Umbria

As we headed north out of Rome for Tuscany, we stopped at Villa d'Este in Tivoli. The beautiful home and gardens here were created during the High Renaissance as a retreat for Italians living in the area. With over 500 hundred fountains, it was the perfect excursion for us as well.

Our next stop was Orvieto in Umbria. This medieval village set atop the world, as it seemed, was the perfect place for our family to explore. Its cobble stone pathways led us through little alleyways, into piazzas and finally to the towns beautiful Cathedral. After a stop in this duomo, we headed for gelato and then a quick tour under the city to see grottos and wells that have been used for vine storage for hundreds of years. A little Italian man showed us some of the secrets in these grottos. This town was also used as a haven for the Pope when we felt that his life was in danger. This little hilltop village was perfectly charming.

One funny language barrier moment during the day occurred when I was trying to buy tickets for the girls and myself to get into the duomo. I only had the exact change for the tickets, but unfortunately as I pulled out my wallet, a .20 coin rolled under the gate that separated the ticket booth from the church. It was just out of my reach. The woman selling tickets could not understand that I needed to get my coin back. She began accussing me of trying to get in for a deal and then as I tried to show her my coin, it was clear that she thought that if she didn't keep her eye on me, I might climb over the gate for an unauthorized discounted look at the cathedral, apparently all in attempt to save about 30 cents!