2geonomads

Saturday 31st May 2014.

 No surprise to find that we get up to an absolute downpour and once more remind Barry of his initial glowing praise of the climate in this area. However, the girls are presented with a fine linen apron as a farewell gift and one has to say that Barry and Beaulah have established a superb house and garden for guests to enjoy and it is just unfortunate that we have not been able to spend more time either in the pool or lounging by it. We have instead compensated for this by making far more visits to some magnificent locations in Umbria so we can’t really complain.

Set off on the fairly long drive to Orvieto, a city which Maureen and John have not previously visited. M had predicted that the weather would clear up for our visit and her prediction was spot on as we were able to stroll around the centre in glorious sunshine.

On arrival we manage to get a good parking spot near Via Roma and walk a short distance for our usual coffee break.

The jaw-dropping view of Orvieto from a distance as we approached the city had given M and J some idea of the special place that the city holds among so many hilltop towns. Rising 300 metres sheer from the valley floor it is more of a cliff top than hilltop town and it is this superb setting and of course the Gothic Duomo which make it one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy.

The cathedral, with its unbelievably beautiful facade, never loses its impact and it is a testimony to its unique beauty that M and J, after seeing so many fine churches,find this awe-inspiring. ( as  G and I do )

After enjoying a takeaway lunch on a park bench we stroll to the funicular which takes us down to the railway station to book the Nichs’ tickets to Rome for next day. Maureen is doing a sterling job in tackling her vertigo demons and copes with the fairly steep funicular very well.

Having sorted the tickets we continue our journey to our accommodation for the night which is 6 kms out of Pitigliano. On the way out of Orvieto we are able to take more stunning photos of this amazing town and as a bonus we gain our first sight of the much-vaunted Pitigliano.

Dinner is taken at Poggio di Tufo, our agriturismo, but not before we have knocked back a bottle of Montefalco Sagrantino to celebrate on the last evening of our trip together.

Poggio di Tufo is a fine agriturismo and especially for Gail and myself it’s great to enjoy a lovely hot shower. At La Torretta we ended up with the larger of the two rooms booked and on the ground floor but the shower had been one of those traditional English styles with a hand-held shower head which could not be attached any where and set in a very deep bath which almost required crampons to climb into! Climbing out was almost tantamount to abseiling.

Off to bed looking forward to seeing the remarkable Pitigliano at close quarters.

Cheers

The Obese Ferret.