Road Trip!

Since the kids were all in school yesterday morning and I had no other engagements (and couldn't deal with any bureaucracy since the government's closed on Saturdays!), it was clearly time for a road trip! So I folded back the sunroof, rolled down the windows, and set off for Orvieto to see Benedetta.

There are two roads to Orvieto; I had originally planned to take the teeny-tiny severely winding road through who-knows-what.  However, Benedetta assured me that the larger road would be fine with my baby.  Although it's only 32 kilometers away, the drive took me about an hour.  This was partly because of my unfamiliarity with the road and partly because the relatively straight road (as compared with the other) is still plenty curvy.

The red road is the one I took. The yellow road is the alternative I was planning to take.

The nice thing about the road I took is that it travels by a lake for about half of the way, and the views really are beautiful.  It was a rather misty day, which added to the effect, since the lake had this lovely peacefulness about it. And the road was not heavily traveled, which pleased me.

Benedetta met me in Centro and (after oohing and aahing over my little car and taking pics of it) we had a coffee near the cathedral (which is really spectacular from the outside; at some point I will of course go in to take a look...but yesterday was not the day).  She then took me to her place 15 minutes away from town...and it's truly out in the country.  Gravel roads, beautiful large garden with a pool and river, and a lovely home.

And guess what?  I wasn't in any rush, because the kids could get home by themselves (I had lined up Florence to take James, since he's required by the school to have someone pick him up) and go to Massimo's for lunch! Ashley even had outings planned with three separate groups of friends during the afternoon.

When it was time for Benedetta to pick up Meggy from school, she dropped me back off at the parking lot for me to go home.  Giving a passing thought to the fuel, I decided to head home.  And, you guessed it, 10 km into the trip, the "benzina" light started flickering.  At first, it was every so often.  Then it was more frequent.  Were there any gas stations along the road?  Nope! Deserted!  The good news was that I had my phone & could always call someone to rescue me (anyone hearing cries of "Leonardo!" in their head?  Because I was, that's for certain!).  Once Todi was "only" 10 km away (6 miles), I relaxed, because I knew I could easily walk that far if I had to.  Beyond that, every additional kilometer was a boon.

I putt-putt-puttered into the gas station at Ponte Rio (the suburb at the bottom of the hill from Todi) heaving a great sigh of relief, and was glad to be almost home.

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. Ashley didn't make an appearance until 7:00; she'd been having a great time out & about.  The rest of us went to the "ascensore park" which is actually known as the "Giardini Oberdan" to see a craft fair.  There was a man there who was making the most amazing glass flowers -- stems about 18" long; buddleia, thistles, etc.  So delicate & lovely!