Travel Journal: Day #12 (Orvieto, Italy)

our third gelato trip of the day

journaling by the duomo

watching the sunset at Via del Popolo

Slavik at Montanucci's

with Professor Doll!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

I can't even begin to explain the excitement of this morning. Waking up with the light coming in through the hotel window, jumping out of bed to open the huge glass windows (without screens - why don't they believe in screens here?) and peeking out at the street below. If there's a theme for these few days in Orvieto it's déjà vu. Even the towels in the hotel bathroom smell just like the fresh towels in the monastery (they probably use the same cleaning service) and I quickly change and lace up my sneakers, tying the hotel room key into my laces. I peek in Mom and Dad's room and tell them that all be back. They look momentarily worried about my safety but they didn't want to stop me. I flip through my phone to find my favorite running playlist from a year and a half ago. It's crazy how music can just bring you back and one song can bring back memories from where you were when you were listening to that song last. 

I leave the hotel and turn down the familiar route. It's early enough that the streets aren't crowded yet with the typical July tourists. I turn this way and that, trying to go down my favorite streets, all my favorite shortcuts. Trying to see everything and take it all in while I can. Eventually I make it to Via del Popolo (see it here), the long stretch of road that runs down the entire (short) length of one side of Orvieto. This is where you can find the most beautiful sunsets, where you can sit down on the benches and look out over lower Orvieto, where you can go for a pre-dinner walk with a friend and vent about the days frustrations or say the clichéd phrases "I can't believe we LIVE here! In Orvieto! We are so lucky!" Long story short, Via del Popolo is where it all happens and I continued to jog before stopping at one of the benches, sitting down. Then I stood up and looked over the edge of Orvieto. Then I was jogging again. But then the view was so beautiful! So I took a picture. Then sat down again. Let's just say this run was more therapeutic than an actual 30 minute workout. I meandered back to the main corso eventually, feeling refreshed and giddy and excited to show everyone around Orvieto some more. 

On my way back to the hotel, I passed Professor Skillen (again), drinking a cappuccino. I was quickly reminded of how small Orvieto is. Returning to Hotel Duomo, I quickly showered and woke up Emily and Michael (how were they STILL sleeping!? Didn't they know we had exciting things to do and see?). We ate some breakfast in the hotel dining room and I had another cappuccino that was so good I could've cried. I didn't cry but I wouldn't put it past myself.

We meandered down the corso and popped into a few shops here and there. We were supposed to meet Professor Doll at Montanucci’s at 10am. Emily, Mom, and I were walking out of a shop when I heard my dad’s booming voice. Who could he be talking to? He doesn’t know anyone here. He can’t even talk to strangers because they probably won’t speak English. So why is his voice echoing through the street and what is he laughing at?! I race out of the jewelry store and there’s Prof Doll! TALKING TO MY DAD! Like they were old pals!!!!! It was the strangest thing and I was like “Prof Doll!” and then we hugged and I just couldn’t believe it! How did he know that was my dad and brother? I mean Orvieto isn’t swarming with Americans with Wernig noses in Gordon t-shirts so I guess Prof Doll quickly realized who my dad and brother were. But still. It was all very dramatic and exciting.

We headed into Montanucci’s, ordered some cappuccini and croissants and sat upstairs in the outdoor seating area. My family and Prof Doll! I still couldn’t believe it. We told him about our trip so far, my parents were talking about their newfound dream of teaching abroad, asking Prof Doll if there are schools in Orvieto (no ulterior motives here, I swear) and I told him about my senior year and what my plans were for the fall. He told us about his family's new dog and their move to the new home. I gave him a copy of my senior honors thesis and also a print from Becky's senior show that she wanted me to give him. It was so wonderful to just chat and spend time together. My dad dropped a few not-so-subtle hints about how Emily will want to apply to the Orvieto program in a few years. 

We soon made our way to the monastery, and it was probably the weirdest part of the entire trip. I kind of lingered in the back of the tour, looking at the different pieces of art hanging on the walls, from students that weren't in my semester. My group was the first group to live in the newly renovated monastery, so it was pretty empty during the first few weeks/months that we lived there. By the end, there was artwork on the walls from MY class but it was weird to see the monastery over a year later. The furniture was rearranged and there were a few other differences. I'm so glad that my family could see where I lived but it was hard to be there without my friends and the people that made it seem like home! 

Prof Doll was so busy that day as his family was in the process of moving, so he had to leave soon. My dad took a picture of us together and then we all crossed the courtyard together and barely made it to the gate before I burst into tears and could barely say anything to him. He mentioned that he was sorry he had to go and I wanted to thank him for showing us around but I couldn't even squeak anything out! I was too busy crying. Even after he left, I tried to bring my family to La Musa for gelato. Emily and I got granita di cafe which is shaved iced coffee with whipped cream but I couldn't even taste it, I was too busy crying into my cup. The whole first part of our time in Orvieto was so exciting and I was in total tour guide mode, but something about seeing Prof Doll and the monastery (without my friends and their artwork) was so hard! It's easy to feel possessive of the monastery and the Orvieto program in general which i know is so silly because hundreds of students have gone to Orvieto. But everyone want's their semester to be the best semester. :) It was just strange to think that there were other students in the monastery and other students eating granita di caffe con panna (this post is where I tried this for the first time!). Anyways, it was the weirdest feeling but I'm so glad we could spend time with Prof Doll and that my family could see one of my homes!

In the afternoon, we did a little more shopping around town. I impulsively bought this blouse while I was still crying (it's fine though because it's cute). We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit before Emily and I went to the new burger place that my dad and Michael went to an hour before and they were RAVING about it. Emily and I finished our burger and fries (you'd think we were at a McDonalds and not in Italy) and then we headed to the duomo. We took some pictures, met up with the rest of the crew, then went to on a tour of the Orvieto underground tunnels. When we got back to Hotel Duomo, I grabbed my journal and went to sit out in front of the duomo to journal. It was so relaxing to just sit there and sketch, and write down a few thoughts - sitting in the same spot that I used to sit when I would write poems for my Ekphrasis Poetry class. We would go to the duomo and take notes about the carvings, the statues, and the biblical stories sketched on the outside and on the duomo doors. 

Before heading back to the hotel, I went to buy a small bottle of wine from the nice older man that always asked how I was in Italian. I tried my hardest to exchange a few small talk phrases and I think it worked because he smiled and then helped me pick out a nice small bottle to take home in my suitcase. We would always come to his shop to buy some nice small loaves of bread and pesto for our picnic lunches. 

I went back to the hotel and checked my email to see if Alessandro emailed me back. He said that they were having preghiera (the charismatic Catholic worship) that night at 6pm and that I should come! We were supposed to get Charlie's Pizza at that time but I rushed over to preghiera and was able to be there for at least 45 minutes or so before it was time to go back and bring my family to dinner. I sat right up front and chatted with Alessandro before worship began, making plans to see him for breakfast in the morning. A few people came over to shake my hand and introduced themselves to me, and when I said "Megan" they would nod and be like "Ah, americana." Anyways, it was so good to see Alessandro and just sit in the church and listen to the worship songs in Italian, humming along and trying to follow along when Alessandro's mother handed me the lyric book. 

I picked up my family at the hotel and we ventured to Charlie's Pizza, each ordering our own pizza to go. We started to walk toward sunset park before we realized that they didn't cut the pizza and we couldn't find any napkins or knives! So we bought some napkins and drinks at a shop and then continued to walk toward the park. We relaxed, ate pizza, and enjoyed the view. There was a high school couple making out and they were probably peeved that we set up camp with our pizzas right next to them. Nothing could keep us away from the sunset. I changed my mind mid-sunset and decided that it might be nice to watch the sunset by Via del Popolo too (can you tell that I'm obsessed with Via del Popolo?). We raced over there to catch the second half of the sunset, and it was just as beautiful. When you're only in Orvieto for two days, you have to catch the sunset multiple times to make the sunsets last longer! :)

We went to get gelato for the third time today (first we had granita di caffe during my sobfest, then Emily and I went again after burgers, so this was defffffinitely the third time). We went back to the place where we saw them make gelato the day before. We walked back to the duomo to see it at night again, then went back to the hotel to pack up our stuff. Dad, Emily, Michael, and I went out to see the World Cup game since Federico had mentioned that we should go see it. We tried to find Federico but didn't see him, so then we went to Montanucci's and chatted with Slavik and I ordered a mojito (I've never found a mojito as good as Slavik's!). We sat for a while before making our way back to the duomo and took a few MORE pics of the duomo. Seriously, it's so beautiful at night! I was so glad that we stayed in Hotel Duomo and we could see it all the time. I finished up packing and set my alarm to get up early to go to meet Alessandro for breakfast. Such a long day but our time in Orvieto was so short!