Orte

Even had to watch the mirrors so they wouldn't hit.

     Today we got a little bored doing nothing and took a drive to Orte, maybe 30 minutes away. Orte is one of those great old villages, built at the very top of a steep hill, protected by cliffs on all sides...it reminds me of Orvieto the way the road winds up and around. It’s pretty good sized and is situated on the main road from Rome to Florence. We pass it every time we visit Rome and, without fail, I always say we are going to come and see it. So here we are on a rainy day. With the rain I didn’t want to park down below the town and walk up so we took the steep, narrow road to the top. The village is laid out with only one way  streets...so its in one way and out another. There is a little parking scattered haphazardly here, there and everywhere. Remember we are driving our Fiat Punto, a very small narrow car. This drive was a nightmare, we saw no open parking places, and besides the very few open areas (filled with parked cars), we drove down a lane almost the exact width of our car, this was a real gauntlet and called for very precise turns and driving. When we meant a pedestrian they had to stop and hug the wall so we could get by. There were at least 3 occasions when I thought I might have to back up through the whole town because I couldn’t get around parked cars or buildings. As your driving the only thing you see is walls, everything is so tall and tight it just becomes a maze. Thankfully there was an end to this maze, I was so happy to see daylight and space. After taking a deep breath and dislodging my frozen fingers from around the steering wheel, I turned to Nanc and said, “we are not doing that again”. Boredom seemed a better alternative than a nervous breakdown, so we headed home