We take our tour northward today. Rome has been a great visit. Definitely glad we saw this area on a guided tour. We most certainly would have missed some things if we tried this on our own. Simply navigating our way around would have been an interesting process. Our tour guide had hired a local guide to show us around and explain what we were looking at and it's significance. He was a wealth of knowledge and we got much more out of the tour than we would have without him.
About 2 hours north of Rome was our first stop. Orvieto. This is an ancient town built about 300 years before the time of the Roman Empire. Sitting on top of a hill to make it easier to defend. A common practice in ancient times.
While there is a narrow switch-backed street winding up to the town, it was far too small for our bus. The bus parked at the base of the hill and we took a cable train, called a Funicolare, to the edge of town.
After a pleasant visit, we continued north to our destination for the next couple of nights. Montecatini Terme. This is a beautiful town(s), situated between Pisa and Florance both of which we will visit tomorrow.
I noted that Montecatini Terme is towns because it has an upper town at the top of a hill much in the same fashion as Orvieto, as well as a lower town at the base of the hill where 9 mineral springs are located. Our hotel (The Grand Hotel Tettuccio) is in the lower area. A Funicolare transports people up the hill here too.
This evening we attended a dinner in a wine cellar proceeded by a small tour of the grounds at a winery and olive orchard in Tuscany named Fattoria Il Poggio.
Without question, the best dinner experience we have had so far in Italy. Not only was our whole group in "party mode" but the freshly pressed olive oil, the hand made balsamic vinegar and the exquisite meats and cheeses, not to mention the very good wines made for an outstanding evening. It was capped off by singing and dancing.
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