Italy Trip Day 6: Orvieto and Assisi (My FAVORITE day!!)

Duomo Orvieto

WARNING: Lots of pictures in this post!

This day began bright and early as we boarded a small bus that took us to our larger bus for the day at 7:00 AM. We would be leaving the city of Rome for the day to see two cities and of course a handful of churches in the Umbria region of Italy. The bus was cushy and air-conditioned, and honestly, I slept (thankfully) most of the way to our first stop in Orvieto. Orvieto was a cute little town in which we got an hour of free time. Candi and I (or I should say mostly I had some creature comforts to take care of like finding a restroom and ordering a coffee), then we set off to explore Duomo Orvieto, a beautiful striped cathedral and a walled garden looking down on the wine country below. Then we boarded the bus again for about an hour to head outside Assisi where we would have lunch at gorgeous resort with bungalows overlooking the valley (I could totally see staying there!). Lunch consisted of 3 different types of bruschetta with red wine, penne pasta with fresh tomatoes, a beef and potato dish, and then a colorful Neapolitan like cake dessert (no idea what it was called, but similar texture to tiramisu, just different flavors).

From there we drove past large brick or stone country homes. I loved to see them out the window, as I saw no houses in Rome, just apartments. We drove past Lake Trasimeno (wish we had stopped there!) and to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli at the foot of the hills in Assisi. The churches here are made of pink and white limestone. It was also the first "pay to use" bathroom I had encountered, but for .50 Euros (basically 50 cents), I got a clean bathroom with toilet paper. I could write an entire post about the restroom system in Italy (or lack thereof) and how toilets often have no seat, bathrooms lack toilet paper, and how you have to get very used to the idea of just entering cafes and restaurants and politely asking (In Italian usually) "Dove il bagno, per favore?" That phrase got a lot of use for me! But I digress...

Lake Trasimeno

Assisi

We made our way to the city of Assisi which is perched on the hilltop. Then we walked through the winding streets to see various churches (many not allowing photos), shops, and sights. We saw the Church of Saint Clare and Basilica of Francesco d'Assisi. It was interesting to learn that Assisi's tourism has increased dramatically since Pope Francis took his seat (since he took the namesake). I LOVED this town. I can't even begin to explain it, so bear with me. Sisters, Oregon is one of my favorite little towns. It has a very nice downtown full of all kinds of shops and places to eat, and the scenery is gorgeous. This is my only comparison. Assisi sits on a hill and is full of winding cobblestone streets, clothing shops, cafes, meat and cheese shops, churches, and views. There are nuns and monks that actually live at the churches there, and you can see them walking around. It was quaint and grand all at once. This girl was also longing to be away from the bustle of the huge city of Rome, so this trip was perfect timing. I would go again here in a heartbeat and spend WAY more time without the tour guide (we ditched her about midway through to look around ourselves...it's okay, we knew the meeting spot and time). I also had to say that I loved that there were dogs everywhere. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals, so you have a very pet friendly city that Italian visitors walked dogs of all sizes, shapes, and colors through.

That night on the way back our bus driver and tour guide got lost dropping us at hotels. We were on the bus just under 4 hours before I had had enough (why are there no bathrooms on "nice" buses in this country???). Candi and I jumped off at someone else's stop across town from our hotel and hailed a cab. For this, and the fact that our guide was pretty awful, if I bother to rate the tour, it will do poorly...however, please note that Orvieto and Assisi especially stand alone. If you are ever there, make your own way to them via train or car, and take them all in without time limits. That's my advice.