Orvieto Excursion!

Thanksgiving weekend Jill and I decided to take a day trip to Orvieto, about an hour train ride away.  Orvieto is a tiny little town that sits on top of a large volcanic tuff rock nestled in the rolling hills of the Umbira region.  The views from the city are amazing because it is so high up! 

Orvieto is also famous for its Duomo, the Orvieto Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.  It was constructed under the orders of Pope Urban IV to house the Corporal of Bosena, a cloth onto which the Host bled when a priest in 1263 doubted that the Transubstantian is real.  The gothic facade was designed by Maitani, who was influenced by the Tuscan Gothic style of the Siena Cathedral.  The church is also interesting to look at because it is stripped on the sides. 

Orvieto is kind of like Assisi with its narrow streets and cute shops.  We wandered around and enjoyed the Christmasy atmosphere of the town.  We found a cute sandwhich shop, had some lunch and made friends with the owners cat, Zorba. 

It was a lovely day!

Welcome to New World: Thanksgiving in Rome

Pilgrims, Native Americans, and Corn: the best of friends!

Do they celebrate Thanksgiving in Rome?  Nope.  The closest thing we had to turkey was broiled "Tacchino" BUT Thanksgiving was still fun and it turns out, it can be celebrated anywhere!  Jill, Yessenia, and I didnt have family visiting that week so we went out to a Thanksgiving dinner at Mickeys.  We had a great meal with a free bruschetta platter, fragolina, and great food!  Since we couldnt get real turkey, we made our own out of coasters and celebrated the spirit of our ancestors by recreating Thanksgiving in costume!

Searching for the New World.

ROMA ROMA ROMA!

Tuesday night was the Roma-Munich game and we couldn't leave Rome without seeing a live soccer game.  You may remember our unsuccessful attempt to attend a game in early october and how we walked an hour and a half to the stadium only to realize we couldn't buy tickets there.  This time, we were prepared (and wearing our Roma t-shirts).  The Rome Olympic stadium was packed and the bus was so crowded but we made and got our seats and watched a great game!  Roma won 3-2!

At the game (with an Italian friend?)

Here's the Roma song we sing at the end of a soccer match:
Roma Roma Roma
core de 'sta Citta
unico grande amore
de tanta e tanta ggente
che fai sospira
Roma Roma Roma
lassace canta,
da 'sta voce nasce n'coro
so' centomila voci
ciai fatto 'nnamora.
Roma Roma Roma,
t'ho dipinta io
gialla come er sole
rossa come er core mio
Roma Roma Roma
nun te fa 'ncanta
tu sei nata grande
e grande hai da resta
Roma Roma Roma
core de 'sta Citta
unico grande amore
de tanta e tanta gente
m'hai fatto 'nammora

Translation:
From: http://lyricstranslate.com

Roma Roma Roma
heart of this City
one and only love
of so much and so many people
which you make sigh for.
Roma Roma Roma
let us sing,
from this voice a chorus is born
you made fall in love one hundred thousand voices.
Roma beautiful Roma,
I painted you
yellow like the sun
red like my heart
Roma, my Roma,
don't let them enchant you
you were born great
and great you have to remain
Roma Roma Roma
heart of this City
one and only love
of many and many people
you made us fall in love