Our second overseas travel during COVID begins in a few days as we travel to Salzburg, Austria to begin a trek though lake region named the Salzkammergut, meaning “salt domaine”. After a stop in picturesque, Salzburg, we will continue to the lake’s region with daily hikes.
After many months of training, separated by 500 miles, we will be joined by our traveling companions, from Cape Cod. We hope they bring us good luck and a strong knowledge of the German language!
We will be stopping for a few nights along the route, staying in St. Wolfgang, Bad Ischl, Bad Goisern, and ending in the lake town of Strobl. Parts of this region are designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and considered by Austrians as the crown jewel of Austria.
This will probably be a shorter travel blog that our usual, due to fact that we are hiking and not sightseeing. A new way to visit a country as travelers and not tourists!
With daypacks, hiking boots, layers of clothing and unfortunately, umbrellas, we hope to see wildflowers in bloom, charming lakeside villages and views that will last with us forever.
We end our travel blog each trip with a “Top 10 List” of our favorite moments and experiences that will be forever etched in our memories, of this time, Italia during COVID! We will forever warmly remember our autumn visit to Italy in 2021!
10. The lower church of the Basilica in Assisi
9. Lunch on Lake Bolsena
8. Sending daily postcards to our grandchildren
7. The sunflower fields, since spent in the autumn warmth, of Cortona
6. Dinners in Cortona at Ristorante Ill Cacciatore
5. Sunsets and spritzes at Boutique Hotel Cala Piccola
4. Sitting in the olive grove at villa VinciLuna after a long day of sightseeing
3. The view from Villa Ombrosa to the Orvieto duomo
View from our bedroom window (zoomed in!)
2. The unexpected organ concert in the duomo at Orvieto
1. Wine tasting in an olive grove at Madonna del Latte
Today was a lovely sunny day and we took advantage by going to the town of Orbetello.
Orbetello is located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) south of Grosseto, on an enormous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve. Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settlement, which in 280 BC passed under the control of the Romans. The town was besieged by the French during the 1600 Franco-Spanish War. (All this was from Bob’s research on Wikipedia!)
We saw pink flamingos as we drove into town. I believe we were the only tourists in the town as it is very much off the beaten path. We did a bit of shopping, returning to the hotel via a scenic route. We took a route via the north end of the island through several very narrow roads, reminding us of St. John.
It was a beautiful blue sky day, with the bright sun, and little breeze as we ate lunch on the bluff overlooking the ocean. We even ventured to lay by the pool for a short time. Our better judgment was not to get in the water that was ice cold. It’s October with cold nights, after all!
The hotel has a small “sensory park” where they have plants, trees, benches, all through the hillside, encouraging you to experience nature and all its sensory beauty!! We walked the scenic route at the hotel taking us down through trees and natural vegetations. This was very relaxing and exciting to our senses, as expected, although short.
After returning back to the bluff for a few late afternoon cocktails and to watch the sunset, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant.
While it was a slow day, the beauty of the area and the relacsation the hotel brings, made for a final Italian day. Tomorrow we drive to the Roma airport and will fly out on Monday morning.
The plants had a great day today! Everywhere we looked, they were soaking up a great day under the dark windy clouds. Yes, a sunny day escaped us today.
We had breakfast in the enclosed terrace and went on a drive around the island. We had found a small seaside village to do some shopping, but Bob had to purchase an umbrella as he forgot ours in the room. The wind was unforgiving, driving the rain into everything. Most ocean side establishments were closed as COVID still restricts inside activities and no one ventured to set outside.
All was not lost; Maryellen found a spot for lunch.
We had pulled up a block away to park the car and I got a parking pass from the meter stand. We are hypersensitive to make sure that the parking pass is clearly visible on the dashboard given our previous experience of having it upside down and getting a ticket. So, it took several attempts to place the pass on the dashboard and quickly get out of the car door and shut it before the wind came. The wind would make all the paper in the car swirl like it was in a mini tornado. So, I licked the back of the pass, stamped it on the dashboard, scrub it down with my hand, and quickly closed the door. As we headed back to the hotel, the sun starting to peek out. The whole cloud family was out today: cumulus, stratus, Sirus, Amazon and grumpy.
The afternoon was highlighted with MaryEllen and I both miserably failing our Covid test. Maryellen would like it noted that the participating pharmacist administered the most non-intrusive COVID exam Maryellen has had. I would agree with that as there was no deep probing!
As we both read our negative results, the sun came out and the wind died down a bit. We went back to the hotel, loaded the test into the United app, and sat out on the cliff playing backgammon as we watched the sunset. The Italians know how to do happy hour: snacks and view!
Tomorrow is our last “tourist days” in Italy. If the weather is good, we hope to spend it at the hotel all day relaxing. If it’s like earlier today (Ischia rainy weather), we might look to escape off the island and try something unexpected!
It’s Thursday, so that means its move day! We woke to really bad weather, rain and wind, with the hilltop of Orvieto enshrouded in clouds! You could barely make out the small city.
We made the drive towards Tuscany, leaving Umbria and passing through Lazio. The 2 1/2 hour rural route took us through olive groves, ancient villages, farms and vineyards.
The weather improved on and off, but pretty much remained cloudy and rainy. We arrived on Monte Argentario and we were able to check into the hotel. The Boutique Hotel Torre Cala Piccola is perched on a cliff in the western portion of the peninsula.
Monte Argentario is connected to the mainland by three “spits” of land, all with roads. In the 4th century, the peninsula was seeded to the Catholic Church by Constantine the Great. In the Middle Ages, it became into possession by a monastery in Rome. Spain acquired it in the late 16th century, which is obvious by the architecture. In 1851, after Napoleon’s defeat, it was handed over to the Grand Duchess of Tuscany. During World War 2, the area was bombed with many losses, included the port which was destroyed.
The area is very popular with Roman elites, as its 1 1/2 hours away, and many have second homes here.
Monte Argentario allows easy access to the island of the Tuscan Archipelago – Giglio, Giannutri, and Montecristo. CNN profiled the area i 2019 and called it “Southern Tuscany’s Best Kept Secret”!! And we can see Giglio from our balcony!!!
Our balcony
The hotel has many Spanish influences in its architecture and style. There is a seafront infinity pool and its own rocky beach club – which closed last week for the season, unfortunately. We hope to sit by the pool on Saturday when it’s forecasted to be sunny.
We are having dinner at their restaurant, which we are looking forward to. We have a few bottles of wine we have left over from our winery escapades, and we are hoping we can bring one to dinner without too much scorn!
Update: We went to dinner at the hotel, where it cost double our usual salad and pasta, and someone feared the scorn and did not bring the wine. Flip side, Mary ate healthy with sea bass!!! It’s pouring as we write this, hoping for better weather tomorrow.
Our last day in Orvieto, rain and wind had moved in overnight, along with cooler temperatures. We knew the weather in the morning, and most of the day, could be cool and rainy, therefore we had made last minute arrangements to do another wine tasting. This tasting was about 40 minutes away, high in the hills towards the town of Todi. We drove along the shores of Lake Corbana, then proceeded up an extremely steep gravel and sand road to the top, where we reached Tenuta di Salviano.
Tenuta di Salviano is perched up a mountain overlooking a man-made lake. No guard rails, – not a road you want to take at night or in bad weather as a bad turn is unforgiving. In hindsight, I believe this was the back entrance, or the escape route!
The winery has over 58 hectors under vine and twice as many in olives. It is perched out on a peak across the valley from the residence which is about 5 km away on a far hill. The property was purchased by Frenchman in the early 1800s converted to a winery in the mid-1800s and today is owned by descendants of the original owner who now live in Sicily.
The very large main building is used by the owner’s family for holidays. Its a magnificent estate with the beautiful palazzo.
We were they only ones on the tour of their wine manufacturing facilities. There was a mix of modern technology and old production – which had rows and rows of concrete vats for fermenting wine that are no longer used. We also were shown three very large terracotta barrels that were fermenting red wine in the traditional method – “an experiment”.
We tasted three whites and one red. The tasting was held in the main dining room of the family palazzo and was built in the early 1800s with exposed beam ceiling and a huge solid wood table.
Although it rained all morning, the day was exciting and memorable. We had carried out pizza for dinner at the villa, as the weather turned worse with storms. Tomorrow, Thursday October 7, we are off to our last leg: the little known (other than to Italians) coast of Tuscany!!
Monday night brought some very heavy thunderstorms to the Orvieto area, and with it, a brisk wind. We had made plans to do some wine tasting at a vineyard 6 minutes from Villa Ombrosa. When we arrived, the owner and wine maker met us and took us for a tour of his family’s winery, Madonna del Latte.
Olive grove selfie
Leon, the winemaker, grew up in Germany with a German father and Italian mother. His parents bought the estate in 2000, as it was not a winery, but just an older unkept estate. When they relocated, his father was in his early 60’s and mother late 50’s (what vision Helmuth and Manuela had in restarting a new life in Italy).
Tasting held in the garden by the olive trees
They planted many types of vines right away, and they have reached maturity. Leon tends to the acreage himself, doing most vine maintenance by hand. He is the chief wine maker, marketer and host of all the winery events. He spent time in Austria, Sonoma and New Zealand learning winemaking techniques, until he settled into the estate in Orvieto.
There is a small chapel on the estate with a painting of the Virgin Mother nursing Jesus, and as a result the estate was named Madonna del Latte, which they kept as the name of the vineyard.
Wine tasting outdoors
While creating the winery, his father had been told that there was a storage cellar under the property that the local people had been using as a dump. He began to clean it out and found that the cellar was in fact a 2400-year-old Etruscan tomb, which is completely naturally climate controlled! A perfect cellar to create wine!
The winery makes many types of wine, including Classico Orvieto, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Our tasting was held outside in their garden, which was a treat. We had cheeses (all made by a goat farmer next door – lucky me) and charcuterie. We tasted 6 wines and bought a few being sent home!
We sat alone on a beautiful patio just outside the home, under shade and among Olive trees. The sun re-appeared, and a soft breeze blew in from the fields. The view was so relaxing. There is something about the architecture and agriculture in Italy that brings peace and relaxation. The wines were very good and very enjoyable. The story of the vineyard and birth of Leon’s first child, a daughter 21 days ago, was an enjoyable conversation – something way off the touristy path. We ordered some wine to be delivered in time to celebrate with our children over Thanksgiving. A truly memorable day thanks to Mary.
Rain is forecasted for all day tomorrow, so we went into Orvieto for a dinner outside.
Bob mailing our daily postcards to our grandchildren (duomo in back)
As we have not eaten inside since we arrived, we may have to eat at the villa tomorrow evening, before leaving Orvieto on Thursday. We had an aperitif in town then a nice quiet dinner of pasta. Mary tried a local form of pici, called umbricelli with a cream topping, which we both agreed was super!!
In a local adventure, we ventured to the nearby town of Bolsena, located on Lago di Bolsena in the Lazio region of Italy. Bolsena is known for a miracle that was said to have occurred in the Basilica of Santa Cristina in 1263, when a visiting Bohemian priest from Prague on his pilgrimage to Rome, in doubt about the doctrine of “transubstantiation”, reported bleeding from the host he had consecrated at Mass. It was certified a Miracle by Pope Urban IV the same year.
The basilica is also the burial site for the martyr, St. Cristina of Bolsena….boy, what a truly tortured life she had for believing in Christ. Her pagan father had her tortured with all sorts of gruesome means to get her to give up her faith. When he died, another family member took over the torture until Cristina was beheaded, but never repenting her faith.
We walked up a very steep hill having difficulty finding the direct path to the castle a top the hillside village. Our first choice for lunch was closed so we walked back down through the town to the shore of Lake Bolsena to have a wonderful lunch on the water. We had a nice local wine, bruschetta and pasta (Bob had his first lasagna and Maryellen had risotto with “fruits of the sea”) before returning home.
The wine is called “Est! Est! Est!” and is a blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes. The myth behind the name is that in the 12th century, a bishop who was on a pilgrimage from Rome (did he run into the Boho priest from Prague??), sent his servant ahead of him to write the word “est” (Latin for “it is”) on the door of any inn in which the wine was good. In Montefiascone, next door to Bolsano, the wine was so good that the servant wrote “Est Est Est” on the door of an inn. Once the bishop arrived, he forgot his pilgrimage and stayed there enjoying the wine until his death!!!
Lake Bolsena (Lago di Bolsena) is a lake of volcanic and tectonic origin. It is the largest volcanic lake in Europe. Roman historic records indicate activity of the Vulsini volcano occurred as recently as 104 BC; it has been dormant since then. The two islands in the southern part of the lake were formed by underwater eruptions following the collapse that created the depression.
Early this morning, we confirmed our appointment to get our Covid tests within 72 hours of flying home, on Friday afternoon at our final stop in Monte Argentario. Another interesting factoid, Mary‘s blog post rolled over 500 views this afternoon, putting her far in the lead from Bob in the terms of the number of their respective blog posts visited by others.
On the shore of Lago di Bolsano
We are in central Italy, in the heart of an agricultural area. There are as many wineries as there are fields recently tilled in preparation for next season. There are no strip malls, a few stoplights, and no congestion. It seems life is slow, local, and very simple. Undoubtably these people live a longer life that we do in the states as their quality of life seems to be slower paced and rewarding. And that constant “riposo” time from 1:30 – 4 helps! Siesta makes for a nice slow life!!
We took a break from traveling by car to local sites in the area and went into Orvieto for the whole day.
We walked from one end of the mountain town to the other. As is the custom in Italy on Sundays, the town had many families out for their midday meal. That tradition continues today in Italian families, all joining together on Sunday afternoon for dinner.
We walked along the southwestern wall that had dramatic views of the valley below. Orvieto is a small city perched on a rock cliff in Umbria, Italy. The rock cliffs reminded me of images of the alps.
The main attraction in Orvieto is its Duomo dating from 1290, that has a mosaic facade. Pope Leo XIII called it the Golden Lily of Italian cathedrals! On Judgement Day, the Duomo would be carried away to Heaven by its own beauty!!
The Duomo is known for its side chapel, The Cappella di San Brizio, painted between 1499-1504. The paintings of the Last Judgement influenced Michelangelo’s version in the Sistine Chapel, painted 40 years later.
When we were about to leave, the organist began a medley of music which filled the cathedral with heavenly sound! It lasted on for 5 minutes, but it was lovely.
We were required to show our COVID vaccine for entry inside any Italian church or museum.
The second attraction is the Saint Patrick’s well, The Pozzo di San Patrizio, a 16th-century well shaft with a double spiral staircase 500 steps down and up I hear (no for us during COVID). Additionally, there were a number of underground caves and network beneath the city dating back a thousand or more years to the city’s Etruscan roots, but again, we dare not venture into the close spaces for caution of COVID.
We found a number of shops that sold pottery similar to the ones that we had purchased when we were here a few years ago. Beautiful local ceramic artisans with unique patterns specific to Orvieto.
We ran into a guy with a green Boston Red Sox hat on and Mary picked up a conversation that was quite detailed regarding Boston’s chances in the postseason. I believe Mary may have met an individual of equal sports knowledge as he was a sportswriter for the USA today and now lives in Vermont!
Finding a place for lunch was a bit trying as many of the restaurants had reservations already made for family midday meals. We did manage to eat at a nice small restaurant that was completely packed on the inside, we sat outside under the tent and were entertained as one of the waiters prepared truffles on bruschetta for the table next to us – what a fragrance!
When we returned to the villa, the sun was shining on the Duomo looking like a glistening star!
We traveled down the hill to a new pizza restaurant with a direct view back to Orvieto. In fact, its pretty much directly under our villa! We were there a few minutes when it started to rain a bit. The rain was followed by a rainbow (and a small double), which lasted about 20 minutes. Pizza and jumbo Peronis were on order!
We’re sitting on the patio in the late afternoon facing Orvieto having spent the day at the fabulous Marmore Falls about an hour away, just past Terni, the provincial capital of Umbria.
The Marmore Falls is a man-made waterfall created by the Romans in 200-ish BC. Its total height is 165 m (541 feet), making it the tallest man-made waterfall in the world, and the tallest waterfall in Europe. Of its 3 sections, the top one is the tallest, at 83 m (272 feet). Its source is a portion of the waters of the river Velino, and the rest of the river flows into a hydroelectric power plant (the largest plant in Italy). Its flow is turned on and off according to a published schedule, to satisfy the needs of tourists and the power company alike. We got there moment the horn sounded signally the gates were opening and we saw the flow over the falls go from a trickle to a torrent.
We were outside the whole time and surprised by the good size crowds mostly of families, although it was Saturday. Mary was taken aback by the beauty and majesty of the falls – “breathtaking experience, places Canada’s Niagara Falls in second” (the significance should not be lost as Mary is a Maid of the Mist veteran). Bob felt lucky with his timing as the flow commenced with our arrival!
We returned to the Villa and played some ping pong in our garden! What a beautiful garden surrounding Villa Ombrosa! There is even an outside dining room overlooking the pool – which is NOT heated! Mary worked on the blog while sitting on the terrace overlooking a still hazy view back to Orvieto.
We are in a very mountainous part of central Italy. Many of our plans have us going 30 to 40 miles one way that equates to 60 – 90 minutes by car. The roads are very windy, narrow, and steep with switchbacks, typical speed is 50 km/h. Of course, as tourists, we adhere to the speed limit which is but just guidance to locals. I don’t think Bob ever been passed so frequently on a road ever in his life.
We had dinner at a very local place, 5 minutes from our villa, high in the hills. We sat outside (as we have for every meal in Italy) at Il Ritrovo del Cacciatore and had salads, ravioli, 5 Fromaggi pizza, bottle of wine and gelato all for 36 Euros!!!! Guess we will be back!!!
Sunday, as the weather forecast has improved, and we are a little tired of driving too far off places, we are hoping for wine tasting at a winery 10 minutes away!
