Umbria and pottery.

Monday we went to the town of Orvieto in Umbria, a tiny little medieval town, one that seems like it hasn't changed in hundreds of years. All of the doors to the shops that line the streets are propped open with each little vendor standing gaurd. Precious little alleys led to more of the same, and every turn was picturesque.

Below the entire city are thousands of caves that were used by the Etruscans. We got to explore two of the caves, nothing special... what you would expect a cave to look like. The neat thing in Orvieto is that most houses have caves below them, and if you own the house, you own the cave. There is also a beautiful cathedral in the center.
Wednesday we drove back to Umbria (north of Rome and the Lazio region) and visited the town of Deruta, known for their pottery.

We had time to explore the town and buy some beautiful pottery. I made one unexpected purchase, but it will have a wonderful story to go along... I was wondering in and out of the shops, each seeming exactly the same as the one before after awhile, until I stepped into one that seemed more crowded. I soon realized that it was the family who owned the shop. There were the grand-parents, their children, and their grandchildren (who were in their 30's I'd guess). So the grandparents were well into their seventies. The grandmother was very "with it" but the grandfather was borderline senile. He kept picking up pieces of pottery to be repramanded by whoever seemed to be "on shift" with him. This went on the entire time I was in the shop. I picked up a beautiful platter that seemed different from the rest because the colors on the edge were sort of smeared. The grand-father hurried up to me and in his thick italian accent he communicated to me that HE had painted it. He couldn't have been more proud that the platter I liked was his masterpiece. It had dust on the bottom, clearly not in high demand, but I just couldn't bring myself to put it down. His grand daughter, who was sitting at the pottery wheel, came over to explain to me (in English) that he had indeed painted that piece. I think his wife and children were confused why I would buy that one, but his ear-to-ear grin told me that it was completely worth it. I absolutely love it, and he was so excited when I asked if I could take his picture holding the platter.

We got to tour the pottery factory. It was amazing to see everything they do by hand.

In afternoon we toured the the Basilica of St. Fransis of Assisi. The church and the view were beautiful.

We had a tour by a monk from Buffalo, NY which was nice because he spoke fluent english. I never though I'd appreciate an easy conversation in english that much!