Thursday, June 21st
We checked out of our hotel and drug our suitcases across the cobblestone streets of Sorrento to pick up our rental car. It was all pretty painless, and we got on the road before our 10am goal.
We broke up the 5.25hr drive with some bathroom breaks and a stop in the walled city of Orvieto. The city sits on top of a pile of volcanic rock called tufo and has sheer-cliffs on all sides.
Picture from the Tourism site: https://www.orvietoviva.com/en/orvieto-civita-bagnoregio-day-tour/
The city is home to a beautiful black and white striped Duomo with an amazing and colorful mosaic facade.
Duomo in Orvieto
It’s a cute little town famous for the Duomo and ceramics. Rod & Dinah came here 20 years ago, and Dinah purchased ceramic dishes. She found the same shop and purchased some other items to add to her collection. We ate a meal of pasta with delicious tomato sauce on the main street and walked back down the narrow lanes to head on to Ormanni.
The view of Tuscany in the distance from our parking lot was just the first of many. Pretty much everywhere you look is stunning.
Ormanni is a winery specializing in Chianti Classico. They also have apartments to rent, surrounded by the vineyards. We buy their wine at home from our wholesaler, Robyn and Brenda Johnson from Virtuoso Selections, and they connected us with the owners to book our stay.
Many of the wineries use agriturismo (a combo of the word agriculture and tourism in Italian) because farming is not terribly profitable renting out some of their buildings helps generate another source of income for the property. For our group it is perfect. The grounds are vast complete with a swimming pool and the kids have loads of room to roam freely. There is a fully equipped kitchen and dining al fresco has been perfect with the amazing weather, outdoor furniture and cozy nooks scattered around. The Welshes were able to book the adjacent apartment allowing us to easily coordinate our travels.
Ormanni is nestled in the heart of Tuscany making it a great home-base for day-trips to Florence, Siena, San Gimignano and Montepulciano. We will spend the next 6 nights here, eating and drinking our way through all the sites and basking in the beauty and simplicity of the sun sinking behind the Tuscan hills.
Sounds heavenly. I can’t wait to see pictures of the nearby places you visit!
Love you!