Il Dolce Far Niente: Day 3: Orvieto

Il Dolce far Niente

"Il dolce far niente" in Italian means "The sweetness of doing nothing." According to our guide book:

"It's a philosophy in which life's pleasures are warmly celebrated. It doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing; it just means doing things differently. It means lingering over a glass of wine for the better part of an evening just to watch the sun slowly set. It means savoring a slow and flirtatious evening passeggiata, a procession with no destination other than the town and the streets. And it means making a commitment, however temporary, to thinking, feeling, and believing that there is nowhere that you have to be next, that there is no other time than the magical present."

As we were planning our trip, we read this passage and decided that il dolce far niente would be the theme of our week in Italy. We truly did enjoy the sweetness of doing nothing.

Italian Musings

* Siestas are a fantastic idea that should be adopted in America.
* Fanta is the dominant soda brand - orange is especially popular.
* When you order water, you have to specify "sin gas" - otherwise you get carbonated mineral water.
* They don't put condiments on their sandwiches - no mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, or anything.
* Every town has a "corso," which seems to mean Main Street.
* They rarely check tickets on trains and busses, but when they do you will receive a hefty fine if you don't have a ticket.
* There are no hosts or hostesses at restaurants - you seat yourself wherever you can find a place.
* When a restaurant is full, there is no wait list - they simply put a sign up that says "completo," and customers find another restaurant.
* In each town we visited, there were a lot of ladybug and pinocchio trinkets. We never really figured out why.
* Little kids speaking and singing in Italian is adorable.
* Graffiti is everywhere with little evidence they've tried to hide or remove it.
* There are many fountains scattered throughout the cities for drinking and rinsing.
* Italy in general is not as racially diverse as we expected, especially given its proximity to Africa. Florence was more diverse than the other cities we visited, but distinct racial lines were evident. With very few exceptions, Africans sold purses, belts, and sunglasses on the streets, Indians sold little plastic toys, and the Italians sold everything else. We wondered what the immigration laws are like, and if there are issues of racism.
* Venetians are extremely proud of their culture. They have a distinct dialect which they consider a completely separate language - Veneziano. Older Venetians sometimes refuse to learn Italian, but the younger generation has embraced it and generally learns both languages.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Day 3: Orvieto

Slept in late at hotel in Rome, got up at 9:30 am and missed breakfast. Checked out and took a cab to Termini train station.
Took the Eurorail to Orvieto - about an hour ride.
Once we reached Orvieto, we took the funicular (trolley) up the steep hill into the city. The town was built on a steep rock plateau back in 300 BCE by the Etruscans.
Walked to our hotel on Corso Cavour (the main street of town) and checked in.
Walked to Piazza de Poppola, where the market we wanted to walk through was just closing down. We found out that the markets usually close down before 2 pm.
We ate lunch at a little bar – we each got a ham panino and orange soda for a mere 7.80€ total!
Walked to Torre del Morro, the clock tower, and climbed to the top for beautiful views of the town and surrounding countryside.
Headed to the Duomo, stopping at many shops along the way, including a gelateria. The Duomo was gorgeous, with gold plating and intricate carvings of scenes from the Bible.
We sat at a small park on the southern edge of town overlooking the countryside. There we watched an Italian family play soccer for a while.
Walked back to the hotel, buying a bottle of wine on the way for later in the evening.
Took a siesta at the hotel, cleaned up a bit, and went for a passaggiata (evening stroll). We walked through a quaint residential neighborhood to reach the west side of town. There we watched the sun set over the distant hilltops, covering the small vineyards and olive tree orchards nestled below in shadow.
Walked to dinner at Tipica Trattoria Etrusca. Brad had rabbit in a green herb sauce; Jill had ravioli in black truffle sauce. For dessert we had the now-famous Etruscan cake (amazing!) and panna cotta with a berry sauce. We vowed to figure out how to make Etruscan cake.
Walked to Le Grotte Funaro to drink a bottle of wine. This restaurant is built into a cave!
Walked back to the hotel to drink the bottle of wine we purchased earlier on the third floor terrace next to our room.

Il Dolce Far Niente

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