I'd be remiss if I didn't make an addendum to yesterday's post. You see, I think though I try to remind myself often how lucky I am to have Mom so healthy and happy to travel with me, I sometimes take for granted the things she is able to do. While having dinner last night, our waiter was practicing his English and chatting with us a bit. We mentioned that we had just walked from the train terminal. He looked at us increduously. "The Metro?" No, we assured him we had come from Termini (the main train terminal in Rome).
He looked at Mom in a whole new way. He was talking about how he would be tired from that walk, and she mentioned that we had walked TO Termini this morning..... ridden to Pompei, walked to and through the ruins, back to the Pompei station and then to Naples......walked a 10 city block circle around Naples.....come back to Rome and THEN walked from the Termini to the district in which we were staying. He laughed and laughed....then Mom threw in that she would be 80 in two weeks....and he started around the cafe, chatting excitedly in Italian, telling all his co-workers AND the other customers about the superwoman at my table! He was so impressed...and when I stop to think about it...so am I!
So, back to the current trip, we'd decided to take the train up into the mountains of central Italy to a little town called Orvieto. We didn't know a lot about it, but from what we've read it seemed like the perfect way to end our trip.
The train ride was the best we've had. The trip up into the mountains revealed breathtaking views of the mountains, the valleys and the rustic villas and villages along the way. So far.....we were not disappointed in our trip.
We didn't know how big Orvieto was going to be....or how far some of the sights we wanted to see were from the train station, so when we got out off the train, we looked around to get our bearings. The first thing we noticed was an interesting contraption called the funicular. We weren't sure what that was...but it looked like a tram that went straight up a mountainside...and it looked like fun, so we went in to ask about it. No one spoke English, but just kept telling us 3 Euros. What the heck....we paid the three Euros and got on.
Well, we found out that a funicular is actually two trams. That are on a cable, together. One starts at the top, is weighted, and is let go down the track. The weight of that car going down, pulls the other car up. When it gets to the bottom they take the weights off, weight the car that is now at the top...and it goes again. Every ten minutes, all day long. And as you are riding this steep inclinating car up the mountain, the views are spectacular. This was our first pleasant surprise of the day.
We got off the funicular and stepped into the most charming little Italian city we've seen. And the views to the valley down below were awe inspiring.
The streets were cobbled and small. It was built at the top of the mountains, so the streets were hilly. There were delicious smells coming from the homes and the small cafes.
Everyone we passed greeted us with a smile and a nod. We felt like we were "home". We even passed a nice Italian guy in a white truck that smiled and waved, slowed and smiled some more. He then stopped, got out of his truck walked around and smiled at us some more. Hmm....he seemed extra friendly.
We made our way up to the top of the little city, to the Duomo, the city's cathedral. Along the way we passed ceramic shop after ceramic shop. That is their trade there. Evidentally the clay in the area is perfect for making ceramics. The work was beautiful and the shop keepers were proud of their work.
When we got to the Duomo, we were stunned. The facade is by far the most amazing we've seen in Europe. The stones are both dark and light, done in a striped pattern around the entire church, except the front. The front is an array of stone carvings, tiles mosaics and bronze statues. We sat and looked for at least 30 minutes, and both could have stayed longer, had we not had other things to see.
The inside was almost as impressive.
Leaving the Duomo, guess who we saw again, driving slowly behind us....passing us....stopping. We walked by, he passed us again. This was getting strange. Mom was giggling at the Italian with the crush on me....I was getting uncomfortable. But, she must be right. He must be following me. I felt like I was in a middle aged rom-com!
We walked past another chapel, past the theatre, and on towards the caves that we wanted to see.
Both of those landmarks were charming, well worth the walk, but there are over 400 caves in and around Orvieto...caves that were once dwellings. We couldn't wait to see one of those. Just before we got to the cave, here came my friend again. Driving past us slowly....and stopping. Okay...I'd had about enough of this. I planned to give him a glare as we went by, but just as I started to make eye contact, Mom started laughing. Not giggling anymore, just laughing. I looked at her....and she managed to get out. "He has mail in his hand. He's a mail man!" Sooo....the reason for his passing and stopping...for us seeing him all around town...and for him being in just a friendly guy.....was not my charm and beauty...it was just that he was delivering the mail. Oh well.
Mom had just about stopped laughing about the time we got to the cave. We went in the little man who was host (and we found out owned the cave, because they are mostly all privately owned and maintained) was welcoming and friendly. The cave was fascinating, with evidence that Orvieto was always a ceramic based economy because of the excavated pieces and kilns that were found in this cave/home. There were also storage areas, living areas and tombs.
Maybe the most interesting was the water well. These people who lived in this area are believed to be the first in the world to dig for their water. The wells are amazing when you consider the time, the tools they had...and just the wherewithall to somehow know there was clean, potable water that far below the surface. Not the first time on this trip we've been amazed at humanity.
After the caves, we were ready to head back to Rome.....so we started walking back to the funicular, without the company of my "suitorwhowasn'treallyinterestedjustdeliveringthemail". We walked by one of the spots that smelled so good earlier, and it still smelled just as good. We couldn't resist. We stopped.
I tried to explain to the nice young owner that we just wanted a snack of some sort. He directed us to a table and disappeared in the kitchen. We visited with his wife and baby (who did not understand English, by the way, but.."peek a boo" and "goochie goochie" seem to be international baby talk. The young owner soon returned with some hot sandwiches made on an almost tortilla-like flatbread.....they were incredible. The bread tasty...the cheese melted and gooey, the pepperoni and prociutto just spicy enough....the rocket added a nice crunch. How lucky are we when it comes to food?
After able to only eat half of the food he brought us...we paid our 8 dollar tab....and headed back down the mountain, caught the next train by just one minute...and talked all the way to Rome about our perfect day.
We decided a walk back to the hotel from the terminal would enable us to do some shopping, take in the evening air and give us one last glimpse of Rome. After a making a few purchases, we stopped at our favorite little Rome bistro, revisited the perfectly cooked and seasoned calamari and added some bruschetta.....and came to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave tomorrow.
What a trip.....what a travel companion.....what memories.
I think I'll have a lot to reflect on before I wrap up this trip.
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