The Millers Do Italy

Catching a train for Sorrento tomorrow -- hopefully the internet access is as reliable there!

Ciao

Yesterday we got up, grabbed some pastries for breakfast, and then caught a train to Orvieto, in Umbria, north of Rome, for a visit to the ancient Etruscan hill town that is now the site of one of Italy's most beautiful cathedrals.

Below, the Duomo, notable for its black and white stripes and colorful façade:

The most interesting facet of the city is its three-thousand year old Etruscan heritage. The civic museum contains climate-controlled tomb paintings, discovered at the tombs just below the city. Here I am, standing in front of an Etruscan inscription at the entrance to one of these tombs:

Ostia Antica is the former port city of Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber 10 miles downstream. Due to the changing course of the river and the moving shoreline, Ostia died out centuries ago, leaving the city fairly intact when it was excavated. Above, you can see us at a taberna, an ancient bar/restaurant.

Below, the Millers at the ancient mill -- this is the stone used to grind grain for flour.

On the way back from Ostia Antica today (pictures, report tomorrow), we stopped in Trastevere to pick up ingredients for dinner.

From Antica Caciara we grabbed not only a Tuscan fennel salami and Pugliese smoked mozzarella for lunch tomorrow, but penne, pecorino romano, eggs, and guanciale for dinner tonight:

Thirty frustrating minutes in a small kitchen later, the Roman classic, penne alla carbonara:

Got the picture situation sorted out, so here we go...

Allison at the Fontana di Trevi!

Dave and Deb at the Pantheon!

The non-Josh five climbed the dome of the Vatican in a scene reminiscent of Mastroiani and Ekberg, the result being:

Here we test Julie's truth-telling capacity:

Finally, a typical family moment, at the Baths of Caracalla: