Orvieto Underground
With the arrival of the weekend, and most shops closed on Sunday, we needed to prepare for our meals. So, shopping was the first order of business. First stop was the butcher. We walked a back way to Piazza della Repubblica and discovered a small patio with these two lovely art works.
The wood works of Gualverio Michelangeli, for whom the small street of his shop, off Corso Cavour is named, are all over this town and really add to its appeal. We even have some in our apartment. Here are a couple more we’ve passed.
After the butcher, we went to the produce shop, then the small fresh pasta shop. The tagliatelle weren’t ready yet, so she told us to come back in a half hour. So, off to the super market. By now we are carrying quite a bit in our 2 reusable bags. I spied an outdoor market at Piazza Popolo, so we headed there. I was offered a taste of some fabulous sheeps milk cheese and bought a bit. Also, there was a porchetta truck and we could not pass it up.
We got 2 sandwiches to take home. Finally back to the pasta shop and home.
We got everything put away, ate our sandwiches and took off for the Orvieto Underground. The tour, in English, explains the history of the caves which were used by the Etruscans (think about it…6th or 7th century BC!) and then again in the middle ages. The guide spoke quickly and gave us a lot of fascinating information. There are about 1,200 of these caves under current day Orvieto and we saw 2 of them.
By the time we got out of the tour the sky was darkening but we stayed out a little longer, window shopping for the most part.
I feel really guilty about the rest of the day because we really did nothing. It seemed like it was going to storm any minute, but it never did until after dark.
At least I did some cooking for our dinner. I pan fried the meatballs from the butcher, prepared the pasta with a red sauce in which I used our left over prosciutto and made some simple zucchini. We enjoyed our great home cooked dinner and some wine from the super market and that was that.
Nice! The best thing about longer stays is the luxury of quieter days 🙂
Nice! The best thing about longer stays is the luxury of quieter days 🙂
Eek don’t publish my last post. I accidentally got most of my email on the name field! Thanks
oh my…the olive wood shop…….be still my heart.
I love your smile in the photo of you at the porchetta truck.
The caves look so fascinating.
Yes, I love the olive wood shop. Always take something home, now mostly for gifts. There’s also a wonderful weaver on that street as well as a leather shop where you can have a purse custom made in just a couple of days!
Please say hello to my friends at Orogami jewelry! You can’t miss it even if you’re not a jewelry lover. The stories Tiziana tells about where she finds inspiration for her creations are fascinating and Massimo, her husband is a dear. I bought my first piece from them 20 years ago when they had a tiny shop near Vincaffe. Now they are on the main corso…..
Jan, I want you to be my personal chef! I can’t wait to read my meal plan everyday. I want the watermelon sculpture and the cow. What a wonderful city. You look so happy. The caves are so incredibly amazing. Love to the man of your dreams. Josie, your sister from afar.
Our kind of day, and one of the best things about long stays – you do not have to do it all in one day. Love finding artwork around the city – I remember when Venice had Botero sculptures everywhere. Never saw anything like those caves – thanks for those photos and all the others.