June 5, 2014 – Rome to Orvieto.
From my journal: Arrivaderci, Roma!

Breakfast again at the hostel.
Poor night’s sleep owing to:
•A howling cat (Imagine microphone feedback from the Bowels of Hell. Reminder: find out what the deal is with cats in Rome.),
•late night revelers,
•music,
•and um…
The people next door were fully and noisily overtaken by the romance of The Eternal City.
Awkward.

First class train to Orvieto – 10:30. Rome is amazing and wonderful and we saw so much! If I were to spend more time here, I would hang out in the piazzas, and discover more. So much fun and life there. They have been an unexpected delight for me, and I look forward to more piazzas!

Arrived in Orvieto Scala (the modern town) about 11:30. Caught 12:55 bus to Civita di Bagnoregio. Before it came we dropped our packs at a hotel a few blocks away (per Rick Steves) for € 1 each. Then Laura bought us gelato from the train station cafe…

Gelato Day 6:
It was called Mochachino. At the first couple of tastes, I was underwhelmed, because the flavor seemed weak, but as endeavored to discern the mocha and the cappuccino, I began to appreciate the subtlety of the flavors. I am used to strong flavoring and most gelatos I have had so far are rich. So this may have been a poor gelato, or it may have been intentionally subtle, but i enjoyed it all the same.

Citvita was beautiful and amazing! Our first primarily medieval location, with remnants of its Etruscan origins.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoreggio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

Civita di Bagnoregio.

3:25 bus back to town (Orvieto), then another to our hostel – after rushing to fetch our packs. Our first (and one of few) private rooms. ♥.

The view from our room in Orvieto.

After checking in, we shared a pizza at a neighborhood place. While we were praying a man two tables away was watching us. We tried to do an Italian crossword puzzle on the paper place-mats. He came over and showed us a homemade flier, taking to us in Italian. We thought he was trying to sell us his personal driving services. it turned out he was asking us to correct the copy on his flier – the English was terrible. I re-wrote it and a bilingual woman at the next table translated it back into Italian for him. He was very happy. It was the first day of his new business.