We navigate effortlessly to Chiusi, even successfully finding the correct parking lot on the first try! After depositing the car, we begin our explorations of this little sleepy town by walking through the historical park at the end of the parking lot. It’s pretty and peaceful, with nice views and interesting monuments and archways.
This town is on our list for its Cathedrale and the underground. But, as it is getting late into the day, we decide to skip the underground catacombs and just wander around the town. We visit the Cathedrale of San Secondiano, one of Tuscany’s oldest churches, with its soaring wood beamed ceilings and “faux” mosaics. These “mosaics” are actually painted frescoes that mimic the mosaic style. You really have to get up close to see it – and once you do, it’s really amazing to see how the illusion is created.
After spending some time admiring the artwork, we head back out into the town, just meandering around, with no real destination, other than to maybe find a little cafe for a beer and wine. We walk to the end of the town, which takes about 3 minutes, then follow a sign to Cotton’s bar (just because there is a sign, and we don’t have anything else to do) and end up stumbling upon the Chiesa di San Francesco, a stone built church with a deceptively simple – and beautiful – nave inside.
Cotton’s bar ends up being closed, so we complete our circuit around the town with a wine and beer at a little cafe outside the Cathedrale di San Secondiano.
Back in the car, we return to Orvieto, retracing our steps back through the little cobblestone single lane streets, and narrowly squeezing by Francesca’s car that is parked in the street on the way to the garage.
It was so tight, we had to pull the side mirrors in! But Ed expertly navigates his way past, and around down into the garage. Phew – another episode of little Italian hill villages complete.
We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the apartment, fighting with the Internet, and then finally heading to Pozzo Etrusco di Giovanni – our only repeat dinner restaurant. We loved this place last year, and wanted to return again, especially after Anthony said it was one of his favorite restaurants as well. We arrive early – so early in fact, that we end up waiting on benches across the street in the escalator building until the restaurant opens.
Once again, we are lucky and are able to be seated without reservations. It was fairly busy, and noisy, on this evening, but the food and the service overcome any obnoxiously loud clientele. I started with beef carpaccio, which comes out stuffed with goat cheese and served with celery pesto, green apple slices and pink peppercorns. Would have never thought of that combination, but it is fabulous. We finish off with mains of Lamb for Ed and Stracetto for me (which is a stews sort of concoction made with small pieces of beef in a sweet wine and roasted onion sauce.
All perfectly prepared and quite enough to keep us happily full as we wander the darkened, empty streets back to the apartment for the evening.
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