their wines. And with Emma with us this time it was an obvious choice. And only 10 minutes for home. Last time we were there they didn’t offer food so this new option was perfect.

Casa Emma

Sangiovese grapes

The tasting and dinner proved to be a combined affair which suited us. The wines were excellent, Chianti Classicos and others, and some beautiful aged balsamic. They even offered us some of their $100 per bottle Grappa which was excellent.

The Grappa Girl

We had the entire place to ourselves and were spoilt with excellent wines, great home style cooking and fantastic service. A great night.  And of course some purchases were made!

 

Day 11 – San Gimignano

 

Day 11 saw us visit San Gimignano. Well five of us anyway. Sue succumbed to the hectic pace being brought down by a bad cold so only 5 of us headed off on the hour drive. Sue and I have visited this charming town previously so we knew it was well worth a visit despite its tourist orientation…well we are tourists anyway. It is a small walled medieval hill town sometimes known as the Town of Fine Towers. It is famous for its medieval architecture and of course its towers.

 

We climbed the one tower accessible for tourists which provided a great view and a good work out to get there!

 

The obligitory main square lunch was had and then of course some shopping. There are a huge number of shops selling a variety of touristy knick-knacks.

 

Pizza and more Aperol Spritz

On arrival back at Romitorio di Serelle we found Sue feeling a lot better.

Romitorio di Serelle offers dinner 5 nights per week so we opted for that option tonight. We also took advantage of a formal wine tasting that they offer every Wednesday evening. Sue and I had enjoyed this on our  last visit so the six of us became part of a group of 10 that tasted a number of Tuscan wines plus some amazing balsamic vinegar. We all purchased some vini and balsamic to have later on in the trip…the balsamic was the most expensive despite its small quantity, but well worth it.

One development on this trip has been Cassie drinking red wine and enjoying it!

The dinner was simple Tuscan food, very nice and well priced.

 

Grapes in the wine grown adjacent to RdS

Ciao—Siena tomorrow