This morning, we said goodbye to Assisi. What a perfect little town! We headed to another town called Orvieto which sits on top of a mountain. I had read quite a bit about it and really wanted to see it. I’m glad we did, but it is not simple to get there. We drove up into the mountains (on winding tiny European roads) with oncoming traffic on the left and a guardrail on the right. I’m afraid of heights, so I had my eyes closed for parts of this ride. There were beautiful views when I managed to look.
When you get there, there’s the little town, but at the very top of the mountain, there’s the old town, which is surrounded by a city wall. To get up there, you have to ride a tram up the side of the mountain. Part of the ride up is in a tunnel. I’m also claustrophobic, so this was just all the fun for me. I have to say it was worth it. They have a very large and beautiful church for the size of their town. We learned that it’s because Orvieto used to be where the Pope would go if he had to flee Rome because of attacks. Here’s the church. It has four panels that tell the story of the life of Christ and statues of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on top the triangles on the sides. Every little town is very proud of their church and their bell towers. They all argue that theirs is best. Each little town also has it’s own distinct personality. I loved all of them for different reasons. Orvieto is famous for it’s Chianti Classico wine and has many agriturismos. They also make a lot of hand painted ceramic things. We walked around and looked at the shops and the views. 
We ate lunch at another gem of a restaurant. This meal also ranked very high for me. We ordered pasta arrabiatta, and a sausage and bean dish. Both were phenomenal. The chef, Franco, has been there for fifty years.
We had our last gelato in Orvieto. Sad. I cannot believe how much gelato we’ve had. It was all worth it. Today we got panna cotta with caramel and black cherry with chocolate. I couldn’t decide which I liked better. I can’t even describe how good they both were.
We left Orvieto and drove back to Rome to Zia Emma’s house. We had quite the adventure trying to find a parking place. People park on curbs, they park sideways, they sometimes park in the middle of the street. We must have driven around the block twelve times just trying to find a place to park long enough to take our luggage in the house. We returned the Alfa Romeo (Daniel was really sad), and walked back to Zia’s house. My mother in law took us for a walk and bought us a treat that her father used to buy her when she was little. It was a lemon coconut drink (sounds strange, but it was delicious). Then we walked to the house where she grew up and where Daniel visited his grandparents when he was young. His mom so enjoyed personally showing it to us and just kept saying “I can’t believe we are in Rome together! This is my home!” I am so glad we had that opportunity with her. 
In a few hours, we head back to Nashville. We are sad that this trip is over, but very ready to see our family and friends at home. What a crazy, beautiful trip we have had!
For now, Ciao, Italia!
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