After breakfast, we leave the villa to make our way to Orvieto. First we stop off in Cortona to see if the pottery shop is open. After seeing the prices in Florence and other locations, this shop had good prices. Unfortunately its closed. I end up buying a cute little all purpose jacket instead.
We decided to stop off in Montepulciano on the way to Orvieto. Montepulciano is another medieval city with contrades-only instead of a horse race, the neighborhoods compete by having teams of men push large wine casks uphill. Fitting for a city known for its views and wine. We parked at the bus station and find that today is market day. We make it out with only fresh strawberries for the kids.
After hiking up a hill we see a park, which excites the kids. Jason sets off to explore while I watch over the kids in the park. We let them run off some steam for about half and hour. As it nears lunch time-we drag them from the park in search of food. Being Italy, most shops are closed for the mid-day break. We do spot a pizzeria and each get a slice and sit on the bench outside in the warm sun.
Since this is a wine city-we must stop for a free wine tasting right? We find a small shop that is open and pop in. We get to enjoy little tasters of food as well as wine. Shipping costs were thru the roof-so we only buy 1 bottle to take with us. However we discover a new appetizer...little cubes of pecorino cheese dipped into black truffle scented honey. Imagine the sharp flavor of the cheese contrasting with the sweet honey and nutty musky taste of the truffle; follow that with a sip of red wine and you are in heaven. The kids are bored so we head back to the park for a bit more play and continue our drive to Orvieto.
To save money, we are staying at the bottom of the hill by the train station. After checking in and cleaning up-we take the funicular to the top of the hill where the main city sits. This is a city built on a hill of tufa (volcanic rock) and filled with Etruscan and medieval caves. Of course we forgot about the bus (included in the funicular ticket) that takes you to the top and we walk instead. We spy a lot of ceramic shops here as well-but Cortona had better prices. Despite much whining and complaining-we make it to the top.
Our hike is rewarded by the beautiful facade of Orvieto's Duomo. A bit of history for you: Back in the 1260s, there was a priest who doubted that the Host was really the body of Christ. After a pilgrimage to Rome he stopped of to worship in Bolsena, near Orvieto. During Mass, as he held up the bread-it bled, staining the altar cloth. A pope was visiting Orvieto at the time and the cloth was brought to him. Miracles like this require a church-so Oriveito has a grand Duomo with the cloth on display. As an added touch to the experience of this church-only 25 people are allowed in at a time.
Jason waits outside with the kids as I pop in to see what time Mass is. Its now and the guard tells me there are only about 20 minutes left. We go in anyway. Turns out-we just missed 20 minutes, basically the washing of the feet.
After communion, children begin distributing long white candles to everyone and they are then lit. A priest steps down from the altar and starts walking with the cross. Slowly, everyone in the church walks up the center aisle to follow the cross while singing. Once around the church, two lines are formed and another priest walks thru with the reserved second Host. He is accompanied by someone carrying a little cloth umbrella over him. We all follow him into the side chapel where the consecrated Host is placed. I'm glad we didn't listen to the guard and got to experience this.
Seeing the cross venerated so and the procession for the Host gave me goosebumps. Kaitlyn grumbled before we even went in about how boring church is and why do we even have to go. She had a change of heart after the Mass. We'll see if it lasts for Easter Sunday.
We end the evening with dinner and head down the hill to the funicular. The last car left at 8:20...it is now well past 9. I spot a taxi sign on the door and just as we were getting ready to call, a bus shows up and takes us down to the train station. Time for bed.
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