Today we have another long coach drive-6 hours, but we will have a break along the way. We met Jean again, and once boarded, we headed out of Rome. We were scheduled to have a lunch stop at Orvieto, but because we had no traffic issues getting out of Rome, we were at Orvieto by 9:30 am! Jean parked the coach in the parking lot and Jody bought us tickets to take the funicular up the hill to the town. From the funicular station at the top, we took a shuttle bus to Duomo di Orvieto. The Duomo seems massive for the size of this small village. We got out of the shuttle and were given until 12:25 pm to wander town. I immediately went in the Duomo. The windows were  made of colored alabaster and there were nuns inside waxing the pews. The frescoes and paintings were beautiful. I spent about an hour inside, then left to wander down the streets to visit the markets. Ceramics must be popular here because I saw many ceramic shops and shops selling items with lemons and sunflowers as decorations. I found a small local grocery to buy lunch and sat in the square by the church and people-watched. After my lunch, I boarded the shuttle back to the funicular and then explored fortress ruins. You could walk along the medieval castle walls with great views of the valley below. Back on the coach we drove for another 2 hours, took a rest stop, then drove until we exited a small winding road that leads to Levanto. There, we took a train to Monteroso al Mare. Upon arriving, we walked to our hotel, checked in, then re-grouped to walk to our restaurant for our group dinner of seafood, bread, pasta, caprese salad and biscotti for desert. It was after 9:00 pm before we got back to the hotel. Time for journal and bed.

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