First trip where we weren’t ready to return home. Powerful words. Will try to figure out what made this trip different

Flight over was pretty easy. Finnair was new for us. Comfortable, friendly, no delays or interruptions. Rental pickup smooth. Off to Orvieto. We stop at COOP on the way as it will be too late in town and we must have coffee and croissant in the morning. MUST.

Met property manager at small market just off the A1. We’ve come enough times now that she no longer feels she has to put on the whole show, which is fine for us.

We get to the house late evening and settle in. Everything is as we left it. Looking forward to seeing property in day light as we’ve only been outside of full bloom period. Plus the pool will be uncovered. Off to bed.

In the morning we are awakened by the light coming in the bedroom window as usual. This time the window is framed by the vines which grow on the house.

Our morning routine is coffee, croissant or eggs and work emails of course. This will repeat each day without fail.

The weather for this stay will be warm but eventually quite hot towards the end of the stay. So we plot a schedule of activities and pool days.

Walking the property early morning is a delight. Everything is green and alive. The air is still moist, birds are singing and so are the insects.

Most times we’ve been the pool is covered. Turns out it’s a gift during the hottest times but also just provides a simple relaxing activity that can burn up hours before you know it.

We managed to squeak in a few in town activities before the heat really kicked in. Once it’s over 90 it almost unbearable in town. Likely due to so much stone. We lunch at Mama Angela’s, dinner at Charlie’s Pizza which are always a trusted meal. We visited a new one at the top of a building but I’m afraid it didn’t measure up. At this Neal we are treated by Starks flying above the buildings crying out with their aerobatics, it’s a sight. We visited the clock tower early enough that the climb up was reasonable. You can see all of Orvieto from the top. Required activity.

We usually visit the market every other day, primarily the COOP in Scalo. But we also found a new smaller market near by that’s a good option when in town is crowded.

We took our first train ride to Sienna. Read post covering that day.