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Entry from: Orvieto, Italy
Entry Title: "Orvieto must mean heaven in Italian"
Entry:
"Well one month from today I will be returning from Europe (I get back on Sep 30th). It's hard to believe I've only been here for two weeks. What with all of the heat and getting sick, it feels like I've been here for ages.
Today I took a train in the morning to Orvieto, a hill town 2.5 hours south of Florence by train. That's exactly what it sounds like -- the city is on top of a hill. When I arrived, I had to take a funicular up to the top of the hill. And then I boarded a bus to the center of town, near where I was staying. I was hoping to at least drop my bags off, but the doors were closed. So I kept them with me.
I spent the next two hours walking around the city of Orvieto. It was very beautiful and extremely quaint. All of the buildings were made of stone, with tiny stone streets. I went to a couple of places where you could walk along the edges of the city, and the views of the surrounding countryside were incredible.
By the time I made it back to my lodging (the La Magnolia B&B), the doors were still closed but I decided to just see if they were open. They were, so I went up a flight of stairs and saw that they had left me a note saying my key was the in the door. This was my first night not in a hostel, because of how small the town is. I actually had a whole double all to myself and it felt wonderful! I could spread all my stuff out and I had my own private bathroom! It felt like heaven after the cramped quarters in the hostels.
I soon headed out again to do a few things I couldn't before with my backpack on. First, I went to a bell tower in the center of town where you could go to the top. It had an elevator up two floors, but then I had to climb up 173 steps. And the view at the top was worth it! It was amazing. I could see the city spread below me, and the hills surrounding us all around.
I next went to St. Patrick's well, a very deep well that had been dug a few centuries before when a pope had fled to the town for some reason. He feared being put under siege, so he had the well dug so that the town had a supply of fresh water. That way they could withstand a siege indefinitely.
The well was very well designed, there were two sets of spiral staircases that went to the bottom, so you could have one-way traffic flow. You go down one set of stairs, cross a bridge at the bottom, then go up the other set of stairs. And this time it was 436 steps to the top. It was really neat to go down and back up. There were windows all along the staircases, so you could always see where you were.
My last stop for the day was yet another Duomo, my fourth so far of the trip. This one had an amazing façade on the front, full of golden paintings. And the sides of the cathedral were striped. It was very pretty. And I got my daily helping of gelato while I was admiring the view.
My next task was to go back to my room and enjoy having some privacy. I washed some clothes in the sink, and then took a very long shower.
I went out to try and find a restaurant to have dinner, but all the ones that Rick Steves recommended were either not there, or didn't look open. So I ended up at a place near my room. I got a fettuccini with some type of mushroom, but I actually didn't like it very much.
When I got back to my room, there was a band playing in the square right outside my window. They were very loud and playing mostly American music. I had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty annoying. I spent a couple hours watching TV shows on my laptop, and it was nice to have something to do other than sightsee or read about sightseeing. I didn't bring any books or crossword puzzles or anything like that because I wanted to keep the weight down in my bags.
I was very happy when the music finally stopped just before midnight. And I was soon asleep.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the other great thing about Orvieto is that it's not very hot here. It was a little warm in the sun, but it was cool in the shade and not very humid. And as ..."
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zolina/1/1251823782/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. "Orvieto"
2. "View from Orvieto"
3. "St. Patrick's Well"
4. "Streets of Orvieto"
5. "View from the bell tower"
6. "Orvieto's Duomo"
7. "Looking down into St. Patrick's Well"
8. "Looking up from St. Patrick's Well"
9. "View of Orvieto from the bus"
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Orvieto, Italyby theworldiscalling2,290 views
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