We left Rome this morning at 9:00am in our impossibly small -- although incredibly (fuel) efficient -- Ford "macchina," crossed into the province of Umbria, and stopped for a few hours at the small hillside town of Orvieto. This wasn't really our plan for the day, but we were happy to turn off and explore at random.
Orvieto was refreshingly small and quiet. Apparently, the town was successful in getting one of its former residents beatified (sainthood), which seems to have directly contributed to the its disproportionate wealth-to-size ratio. There is a magnificent gothic cathedral in Orvieto. The Byzantine style mosaics on its facade are stunningly beautiful and only add to its grandeur amidst the backdrop of an otherwise sleepy hilltop Umbrian town. As you may already know, it was in Orvieto that we were first able to connect to the internet and update our blog with pictures (please see the "Photo Album" section of the blog for more photos). So, please do view and comment.
At about 3:00pm or so we headed out for Perugia. After getting lost on the way to Perugia and then getting lost IN Perugia (a story for another time), we checked into our hotel at 6:30pm or so and promptly hit the town to have a look around and get some dinner. After some post-dinner gelato, we strolled through the rolling streets of Perugia appreciating its unique ambience of medieval settings and modern everyday attractions.
We're now getting ready for bed so we can rest for our drive to Firenze tomorrow. The current plan is to get some breakfast in Perugia, lunch in Assisi, and dinner in Firenze. We'll see.
Ciao. A dopo.
S&B
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