Orvieto

St Patrick's Well

Smiling on the way down.

About 160' deep.

My wife as a Mannequin

The caves...an Etruscan Well dating back to between the 2nd and 8th Century BC

Very large caves.

Underground Olive Oil production plant.

Hats, gloves...underwear?

Pgeon coop...not pets...food. Caves.

The Dude.

     After our “Wells Fargo” day, we finally got back in the groove. Today it was Orvieto or bust and we rolled in and parked about 10am. We could have been in town earlier, but unbeknownst to us, today was the fall back day for daylight savings time in Italy. Nanc and I were up at 7 and ready to head out the door by 9...funny thing, at 9, the church bells said 8? I checked the computer and it agreed with the 8am time? I went outside and found one of the nice older ladies and somehow asked her if it was 8 or 9...she went into a great flurry of Italian explaining it was 8am because of the change overnight...I think I understood the arm waving!! Anyway, we were dressed and ready to go but it was just a touch to early.

     Besides just hanging out in Orvieto today we decided to take the Underground Cave tour and go see St. Patrick’s Well. The Underground tour didn’t start until 11:15 so we started at the Well...I know what your thinking...didn’t Roger say he’d never do a tour again...true, but the Underground is only available through a tour. Patricks Well on the other hand only takes a ticket, a lack of claustrophobia and strong legs.

     They say St. Patrick’sWell is the perfect integration of engineering, audacity and architectural decor’. The well was commissioned by Pope Clement VII in 1527 following one of his stays in town. Rome was becoming unsafe (having just been sacked) and Orvieto was looking like a place of regular Papal refuge. Knowing if he were their frequently, Orvieto too would become besieged, the Pope realized at some point there would be a pressing need for a reliable water supply. The builders of the Well felt confident they would find water at about 30 meters...nice Etruscan burial chamber but no water...10 years after he began, and at 53 meters, he struck water. The well is 13 meters wide and 53 meters deep, it has 2 spiral staircases, 1 for up and 1 for down, these are totally independent one from the other and each has 248 steps wide enough to accommodate a donkey, used to carry water to the surface. There are 70 windows cut into the the walls to light the way. The unusual name comes from a supposed resemblance to St. Patrick’s Cavern in Ireland. When you enter the Well from the surface it only takes a minute for it to become dark and gloomy. The walk down is difficult because the stairs are wide and tilted downwards...good exercise coming up...I could hardly fit thru the turnstile coming out, not sure what they do with people that are bigger? We had a very cool time.

     At 11:15 we meant up with our group and headed down to the Caves. Over the past 3000 years the inhabitants of this city have dug and dug and dug. There are an unbelievable 1200 caves dug in the soft volcanic rock just below the city. They say every 3rd step taken in the city is over a cave...we visited 2 of the vast network of caves that twist, turn and intersect below the bustling city. The 1st was used as a work area for the production of Olive Oil, all the tools and implements are clearly in place, this allowed production to go on even when the season turned cold. The second cave was a vast pigeon coop, the wealthy residents who could afford such an area, populated the cave with pigeons and built in natural nesting spots along with windows that freed the birds to come and go, water was supplied thru pipes and so the owners had birds that basically fed themselves, and since they always returned to their nest, he had a nice supply of birds to eat...fact I didn’t know pigeons can procreate in just 20 days...Waiter, Pigeon For Everyone! 

     There were about 16 in our group and all of us were amazed to see the vastness of these caves and how well it all seemed to function...some had steps from inside their homes down to their area. In WWII there was a truce on all sides regarding bombing of the main city...all agreed they wanted to preserve the Cathedral...during that time many of the residents from out in the valley took refuge in the caves...one of the bigger caves was actually connected to the hospital. So much history here.

     After the Caves we did a little wondering, snuck into the Cathedral to take a look and finished the day with a nice lunch at Gallo d’Oro Pizzeria. Left Orvieto at 2:30, needed to get home for Jess’s call at 3pm...suppose to be 4pm but that dang Daylight Savings Time. Superior day...tomorrow Lake Trasimeno up by Perugia.

I Hate Wells Fargo!!!

Wells Fargo is driving me nuts...we got an alert from them because I purchased tickets from Auckland to Honolulu (even though they have my itinerary), I called them to check it out...the customer service guy promised me their was absolutely no problem and everything would be taken care of...yea right...got up this morning heading to Orvieto and wanted to get a pocket of fun chips...no go bucko...the ATM informs me to call my bank...OK, maybe the Alviano ATM is owned by some second rate company that hasn’t got the heads up yet, we’ll just get cash in Orvieto...drive over (30km), pay to park (7Euros), get to the big city ATM and...again we are shutout...whats that saying, NO Cash, No Fun...now I can’t get the stupid phone to work because we didn’t actually plug it in last night (when we plugged it in)...grrrrrr...so we get back in the car, drive back to Alviano, plug the phone in, wait an hour to make sure we have juice, call Wells Fargo and speak with a very nice young lady who seems very efficient, she apologizes for any inconvenience, does her magic and promises me alls well...I insist she guarantees that when I walk down to the ATM, I’ll walk away with cash, she gives me an Ironclad Guarantee...I walk down to get the cash and...Grrrrrr... again ShutOut!!! Now I’m beginning to get mad...Frickin phone, now the frickin bank! I call back (this is all costing me money) and get to talk to Jose’ who puts me on hold and then hangs up, Grrrrrrrr....I call back again and this time I get David...now I insist on speaking with a supervisor, David puts me on a long hold, comes back on to tell me his supervisor is there and is just booting up her computer, he then puts me on forever hold and then, some unfortunate lady picks up the phone, because by now I’m boiling...I get ready to blow my stack when she informs me the call was just forwarded to her in the Credit Dept., Incompetent F*#/% Bank, Grrrrr...thank god she finally got me to the right dept...now I’m taking to Ginger who informs me the fraud dept. is just opening for the day and as soon as she can she’ll get one of them on the line...tick tock...10 minutes later she comes back on and wants to know if I’m in close proximity to an ATM, Are you kidding I’m in a frickin Medieval Village, but I tell her I can walk down to the square while we talk (I’m not letting her off the line)...half way there I drop the call....I COULD SCREAM!!! I head to the ATM thinking maybe they had fixed it anyway, I put my card in and my phone rings??? Ginger is calling me back (Shocking)...she stays on the phone while my transaction goes through, like Magic...I tell her “I Love Her” and hang up...We Are Back In The Chips and it only took 2 1/2 hours, all my patience, and probably $100 worth of phone calls...So I now officially HATE WELLS FARGO!!! 

     Cancelled the rest of the day to let my heart calm down...we’ll try this again tomorrow.

I love Italy...but

I LOVE ITALY...BUT...

Why is there no soft bread here...nothing, nada...don’t they like the French?

Where are the little hot bell peppers all the Italian joints gave us with our meals when I was young? They don’t even have them in the stores.

I thought they were Hot Italian Peppers?

Why do motorcyclist get to drive with no laws...not almost no laws...NO LAWS!

How come police stop you for no reason other than, “A Contollo”, and when you tell them you “Parlo poco Italiano”, they just wave you on...you’d think we were who they were looking for!

Why is there always (and I mean always) one lady outside every major church or monument, prostate on the ground, begging??? In America if that worked, we’d have a hundred at every one.

Why do tour directors claim they save you hours standing in line, when they have you walk here and wait, walk there and wait, get in line, now get in this line, now one last time walk here...and there...you have just spent 2 1/2 hours walking and waiting...and they’ve offered you a 3 hour tour...yikes, what a scam. Educate yourself before going to places and save your cash, I promise you are not going to be happy with these people.

Why do some joints charge a Coperto and some don’t. A Coperto is a charge that covers linen, tablecloths, really just about anything...it just shows up on your bill...I asked one guy if they charge a service charge or coperto and he assured me they didn’t and when the bill arrived they had charged a 12% service charge...when you ask them to explain they forget all their english skills. I’d like to see the American restaurants start charging a “just because charge”, and remember, this can be for any amount!

Why does everyone own a washer that does 1/2 the load of laundry but takes 3 times the amount of time to do it? Crazy!

How come the people who check you out at the Grocery stores, sit on a stool, they give you zero help bagging your groceries and don’t even have to know the produce prices because you have to do this when you pick them up...when they are done with you and if your not done bagging yet, they just move a device on the check counter that isolates your groceries from the next guys. There is no waiting at all...you have to pick up the pace.

Why do you have to move the dial on your furnace from SUN to SNOWFLAKE to make your heater work...this is not on the temperature gauge but inside the furnace itself.

Why aren’t vitamins for sale at the grocery stores? 

Why is there virtually zero diet food available...and not a lot of fat people?

Why aren’t there glasses (drinking glasses) larger than 8 oz....go ahead look...there are none.

Why can’t you officially take flash pictures in the Sistine Chapel...most of those in the room are foreigners and don’t understand the rules...I would guess out of the 1000 people in the room 500 were snapping pictures, with the flash on. Nuts!

Still haven’t bought Peanut Butter, but I did find some in Venice...only problem was the shop was closed...why?  because it was Wednesday??

Massive destruction in 5terre.

Terrible news today...on Tuesday the 25th of October a massive rain storm hit parts of Tuscany and the Lingurian Coast, hardest hit were LaSpezia and the 5 villages that make up the 5terre. The mayor of Monterosso said, “for all practical purposes, Monterosso no longer exist”. They received 20” of rain that caused major mudslides, knocking out all power, and destroying the roads into Vernazza and Monterosso...a number of people in Vernazza had to be rescued by boat and a few in the area lost their lives. The pictures on the internet show massive destruction. These little villages may not be the same for quite some time. I cannot imagine the terror the people must have felt with all the rain, no power, cut off from the outside world and their very lives washing away in mud. An Italian friend of ours says the cavalry is slow to arrive in these situations (kind of like Katrina), so the people will be left to their own devices for some time. We are glad we had a chance to see the villages and spend time amongst the people before all this happened...we wish them best of luck and god speed in their recovery.

A stroll around Rome

10/27

     A day in Rome is always eventful...it took us 3 1/2 hours to get there today, not sure what was happening or why so slow but we crawled into the city. On the schedule today is St. John Lateran, this church was the very first thing we saw when we entered the city for the first time. The church has quite a history dating back to the 4th century when Constantine originally built the Basilica of the Savior...it was the residency of the Popes until 1309, that was the year the papacy was transferred to Avignon...the present St. John’s was built in the late 16th century. This church is massive, the only bigger church we’ve seen is St. Peters which is the largest Christian Church in the world (they claim). This place has so much to see, it is incredible...I’ll post some pics on FB but it would be better if you’d just come and see it in person.

     After touring the church and craning our necks for hours, we needed to stretch our legs...at one time Rome was walled and there remain lots of preserved portions of the old wall...we just started to follow part of it through a park across from St. Johns...the morning fog had finally lifted and the weather had turned into a warm fall day, nice for walking. Stopped by a little cafe for lunch and then walked down to Piazza Venezia to take a city tour on an open air bus...a good time to rest our feet and see what we’d missed on our trips...it was a fun tour, took about 2 hours and gave us lots of new places to visit. 

     Rome is the perfect city for tourist, there is so much to see, and you can’t go wrong with whatever you decide to visit...the list of sights you’ll want to see is staggering. The people that come for only 2 or 3 days are kidding themselves... 

     Drive to Alviano was easier only 2 1/2 hours...so 6 hours drive today for 6 hours of touring...true...but the drive is touring also!

Circus Maxumus

What a nice place to just sit and rest.

Inside St. John's (Giovani)

A part of the Bisilica across the street.

Love the reflection off the water.

The wall of the old city.

St. John's

The Italians love their Grafitti

St Mary's Basilica.

Lago di Bolsena

Bolsena...from the road.

Down by the lake.

Nancy's favorite spot.

Autumn in Italy.

Rainy day...

Love the reflection on the rain soaked streets.

10/26     Our day was totally spontaneous...it was almost like being at home...headed out looking for a lake, not sure of exactly which road to use, but a good idea on the direction, Lago di Bolsena is up in the mountains west of us. When we got woke up it was raining, so the going was a little slow...thats OK...we have finally remembered how to enjoy the trip and aren’t in a hurry...even with cars whizzing pass us all the way...we’ve become that little old couple out on a Sunday drive.

     We collected a whole new list of places to visit, Grotte S. Stephano, Montefiascone and Bolsena in particular. The lake had been the draw so that was where we spent our time today, but the ride over was marvelous. Montefiascone is a major city that sits on the hill overlooking the lake and valley below. It’s a pictureque place that has castles, churches and lots of businesses, maybe the size of Todi or a little larger. We definitely have a future date there. Bolsena Lake was 

so cool we never got into Bolsena...we found a wonderful restaurant, 5 stars in my book, and we’ve already planned to go back...The joint is called Del Moro Trattoria, sits right on the water with a sweeping view of the whole lake. I ordered the Filetti di persico all’ etrusca (perch etruscan style), it was simply the best meal I’ve had in Italy...Nanc had the Rossoto Marinara and it too was mouth watering...this could become our home away from home...fantastic location, great food and close by! YUM!

     The clouds parted and it was nice most of the time we were there, we had a nice walk along the shoreline, a great meal and a fun drive, what more is there. The day rates an A.

     Tomorrow we go back to Rome, it has so much to see and do you could literally spend weeks and weeks there. We will endeavor to be spontaneous.

The Good Life.

Great nights sleep, didn’t stir until 9:15 this morning...by the time we had breakfast, showered and got ready for the day it was about 11:30. We call this a Village Day, walked down to Sepi’s around 12:30 to catch up on Computer junk...it’s really a hassle having to leave the flat just to check email...I promise I will never bitch about my slow connection at home ever again. One item we received was an email from Sheila Reindel, (the lady who took over for me in Vegas), she wanted to let me know she had been contacted by Wells Fargo, on my old phone, regarding a fraud alert to one of our accounts. We spent about an hour running this down and found out they were just being cautious about a couple of my charges...nice to know they care so much...although it did cost me $20 in phone fees. Better safe than sorry.

     We took so many great shots yesterday at The Vatican it was a real task trying to figure out which pictures to publish on Facebook and the blog. My new camera sure is getting  work out...just think...5terre, Countryside of Umbria, The ruins of Rome, Venice and now the Vatican...and we’ve only been here 53 days. Tomorrow we are heading out in a whole new direction...one of the biggest lakes in Umbria is 30 to 40 minutes west of us, it is called Lago di Bolsena...not sure what we’ll find, we’ll just let the day fill itself. There appear to be lots of places of interest so I’ll let you know what we find. Sometimes just living in the moment, and striking out without plans, is the best guide. Italy is filled with small wonders around every corner and that’s how you find them.

     Tonight Nanc resurrected her Italian Burritos, with the addition of Messicana Sauce they were delicious...its kind of a what you’d eat if your parents were Mexican and Italian...yum. Later this week we will try making our own Spaghetti alle Cozze...the fish man comes to the village tomorrow and I’m going to buy 1 kilo of mussels...this should be fun. Alessio sent us a recipe that he promised was foul proof...ahhh yaaa...we’ll see. I’ll let you know how it goes. 

     

Good lookin!

The good life.

Vatican City

A modern art piece.

Sistine Chapel

In the square inside the Vatican.

Apollo I believe

An inspiration to MAngelo

Frescoes everywhere

Modern art piece in the museo

Ceiling of the Map room was awesome.

Tapestry...Jesus eyes follow you through the room.

Sistine Chapel

Last supper by MAngelo

I believe this piece was done by Michaelangelo when he was 24...his first.

     Rome continues to amaze...today the Vatican. With parking in Rome being impossible, Nancy and I decided to continue parking where we knew there would be a space, by the Coloseum. We weren’t sure how far it was to the Vatican but it looked like about 2 miles (3.2 Km)...we had heard the parking in Vatican City was even worse than Rome, so we took the easy way out. Sure enough we found a great spot in 1 pass and then, with map in hand, took off for the Vatican. Nice day and easy walk, maybe 45 minutes. We crossed the Tivere River with excitement, the reward was great sights immediately upon crossing the bridge. As we passed the Castle of Saint Angelo we started getting glimpses St. Peters square in the distance...the closer we got the more beautiful it became. As you enter the square the space seems immense and then you look up and WOW! You do a 360 and smile in every direction...these Catholics really know how to put together a monumental church. 

     Nanc and I had discussed, and decided, to sign up for a tour with the same company we had used at the Collosseum, Palatine Hill and Forum Panarama. If you remember, we loved the young guy for the 2nd half, and were not really happy with the young lady we had for the Collosseum...You guessed it...our tour guide was the young woman we’d had before...I balked to start with (and should have stayed with that thought), but decided since she would be equipped with a transmitter and we would have a receivers, it would probably be alright...wrong...she just isn’t in the same league as the other guy...her dry delivery and just facts , figures and stats narrative is just boring...she doesn’t know how to bring history to life. Anyway we were very disappointed with the tour as a whole and would never recommend this company (SPQR)to anyone else...the equipment sucked, guide would rate about a D-, and the whole experience was very low quality...big promises, no follow through...if this is the best Rome has to offer I should start my own business running tours.

     The Vatican museum and St. Peters Basilica on the other hand, rate a A+, it amazes me that a simple Carpenter, who’s message of love, generosity, and kindness to his fellow man, could be the catalyst for all this. Can you imagine what Jesus would say if he came back and saw all this...talk about missing the mark of his teachings.  The place is crawling with vendors trying to make a buck on any and everything...and the place itself seems to push, push, push for money...Don’t get me wrong that I don’t think the church has done anything right, I do, and I certainly don’t hold myself up as any kind of Expert or Authority, but, I think if Jesus were to come back tomorrow and see all this, the 1st thing he’d say is, “Let’s sell everything and use the proceeds to feed the hunger, cure the ill, and make comfortable the downtrodden...the riches here are beyond value. To think this is where the donations have gone all these years??? Remember, Vatican City is the smallest and riches country in the world and has a population of just under 900 people. 

     On the other side, I’m convinced without the church’s influence a lot of the history of Rome would have been lost...they certainly have been a driving force in recording history and passing it on to future generations. This is the kind of work, I think, should be on the church’s agenda, its a real benefit to all. The treasure trove in the Vatican museum is awesome and could fill every minute of your time for months.  The art work is breathtaking with the most magnificent being the Sistine Chapel...I don’t have the words to describe this work of wonder...Michaelangelo was genius...how’d he do that!   

Bomarzo

Countryside

Bomarzo 

Monster

Old part of the village

Peaceful spot

Giant monkey

Ahhhh...not sure what I'd call this...

Giant head

It’s always something...today as Nanc and I were leaving for our little excursion (about 10:30), we noticed our car was the only one in the parking lot...very unusual?? I kind of looked around and saw someone had come through and put up tons of small signs...my Italians not good but even I could discern that all cars were suppose to be moved by 7am and remain out of the lot until after 7pm...no idea why, but happy I hadn’t gotten a ticket...something to worry about when we get back.

     Nanc and I had planned a short trip to Bomarzo today, a short drive through the country, maybe a little lunch, snap some photos and then a nice ride home. Bomarzo is a lot like the other small villages that populate this region. They seem to always be dated between the 12th and 16th century, with a few showing evidence of dating back as far as the 2nd or 3rd century BC. We had heard about this particular town from a couple sources and decided to take a look. It’s a short drive from Alviano, maybe 20 - 25 minutes, however it’s located on a road we hadn’t driven before. We kept seeing signs for a Parco (Park) that was in the area...the signs said only Parco del Monstre...our Italian being what it is we thought maybe Park of Monks, we decided to detour and see what the park was all about...we didn’t know if it was public, private, in a natural setting or maybe a building within a park...full steam ahead. The park is laid out in a valley just below the village of Bomarzo, the 1st thing we noticed was how busy it was...lots of cars in a pretty ample parking lot. As we approached, what looked like the entrance, we still had no idea of what was inside...I approached a young Italian guy and asked if he spoke English, he like most Italians, wavered but was willing to try...I basically asked what was this park about...his reply surprised  me, he said “it was a park of monsters”...yes, monsters...come on...we have to see this...how cool, almost halloween and monsters in a park, perfect. We paid our 10euros each and were given a map, history of the area and what was inside.

     The “Parco del Monstre” is a locals term for this place...it is also known as the Sacred Wood of Bomarzo. Back in the mid 16th century a rich estate owner named Vicini Orsini created, on his estate, a labyrinth of symbols, where “Ladies and Knighs” might look for what they wanted and wonder till they got lost. He populated the sacred woods with monsters, obelisks, rymphaums and giant statues. When Orsini died no one took much interest in his old garden until the Bettiny family purchased the property and saved and restored this jewel of, what is known as, Mannerist Art. People come from all over the world now to view, admire and study these pieces. There are 35 pieces total, not including small details that made them fit the area.

I included a number of pieces on facebook...take a look...it was fun. 

     Bomarzo itself was terrific, very medieval and old, old, old looking.

We parked at the bottom of town and climbed the skinny little roads to the top. What a view...and what a maze inside the old part of town...I think for a minute there we were lost. We were at the top as the rain started, so hustled back down to the car...Bomarzo will have to wait until another day...we spent to much time with the monsters.

     Got back to Alviano and remembered about the parking situation...parked in the lot by Sepi Bar and made our way over to the regular parking lot on foot...very odd??? There were horses in the lot...we have absolutely no idea why...what for...what they were doing or did...none, nada, zilch. Went back out around 7:30 and all the horses, trailers and people were gone...another mystery of Alviano. Sometimes I think we are living in “the village of the damned”, and we are the only ones who don’t know whats going on. 

      

Fun day in Alviano...Soccer, Cemetery and Olive Groves.

 Spent another quiet day in Alviano, recoverying from our trip to Venice. We’ve been wanting to take a long walk down the main road and see whats what, so we did. Got some good pics of town and noticed lots we hadn’t seen before. Visited the Cemetery, soccer field and took an up close look at the olive groves...the day was sunny and warm and the hike felt good. The air is so clean here, no industry so no pollution, perfect.

     The soccer field is wonderful...good parking, night lights, green green grass and great facilities. Remember this is a town of only 1500 people. I have no idea if Alviano is known for their prowess on the field or not, but the field looks like the people here hold it in high regard. We’ve heard lots of games being played and the crowd is large enough for their applause to drift into town.

      Continued down the hill to the cemetery...these are places people use to celebrate someone’s life rather than their death. Every spot is filled with fresh flowers, pictures of the deceased and small momentos...so different than what you see in the states...this may just be the difference between a small town and the larger ones I’ve lived in. But this idea of celebrating their life in a cemetery is really cool. I’m sure every soul in Alviano knows exactly where they will be spending eternity...maybe a comfort maybe not, who knows? The pictures aren’t just of those with flowers...they all are adorned with flowers and whatever the family deems appropriate...it’s really neat.

     There are so many Olive trees in this area, it is the big industry I’m sure...so many trees still have an abundance of olives on them...I’m not really sure when the season starts or ends but we have to be towards the end of it...it is really getting cold at night...like into the 40F.

     There are signs up all over town letting everyone know there is a wedding here tonight...not invited but if given a chance we will definitely crash the party...would that be fun or what!

olive oil processor

Olives ready to harvest

like this spot

flowers everywhere

Great Soccer field