Days 3-4 Rome-Orvieto-Tuscany

We left Rome on our 3rd day, we could have spent more time there. Still lots to see.

This isn't even the Sistine Chapel, it's the hallway leading into the Sistine Chapel.

A bus came roaring down this alleyway in Rome while Portage and me were having lunch. You have to be quick...

The lane way our hotel in Rome was located.We were right downtown, which was nice.This lane was usually packed with people, Portage took this photo at 6:00 am on a Sunday morning.

  Orvieto,  a town precariously perched on  a hill surrounded by steep cliffs, used to be the center of the Roman Empire. Orvieto is now a very small town, but is still home to a spectacular cathedral. The cornerstone for the cathedral was laid by Pope Nicholas IV in 1290. Hard to believe they could build something like this over 700 years ago, but we found ourselves saying that over and over. This church took so long to build (300 years), that 12 generations of some families worked on it.

The front of the cathedral in Orvieto

The side view. It's made of two types of marble. It reminded me of "Beetlejuice".

A stuffed wild boar outside of a butcher's shop.This means the meat they sell is wild boar. We walked in and the smell was so strong it made me gag.That should have been my first clue. I had some boar sausage anyway, just to say I did. It was vile, and I burped it for two days.

All the shops in Orvieto were little "Hole in the Wall" places. Very Quaint.This is a cheese shop.

Heading downtown.

A closeup of some of the detail in the church. Can you imagine how long it took to carve this 500 years ago?

That carving is on the bottom, right.There are hundreds more.

Just some random thousand year old ruins.Could it be the Forum?I can't remember.

Many of the watch towers in Italy are leaning.

A cool sound barrier along the highway.

The hotel keys are meant to be dropped at the front desk anytime you leave, so they attach  weights to them so you don't accidentally take them with you. This was the "Is that a hotel key in your pocket,or are you just happy to see me" model.

Yah, it's big.

The effervescent Helena of Tuscany. She hosted a big party for us. A very proud Tuscan.

I'm not sure who she's talking about here,why is she looking at me?

Our table at the Tuscan farm.There were 44 of us, 36 Americans, 8 Canucks.

Rick from Rhode Island managed to secure some Ketchup.Of course we all wanted some!That's his lovely wife Deb beside him.

Conga! It's the girls from Edmonton.

Later that same evening... That's Richard and his family from New Orleans sitting with me.

Some older wine

Portage bought some Tuscan olive oil off of Helena."It's way better than the olive oil those pigs in Pisa make!"she said.Anyhow, that was an amazing couple of days. Next up, Florance, Pisa and Venice.