The Only Thing Cuter Than a Fiat 500...

...is a huge group of them!

Today, James and I went to a Fiat 500 rally at Lake Bolsena. This is about the only thing I'll voluntarily wake up early to do...and we were required to be at the first meeting point at 7:30! We were actually the first there...at 7:15...and hung around looking at the closed bar.

Station wagon, for those who want more space

At about 7:30, the barman showed up. All of a sudden, there was a swarm of about eight Fiat 500s and their drivers/passengers. Everyone lined up for their coffee and (generally) pastry. Hold onto your belts, because this is a group that believes in eating!

Only 50 of these were made; 30 remain.

When all were satisfied (for the moment), it was time to move on. Going through glorious countryside, by the side of a lake, we curvetted
up to the next meeting point (just outside Orvieto). After coffee, pastries (for some) and other sustenance, we had accumulated about 30 cars. Time to move on; Bolsena awaits us!

There were six rows FULL of Fiat 500s!

We arrived in Bolsena with much fanfare, scattering shoppers at the antiques fair like startled hens. It was rather fun, actually. Arriving in the parking lot and registering, we were then issued our breakfast ticket (who knew?) and trundled off to our third bar of the day for coffee and pastries, plus juice! For free! As in, included in the registration price. I'll get to that later.

There were at least 130 cars. The highest number registrant I saw was 130, but there may have been more. Understand, supposedly the number of cars was capped at 100. As if.

Remains of the Day

We managed to get underway only 45 minutes late (during which time, all the drivers hung out and swapped stories about which maintenance or additional work was expected in the near future), and drove to some nearby Roman remains. Very similar to Carsulae, these remains included a basilica, forum, house with subterranean rooms (lovely and cool for the summer), and a frescoed area that was quite intact.

Enough of remains! Time for some nibbles. Enjoying the lovely scenery, everyone got to business, reducing several tables' worth of pizza, chips, bacon bread, olive bread, and more to mere crumbs. James and I tucked in, because we were NOT staying for the lunch (which was expected to last around three hours).

View from the castle battlements!

When we had had our fill, James and I said our goodbyes, and went to the Rocca (fortress) of Bolsena. A little jewel of a castle, it now houses a very small aquarium, Etruscan wares, and Roman wares. Besides which, you are allowed up on the battlements! Bliss!

We also visited the church...quite charming. The interior is stucco painted to look like stone blocks, with a beautiful frieze. The paintings were modern, and done in rather lurid colors, so were somewhat less charming for my taste.

View of Bagnoregio from Lubiano

Time to go! We drove home via Bagnoregio. The town was closed to traffic, and we didn't want to spend the amount of time it would have taken to park all the way on the far side of town to get to Cività. However, we were able to get a lovely view of it from a nearby town (Lubiano, I think).

Off home via Civitella del Lago (high up on a promontory with a lovely view) and Fiore.

Contents of the goodie bag, called "gadget"

And now it's time for Mass!

Love,

Alexandra

p.s. A note of expenditures: Cost of registration 15 euros. Included:
Escorted rally/excursion
Breakfast for two (value about 4-5 euros depending on bar)
Entrance to Roman ruins (usually 5 euros a head)
Heavy snacks for 2 (call it 4-5 euros a head because drinks, pizza, snacks, and dessert were included, all you could eat)
Goodie bag with about 5 euros' worth of food inside