8/1 -- Siena and Orvieto

Today we had a 12:15 train to Orvieto so we got up, packed, and walked to the train station (via the escalators), grabbing breakfast and some souvenirs on the way.  It took a few attempts to get breakfast as the place right by our apartment said they were “too busy for takeaway” and several other places didn’t have pastries.  This was not the first time a business owner said they were too busy for our business, which is an interesting phenomenon to us.

When we walk places via Google maps, the kids take turns (read: fight over) holding the phone and leading the way.  When it’s not Julia leading, she will frequently ask “How much minutes left?”.  It’s so cute I don’t correct her.

Siena was a very big, very good surprise, maybe my favorite city yet (but don’t tell Venice I said that).

The train ride to Orvieto provided more picturesque Tuscan countryside (although Orvieto actually is in the region of Umbria, and I’m not sure where the transition is from one to the other).  Orvieto is a small town on top of a hill with a giant rock mountain as a border which served as a safe haven for the Pope during war in the middle ages. When we arrived, we took a funicular (a cable/rail car that we called the fun car) up the hill and then walked to our place.  The place was kind of amazing, but the thing we appreciated most right away was that there was air conditioning in every room.  After two hot (but amazing) days in Siena, the cool air felt so good.  We had planned to walk around and explore, but we were all tired and opted instead to sit in the air conditioning and watch The Office for a couple of hours.  After we rested, we set out for a hike around the wall of the city.  (“Yay, more hiking” is NOT what my kids when they were told this plan.) We only had about an hour before our dinner reservations so only made it about half of the three mile trail, but what we saw was so neat.  The rock wall of the city, the old underground passageways (we plan to see more of them tomorrow), and the view of the surrounding land, including what looks like a medieval castle.

Dinner at Charlie Pizzeria (chosen only in part because it shares a name with our dog) was delicious, a close second to dinner the first night in Siena.  We had eggplant parmigiana as an appetizer (hands down the best we have ever had; the eggplant melted in our mouths), then the kids had margherita pizza and Jourdan and I had a vegetable pizza with potatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and eggplant on a pesto sauce and crust that was like thick whole wheat bread.  I also had a local red wine, which was delicious.

After dinner, gelato then home for a relatively early bedtime (since we’ve been staying up until 11-12 every night).  We leave tomorrow — we’re here for just about 24 hours.  

One thing I keep forgetting to write about are the water spouts.  They are all over towns and were even on the hiking trails of the Cinque Terre, and have potable water so you can refill your water bottle all day long.  It’s pretty great.  On at least two occasions we have seen people who appear to be bathing (fully clothed) in the water fountains.


Our apartment in Siena


The crests of the Siena neighborhoods


The Orvieto funicular

A Julia-sized car that we saw on the walk to our apartment









Sights from the hike around Orvieto


Charlie Pizzeria


Evening walk through the streets of Orvieto






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