A day in ORVIETO

Cliffs of Orvieto

(Saturday, 2/16) The few days I have not been blogging have been filled with rest and homework, trying to get over this never-ending cold which seems to persist because of the weather and constant activities.  But for a day, I was going to pack in the DayQuil and not let anything stop me from enjoying our first travel experience away from Rome!

Trattoria Del Moro Aronne

Our Grassy Knoll Nap

   Travel alone was an adventure.  Imagine a group of Americans carrying backpacks, realizing they're on the wrong end of the Termini, and sprinting across the tracks, only to be stopped by an unhappy Janitor because supposedly, we are supposed to take the stairs underground to get to the other side!  So while half of us sprinted across the tracks to make the train, the other half of us sprinted down the stairs and up and across the termini, with our bouncing backpacks trailing behind.  We made it thank goodness!  And we spent the rest of the train ride making faces as our ears popped every time we went in a darkened tunnel through a hill in the Italian landscape.  When we arrived in Orvieto, we had to take a cable car to the top of the hill where the town was located.  It was magnificant!  The quant little town was surrounded by cliffs that overlooked vast green landscape of farms and castle ruins.  After taking very "avant garde" pictures on the cliffs, we hiked into town.  Orvieto was exactly as I pictured an Italian town to look: Old and quaint buildings with flowered terraces lining narrow cobble-stone streets, fresh produce markets, old couples drinking caffe, children running around (which is nice to see since there are few in Rome), dogs, cats, and a very neighborly feel.  We walked into the central plaza "Piazza Del Popolo" where a fresh farmers market was taking place.  We talked to some Dominican sisters in the square who had been sisters for 50 years!  They could immediately tell we were American because of how tall we were.  After we grabbed some fresh fruit and nuts, we headed to a local family-run restaurant our pal Rick Steve suggested.  We peeked through some curtains which led into the kitchen, only to be told that we had an hour until it opened.  So we walked down the block to the Duomo, the great medieval basilica in the center of the town.  It was huge and very ornate, and the sides of it were decorated in a zebra-striped pattern.  Instead of paying to go inside and tour, we entered into the side door to go pray in the chapel where the Eucharistic miricale of Bolsena was performed:
     In 1263, a priest named Peter of Prague had doubts that the bread used in Communion could really be transformed into the body of Christ.  But during Mass, as he held the host aloft and blessed it, the bread began to bleed, running down his arms and dripping onto a linen cloth (a "corporeal") on the altar.  The bloody cloth is placed above the altar in the chapel where we prayed.  Pope Urban IV was amazed and proclamed a new holiday, "Corpus Christi" (Body of Christ) and the Orvieto cathedral was built to display this miraculous relic.
   It was time to head over to what would be the most amazing meal we've had thus far.  "Trattoria del Moro Aronne" is on a little side street and is run by Christian and his mother, Rolanda.  We ordered fresh Orvieto wine, Bruschetta with flavorful chicken liver, and nidi--folds of fresh pasta envelopeing warm, gooey Pecorino cheese sweetened with honey--finishing off with hot creme brulee....is your mouth watering yet?  We were so satisfied that we debated coming back for dinner, and any doubts about Rick Steves melted away and we trusted him as our new alli.  After lunch we took a stroll down the "Rupe" path which encircles the cliffs overlooking a beautiful green Italian landscape.  We happened across a playground and hopscotch and let ourselves be kids for a little while.  As the food and wine sank in our bellies we found a grassy knoll over the cliff and plopped down for a nap in the sun.  Although this spot seemed to be "romance central" for Italian couples, our brisk American manner scared them off and we had the whole park to ourselves.  This was the best 20 minutes of relaxation I've ever experienced.  Eventually we moved camp and continued walking, only to find we were back at the train station.  This city was smaller than expected!  So we did about the only thing there is to do in Orvieto (unless you're an archeologist and love to see the bottom of wells), we looked for more food.  We took a long 2 hour coffee break in this delightful shop with newspaper clippings lining the walls.  I remembered that I had left my camelbak water bottle in the restaraunt so I walked back to the place only to find it was closed.  Peeking my head through the curtain I waved Christian over and tried to explain to him that my water bottle was missing.  Thinking I wanted water as if I were ordering from the table he joyfully said, "Aqua? Naturale O Frizzante?"  Thankfully, a couple behind us translated but he sadly said that they threw it away.  Feeling bad, he handed me what looked like a wine bottle filled with water.  My new water bottle became a wine bottle....it was quite hilarious!

Orveito

  We grabbed some cheese, bread, and wine and headed for the train.  We met two girls who spoke english, Lauren and Katie.  They were from Tempus University and were studying Art History near the Vatican.  Their tip to us about Rome was to visit the 24 hour bakery near St. Peter's.  They told us there were 30 cent "Bombas" (donuts filled with nutella)...we were sold to go that night!
   The train came and we boarded, but a few of us were hesitant about if it was the right train.  But the guy who checked my ticket didn't say anything so we took a seat and began our picnic.  30 Minutes later a woman and police officer knock on our door and ask to see our tickets.  Handing her mine, she mutters a few words to the Policeman and proceeds to tell us that we are on the wrong train.  Apparantly, the "fast train (the one you pay double to be on)" was 20 minutes late and came at the time ours was supposed to arrive.  Instead of fining us an obscene amount of money, she let us off with a warning.  What a nice lady!  We offered her wine, but she was on the job.
   From the train to the metro, we stopped at the bakery and grabbed our warm Bombas, ecstatic that we found our new favorite place in Rome.  Stuffed and ready for bed, we decided to walk back instead of take the train.  We had completed our first travel outside the city, and we were tremendously grateful to have had such a marvelous day.