Wednesday, October 20, 2010

First days in Italy





After a long day of travel and another long one of recovering from lack of sleep, we are participating in life again. We're in Orvieto, Italy. The medieval section is built on a volcanic outcropping - the land around it has eroded away, leaving this place with a fabulous view of the surrounding countryside.

Today we walked five miles, both within the town as we got the lay of the land as to how the city was laid out, visited its cathedral, and descended to a path that encircles the town at the base of the cliff. In his book on Italy, tour guru Rick Steves says this path is mostly level, but we found it a challenging climb in some places - and good exercise to hopefully walk off our first gelato.


Italian food is very, very good. I've learned already not to eat everything that's placed in front of me - servings are large and quality excellent, but unless I pace myself I'll outgrow every pair of pants I packed.

I'm glad I brought my laptop - way more convenient than descending to the hotel lobby to use the in-house computer. I don't want to keep a journal, then rekey it when we get home. And I find that I'm not thinking about when I'll have the chance to get to a computer. Whenever it suits me is a better arrangement.

We have 20 in our group and have learned each other's names. The usual collection of folks trying to get along, some more successfully than others. But by and large we're a congenial group.




7 comments:

DJan said...

How wonderful! We get to experience your trip as it happens, and you have an instant journal! Now this is the way to travel, Linda. Glad you got a chance to get out in the air...

#1Nana said...

I'm following along every step of the way both here and on Facebook. I leave on my trip on Friday...to Texas. Neither the food nor the scenery is particularly good, but I'll have the granddaughters to keep me company. Someday I'll get to Italy. Until then, I'm enjoying the experience through your blog.

Unknown said...

Safe travels! Great pictures too.

Teresa Evangeline said...

I'm going to travel vicariously. So, keep us posted!

Arkansas Patti said...

Hot doggies, you are taking us with you. Thank you.
Enjoy those long delicious meals the Italians are famous for and just walk a little more.

Linda Reeder said...

I wondered if you were with a group. I would like to know how you got hooked up, how your tour was organized, and who is leading it. I would love to travel in Italy, but not on my own. I will be eager to follow you around.

Deere Driver said...

Ah! The fresh pasta! I always thought the "Italian" bread was blah in Italy though. Survey as you go. I stuck with croissants in the mornings.

I love the Italian architecture. Keep the photos coming.