On the way we stopped at the ancient hilltop city of Orvieto. During our drive back from Umbria (when the traffic jam actually allowed for driving), there were several of these old cities visible from the freeway dotting the hillside.
After navigating the winding roads and old cobblestone streets, we had a chance to experience their view:
Not too shabby.
We had chosen Orvieto for a few reasons. The first is the amazing history of this town. The second is their Duomo. And the third is their excellent ceramics.
This hilltop town has existed for well over 2000 years, having been part of the Etruscan empire before being incorporated into the Roman empire (and apparently Julius Caeser was the last one to be able to truly conquer the town). There are extensive tunnels underneath the city as well. It has a rich history, having housed a pope or two in addition to Thomas Aquinas.
The walk up was steep. We navigated through the small streets and walkways into the main pedestrian areas filled with ceramics.
The Duomo remains a distinctive and beautiful cathedral. We saw it after slowly ascending one of the pedestrian walkways.
And yes, this square had its share of pigeons as well. The boys admired the Duomo's golden facade, it's black and white colors, and then took off after a cluster of pigeons 30 feet away.
Joey came back for a quick solo shot before dashing off again.
Lanna, being stuck with me in the baby bjorn, had no choice but to join me in this selfie. She was a good sport about it.
Once the surrounding area of the Duomo was pigeon free, we explored some of the ceramic shops that had been well rated. Alisa stayed, since it has been a goal of hers to have beautiful, authentic, and commemorative ceramics. I knew she would choose some excellent items, so I took the kids for another gelato.
As an aside, there really is no bad gelato choice. Sammy had become an aficionado of Frutti de Bosco, Joey had a crazy fruit cake type gelato, and I tried tiramisu and Lanna indiscriminately tried multiple spoonfuls from everyone. (we saw a bright blue flavor called "Puffo," Italian for Smurf. We all admired it for its color but decided on a more natural appearing flavor).
Here they are, post-gelato:
As a quick aside for the foodies, here's a great gelato guide to determine if a shop offers truly great gelato:
http://partaste.com/blog/gelato-italy/
Alisa successfully returned from the ceramics store and we got back on the road with the Lake Garda as the final destination.
https://www.google.be/maps/dir/Moniga+del+Garda+BS,+Italy/05018+Orvieto+TR,+Italy/@44.0153806,10.6281565,7z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x478193d228b17e99:0x25c02283de923cb4!2m2!1d10.5346349!2d45.5266444!1m5!1m1!1s0x132ecd06ba76106b:0x52122993d30fa840!2m2!1d12.1107446!2d42.7185068!3e0
We were heading to Lake Garda to meet Simone's parents, Beppe and Lidia. Simone is Katherine's partner, born in Brescia, Italy, currently a professor in New York teaching Italian literature and film.
Beppe and Lidia still live in Brescia but they also have a serenely peaceful lake house on Lake Garda, about a half hour from Brescia. They generously offered for us to stay there for a few days and wanted to be able to meet us all in person. We were equally excited to meet them!
Without Katherine, we were once again bereft of any ability to speak decent Italian. Fortunately it never resorted to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnREBX8TJRY
We arrived shortly after 6pm and both Lidia and Beppe were so warm and welcoming. They showed us around the property. The playground and open space was fantastic and the boys were thrilled (although they looked longingly for any pigeons and saw none). The location was near the water and we walked down to a restaurant and had dinner together.
Although they did not speak English, Beppe spoke Spanish and Lidia French, so Alisa and Lidia could communicate while Beppe and I could talk. It wasn't ideal, especially when I wanted to talk with Lidia but we made it work!
They returned to Brescia that night, leaving us to enjoy the peaceful solitude. We would meet up with them in a few days in Brescia. They had recommended some locations to visit the next day and we slept well in anticipating for the next day's adventures.
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