Orvieto is a small town in Umbria between Florence and Rome. It sits on a butte made of volcanic tuffa rock high above surrounding cities. It’s gorgeous, sleek and free from the tourists crowds. It’s known for its easy drinking vino biancho, Orvieto Classico and truffles. Did you hear me? Truffles. Fresh truffles were grated over our steak and pasta at dinner. It was heavenly.

The city sits above 1200 or so caves dug through the malleable tuffa rock. We toured a few that were used for making olive oil, housing pigeons for their dinner and for storing animals during cold or hot seasons. The ones we toured were built in the third century B.C. Crazy! Many of the caves are currently filled with rubble from a landslide in 2011 while many others are used for storing wine. Apparently if you buy a house in Orvieto you get a private cave entrance from your house to store your wine or to relax in on a hot day.

In the thirteenth century Pope Urban IV hid out in Orvieto during rough times. He sat safe high above the city but worried about a water source so he commissioned a huge 90 meter well to be built. We toured the well and admired the engineering.

My favorite church of all was in Orvieto. Unfortunately the photos are inaccessible but use your google machine to check it out.

My expectations were so low for Venice that we actually cancelled a night there and stayed one day less then originally planned. What a mistake! We had heard horror stories about overwhelming heat, tourists and a stinky city.

We stayed in an amazing area of the city away from tourists. The weather was great, in fact it’s never been very hot on this trip. The owner of the B &B is the calmest italian I’ve ever met. The B & B shares quarters with his wife and young daughter. It had beautiful white marble floors and a large balcony for breakfast. He gave us wonderful recommendations for dinner in the city as well.

After dropping off our bags we stopped for a glass of wine and snack along a small canal. Moments later a boat arrived with a band on it. The wine shop owner pulled out rugs and laid them along the canal for his guests to lounge on and listen to music. An hour or so later the band moved on to its next location. It was magical.

The entire visit to Venice consisted of great meals, back canal walks, a visit to St Marks Cathedral and falling in love with Venice.

Being in Italy during the World Cup has been exciting. Small cafés have unveiled brand new TVs for futbol fans to enjoy the games. We have seen many proud business owners hang new TVs.

When Italy was still a contender there was a cafe in Florence where more TVs were facing the crowds sitting on a bridge high above the Arno River, then for their actual seated customers. Many people purchased a spritz or birra (beer), crossed the street, perched themselves on the river’s edge then watched the game amongst friends. The roadway and sidewalk were filled with futbol fans.

In Cinque Terre people would crowd around teeny tiny TVs and block the streets as well. Then Italy lost. It’s like the pope died. There was a lot of mourning. The news coverage is thorough and intense. We just hope that no one asks us any questions about the games.

In the steep Cinque Terre any flat spot is fare game for a little futbol regardless of how many people are occupying it.

We have arrived in Cinque Terre! We couldn’t be happier. Cinque Terre are five small towns on a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It’s comprised of five small fishing villages connected by paths, trains or boats. No cars here! A pleasant refuge within our travels.

Our laundry hanging outside our room in town.

On our evening walk.

We are caffeinated! Another favorite part of Italy is cruising into a cafe, standing at the bar and enjoying a cappuccino. We have them often. They’re cheaper than water! If you stand at the bar and don’t sit it’s even cheaper. Cappuccinos in the morning, espressos all other times.

We fit the tourist persona in Florence. In a over traveled, under slept stupor we stumbled into our hotel. Within a minute Brian broke an antique sconce from God knows when and we washed some dirty clothes. After sleeping for 14 or so hours we hurried out for our morning tour. We were surprisingly met by our angry hotelier when we arrived back. They were not happy with the broken sconce that in our stupor we forgot to report and that we hung our laundry out on a street that was forbidden to have laundry on. All which the sign on our room clearly stated was prohibited. Our smugness left us immediately and we will remain the humble, dumb, American tourist until we leave Florence.

More than anything Brian and I have enjoyed sitting on piazzas and enjoying a lovely meal, wine and people watching. We have done our fair share since arriving in Italy.

Yesterday Brian and I visited the ancient city of Rome. We visited with a small tour group that was amazing. The guide was very educated, an anthropologist and he brought Ancient Rome alive. It’s overwhelming and humbling to be around so much history.

We were fortunate to make our way into the Capitoline Museums during a rain storm and to eat lunch on a quaint Piazza before the weather broke loose for the second time.

The meals have been amazing so far. Lunch yesterday was gnocchi with fresh sea bass. Dinner was equally delicious.

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So far I have run out into a restaurant with soapy suds on my hands because I couldn’t turn on the water. Fortunately an annoyed server, carrying plates, ran into the bathroom to show me how to pump the water with a foot pedal. Doh! Then Brian and I got terribly lost last night. We missed our dinner reservation but somehow ended up in an amazing, lively neighborhood. We walked around with the locals on their passeggiata or evening stroll. It was magical. We stayed out until 1 am and the streets were still filled with young and old when we left for bed.

We arrived in Rome very excited to see the city. However my backpack took an unexpected trip to Copenhagen. Therefore we sat in the airport for 4 hours waiting for it to finally arrive. Not quite the welcome we had envisioned.

We then trained and bussed our way to our home in Rome. Our host is amazing. We are situated right across from the entrance to the Vatican. The attention to detail and craftsmanship of the wood is amazing. Currently I am listening to singing from the service that is about to begin with Pope Francis I.