Today we left Rome and started to head northeast. Our first stop was the ancient Etruscan city of Orvieto.
Orvieto is positioned high on a cliff and was established by the Etruscans, people who were in Italy as early as 700 BCE and predated the Romans. The town has narrow, winding streets that all seem to lead to a massive ancient church, the Duomo.
I found this kitty and taught him to say 'buongiorno' to everyone.
Apparently Betty Boop is over 3,000 years old.
An incredible view of the valley high from Orvieto.
Starrina found a modern-day Geppetto on a backstreet of Orvieto. He hand-makes toys from olive wood. We bought a cool Pinocchio from him.
Wild boars are all over this area, and many of them were displayed throughout the town.
Saw this beer bottle on a wall and the name cracked me up: "Beer of the Demons".
This dog was the size of a small horse. It was getting warm and I guess he was enjoying the cool cobblestones.
For lunch, Starr had a calzone and I had a porchetta panini...one of the boars we saw earlier?
More foreign candy. The "Pixel" was really good. Strong, natural fruit flavor.
We saw a couple getting married at Orvieto. The bride is wearing purple!
After driving further north, we came to our hotel for the next few days...a resort high in the hills over Tuscany in a small village called Artimino. We are staying at the Hotel Paggeria Medicea, an estate owned by the Medici family that is basically a vineyard/olive grove (they own like the whole mountain). Pictured is the main Medici family estate. Our hotel, not pictured, is to the left and was formerly the servants' quarters.
Our room.
Our room.
After settling into our room, we were all taken to a wine tasting featuring the wines and olives produced on the grounds.
Dinner was another 5-course feast featuring risotto, fried potatoes, fava beans, salad, bow-tie pasta, turkey, pork and chocolate mousse for dessert.
Once we got back to the hotel, we found this D'Artagnan cat walking the grounds. He was just as aloof as our little man back home.
Tomorrow - kicking back at the resort.
Jeffrey Dale Starr is a Dallas-based Expressionist oil painter who concentrates on themes of Japan, Dreams, Europe, Texas and California. His work can be found in private and public collections around the world.
http://www.jeffreydalestarr.com/
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