The lovely family who hosted us in Cortona, wished us well and gave us a gift as we were leaving early this morning. Our plan was to go to a town and visit prior to arriving at our check-in time in Orvieto. Then we decided the time was too little to see, so why not return to Montepulciano, where we stayed in 2019!! We made our way to Montepulciano, almost arriving there, until I realized the directions were to the smaller town.
So, what was a short trip turned into a long trip! We arrived in Montepulciano in time to have some lunch and then continue on to Orvieto. We were disappointed not to have been able to revisit some our favorites places.
When we arrived at the Villa, no one was there to greet us, and the gate was locked. But the designated representative ultimately showed up when I contacted the Villa company. Only problem, she only spoke Italian.
The Villa is spacious with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The garden space is beautiful with lots of little trails on several acres . The house has a lovely pool and multiple terraces.
But the best part is that the house is 4600 feet in altitude and looks down upon the cliff and hillside city of Orvietto. You can see all of Orvieto and its famous Duomo from our bedroom window.
Just after arriving and checking in, we headed to the Lidl supermarket, which was really really crappy. Anyways, we came back home and realized that the weather forecast for the coming four days while we’re here is also crappy. And full of rain, so our itinerary for the coming 4 to 5 days is up in the air. At that point, since it looks like it might rain every day & night and that does hamper eating outside, we decided to head into Orvieto for dinner.
Parking on the hilltop is at a premium, so that comes into play. But we were able to find a spot and head into town right before sunset. The Duomo is as beautiful as we had remembered seeing in 2014. We had a nice small dinner in Orvieto and headed home. The drive from Orvieto to the Villa is full of switchbacks and heights. While we were driving back, I could see the view back to Orvieto and could not believe it! The hilltop city was lit by the amber streetlights but there was one thing that is unmistakable, the incredible Duomo is lit up like a star in the night. When we came back to the house, we took some photos which did not do it justice, but we’re stunned at how beautiful Orvieto is at night! The view of the duomo lit up at night rivals the view we had of the Acropolis in Athens!
