Orvieto with Sara Humes!

I had the perfect little get-away today when I visited my third session summer staffer/friend Sara in Orvieto. It was a foggy morning but when I arrived I took a tram up to the top cliffs of Orvieto where she lives in a monestary surrounding the upper village. There were so many trees and grass which was wonderful because I've been living in the concrete jungle for the past month so the scenery was refreshing.
I got there a little earlier than expected so I didn't expect to see Sara for another half an hour. I wandered down a path that led me to a well I could explore. For a few euro, I went on a spiriling adventure down to the bottom of St. Peter's well. It was very cool with so many windows as you walk down so you can look up and down as you make the journey. Not going to lie, at the bottom of the well it was a little creepy so I climbed up quickly (quite the work-out).
I met up with Sara and it was so great to see a familiar face from the summer! We walked around the outer edges of the town where they have a lovely walking path surrounded by extra large trees. If I lived there, that would be my ideal running path! We walked in towards the center of town and came into the market. For some great deals, we saw a lot of coats, fabrics, foods, and more which was fun to rummage through and catch up with Sara.
We then headed further into town with the intentions to see the Duomo when a side street caught my eye. It was very pretty with leaves and pretty flowers hanging about and I saw a couple of cute shops to check out. Sara had never been down there before so neither of us knew what to expect. All the more fun! We came across a store with a woman weaving beautiful scarves and sweaters and bags and more. It was all extrodinary but very expensive so we went up to the next shop which held all sorts of hand-made leather products. I've seen some leather stuff before but nothing like this. It was all so nice. They had purses, wallets, photo albums, hats, masks, bracelets, coats, and even a real snake skin wallet. All beautiful leather. I wanted it all but again the prices led me out. We then walked into a hand crafted olive wood store. Even more beautiful trinkets to look at! There were chess sets, tables, kitchenware, picture frames, and more. The most beautiful wood and so nicely crafted. I wanted it all. Each of those stores had something so unique that I'd never seen around other parts of Italy or anywhere else before. If I have some money left over (highly doubt it) by the end of the trip, I'll probably have to head back and buy a few italian hand-crafted items.

We then went towards the Duomo. The courtyard around it is beautiful and so clean and the Duomo itself is stunning. We went inside and again I was blown away by the artwork that covered every corner of that building. All the pictures told such amazing stories from the bible and the beliefs of people at that time. Sara had gone there a few times and knew some info about the pictures we saw in there. It was like having my own tour guide!
Next we went to see her monestary where she is staying for the semester. Nuns used to live in it but now it's a place for students from all over the U.S. to study. They take all their classes there and live in a dorm-like setting with an R.A. It was really nice and they build a really great community.

After meeting some of her friends we went to lunch at a local pizzeria. I learned a little bit about the town at this point. They have a very set structure and the people all know each other and live by the same timeframe. The shops are mostly open in the morning and then from about 1-4 everything closes but a few places to eat. Some places are only open in the morning or at night and usually at night the community has a social walk where everyone in town walks around and just socializes with one another. It was so neat to hear about a community like that that holds such strong traditions.

I caught up with Sara a bit and talked a lot about life in Orvieto and my life in Florence, the summer at castaway, and stuff like that. We then had some cappucinos at a really cute secluded cafe and then climbed the bell tower to get a 360 degrees view of Orvieto. The fog had cleared by then and it was stunning. Not as big as Florence but just beautiful with mountains and vineyards everywhere.
I loved Orvieto because it had a nice suburban feel. It was nice to get away from the city for a day and catch up with a good friend from the summer and see a new place very different from Florence.