MAY 13: ORVIETO

This am, sister in law Anne bought the 3 men of the group Italian berets. Initially I didn’t want to wear mine, but did on her insistence. It did keep my head warm during this rainy day.

Ann + Joe enjoyed a glass of wine while admiring the Duomo and the rest of us hung around.


We spent today in the walled hill town of Orvieto, however, the fun was tempered by another day of on and off showers. The frescos on the front of the Duomo were the most vivid of any I have ever seen – they must have just finished refurbishing it because it looked like it must have looked when they finished building it centuries ago. It was nice to see a major cathedral without scaffolding obscuring the front for a change.

This is an alley we passed in Orvieto - lined with trees and sculptures.

We had lunch in a very old restaurant that was built into the town walls, with view through a window that overlooked the green Umbrian countryside. Marge and I shared a taggiatelli with a sauce of eggs, broccoli and capers, grilled veggies (mainly eggpland & zucchini), and a stew of chickpeas + clams, and Orvieto Classico white wine.


Driving has been an experience. Each of our 2 cars has a driver (me and Joe), a navigator (Marge + sister Ann), and a walky talky person (David + Teri) who’s job was to keep the 2 cars in touch when we got separated or to for the lead car to tell the following car when it was going to turn, etc. Getting out of Orvieto took all of our skills because the gps guided us through a series of what seemed like narrow alleys, each ending in a sharp turn. Joe clipped one of his side view mirrors on a wall during our escape. I felt like I was a rat trying to navigate my way out of a narrow maze, only the walls were unforgiving parked cars or sturdy walls.


The other day I had a hard time remembering what day it was, so I guess I have finally gotten into vacation mode. Part of that is probably the fact that we have had very limited internet access since we left Sienna.


My knees have run out of cartilage (from my running career), and my ortho surgeon has been telling me that sooner or later I will have to replace at least my right knee. I am ok for walking about a half hour without a cane, but after that my right knee starts to ache and I pull out my folding cane. The hill towns we have been exploring have almost all been on the top of hills, and as a result, they have a lot of steep streets and stairs. Going down is the hardest on my knees, so I have to take it slow going down and rely on my cane.