Our group was so small (just 15 people) that we rode in a Mini bus. It was still just as spacious, but it handled the small Italian roads much better and allowed us to get closer to our stops. Day 6: We set off for Orvieto. Every bus ride was fun, we learned about our next stop by listening to the local history from Ben and reading the tips and hints in our Rick Steve's guidebooks. |
This is where our tour took a unique turn. Because of the flooding in the Cinque Terre we could not get to any of the five towns on the coast. Rick Steves' company did such a great job taking care of us! Instead of spending two nights in the Cinque Terre we drove to the wine country region of Umbria and stopped at an agritourismo for lunch. An agritourismo is a small farm or winery that makes half its yearly income in tourism by renting out rooms. Our lunch was in fact at the home of a man named Stefano who makes wine from his own vineyard, presses olive oil from his own olive groves, and cans his own preserves; I think he even had a goat or two! Stefano was a hoot! When we arrived he was dressed in classic chef's attire, with freshly pressed olive oil (pressed the day before), bread, and drinks. He gave us a tour of his "humble" wine cellar, showed us his shelves of organic preserves, and invited us upstairs where we would be making our own lunch! Our group had so much fun getting into Italian cooking. Stefano demonstrated what needed to be done for each course, interjected with plenty of humor about his own take on the evils of food making processes in these modern days. Together we made gnocchi, sausage, pasta with pesto sauce and dessert, we worked up an appetite but were all wonderfully rewarded when the food was done cooking! Making our meal and eating together was one of our favorite group memories from this trip, one that we will never forget.
Orvieto After lunch we hopped back on the bus and took off through Umbria for Orvieto. As our bus driver Adrian took us up the windy Italian mountainside to our hotel Agritourismo La Roca, we couldn't help but gaze out the windows at the beautiful fall colors all around us. Josh and I actually stayed in one of the apartments for our two nights, complete with a living room and huge bathroom! We had a few hours to catch up on our journals and explore until a group dinner in the agritourismo's resturant overlooking the vineyards. As the sun set over the hills of Umbria we took time to relax, enjoy our dinner and a glass of wine made from the grapes in the vineyards below us, and truly savor our vacation.
|
Day 7: Another beautiful day, another breakfast at the hotel, complete with fresh squeezed orange juice and plenty choices of Italian cheeses and baked goods filled us up before spending the day in the hilltop town of Orvieto. Orvieto's duomo was one of my favorites because of all the color and designs. |
We spent the morning browsing through Olive wood and pottery shops and admiring the intricate Duomo. We found an open air market with everything from beef to seafood. And what Italian day would be complete without a nice cool Gelato on the steps of the Duomo? I'm beginning to sense a theme here...
On to Chiveta!