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Florence, Italy

We had a long travel day ahead of us again so we fortified ourselves with a most excellent breakfast which was included in our room rate and justifiably highly rated on trip advisor. Terrific selection of hand made breads and rolls – white to heavily seeded with nuts, crunchy to soft; wild boar salami, prosciutto, ham, and cheeses including delicious sheeps cheese to top it. Baby boccocini and cherry tomato salad, boiled eggs to order, fresh juices, and fruit salad. Sweet pastries (including warm crisp Nutella filled) and cakes including a great cheesecake with pastry base, topped with a layer of not too sweet lemon honey, then ricotta before being baked. NOM. All this food was set before us with Grandma smiling, giving animated orders to the waitress and fussing, I think she is the cook.

We checked out feeling as full as our suitcases and asked Luca if he could order us a taxi; instead he insisted on taking us himself which was so nice. In a car our evening walk transformed into an 8 minute flight up the hill.

Volterra was worth the visit and we felt that it would have been better to have had one more day there to see the museum or other Etruscan artefacts or countryside instead of our rushed half day.

We took a bus and then a train to Firenze or Florence where I persuaded Vern to take a later connection to Orvieto so we could duck into the city to see the big Duomo. When we originally looked at transfers between Volterra and Orvieto it was a bus ride with a few tricky changes through the countryside, not up to Florence and down again, so I was quite pleased to have this revised detour, as I prefer trains to buses and was pleased to add a visit to Florence.

We had two hours there and it was well worth the easy walk to see the spectacular church, baptistery and tower which are all separate buildings like in Pisa. We didn’t have enough time to go inside, so enjoyed pizza by the slice and beer on the square feeling very much like we were in Italy. The buildings are grand in size and splendour with coloured marble, paintings and carving. Can’t really say much more except it was lovely to sit there and just feel the vibe of the square including the lovely old buildings around it. Again we wished we had more time to see it inside.

We made it back to the station in time, got our bags out of the luggage hold, rechecked our platform which was just as well as it had changed, and boarded for the 2.5hr leg to Orvieto. At Orvieto station you cross the road and pay 1 euro to go up the funicular and then can get a free small bus for the final ascent to the hill town. You get dropped at the square where the impressive church takes centre stage.

The streets and houses were similar to others seen in old sections of Italy, perhaps not as much stone as used in Volterra. Etruscan heritage is strong here with a rich history of wars. It is an excellent natural fort and not that far from Rome as the crow flies or gladiator marched. There are Etruscan tombs, and an underground mini living area with cisterns, cellars, wells etc. The area is known also for an excellent wine (in my bag), ceramics, St Patricks well and the beautiful church dating to 1500 hosting the second biggest organ in Italy.

Our B&amp;B is owned by a most hospitable doctor who was so welcoming and proud of his apartment which has 5th century fresco remains on the walls. It was a highlight of our stay to be in such an historical building and sleep inside walls that had seen so much.

As is our routine, we settled and then went out for dinner and a quick explore. Had a meal of vegetables in basil, gnocchi with courgette flower stuffed with a local cheese, and pork in pastry washed down with a glass of local red. It was nice to have some vegetable but even so it was minimal compared to what we are used to, and quite expensive for the small serve.

When I tucked the sheets under my chin at the end of the day I wondered about the rooms history and if I might see something floating by at night. As it transpired I was asleep in minutes with no nocturnal disturbances. I still actually can’t get my head around how old everything is.

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