Buongiorno

Since Orvieto is it's own big hill, every morning the landscape below is completely enveloped in fog and mist. Here are a few pictures, completely unedited. Usually the fog has been lifting at around 8:30am.

Here's a comparison picture from the afternoon:

Cooking!

So, for Saturdays and Sundays we are "on our own" for meals, so I attempted my classic breakfast back home, of a soft boiled egg with toast. Only, there was no toaster, so I tried to toast my ciabatta bread over the gas stove with  a sieved ladle. Not a good plan. There was also no butter, which is "burro" in Italian. However, a little salt, pepper and olive oil made it all ok. 

 The finished product:

Still, I was very happy when monday came around and we could go back to having dinner at Locanda's...

More Views

New Friends.

About 5 or 6 cats live under our balcony, with inumerable others living around town. These are the first friends I made! They are timid, but also constantly wanting attention. It seems that everyone communally takes care of them by leaving out trays of leftovers for the cats to eat. There is a calico in town who is very friendly as well. All the cats here seem to yell a lot though...not so fun at night. 

Classes

In Orvieto, we are only taking one class at a time, and our first class is simply called "Disegno in Orvieto". All our classes take place in the Palazzo! Here is the doorway, leading into the courtyard. 

This is the studio classroom, where we are all doing perspective drawings in the  morning, along with starting off the day with poetry and inspiring readings from artists around the globe. On breaks, we can even sneak down to the bakery and get fresh bread :) The rest of the Palazzo consists of a smaller study room with a cozy fireplace, and an even smaller library room. It's freezing in every room at the moment, but I've been told it stays cool in the summer heat. 

 Then, after class, we are sent out into the city to sketch out assignments! We can walk in any direction and find something amazing to draw. 

Gelato and the Duomo

As you wander along the streets of Ovieto, you'll be surprised when there suddenly appears before you a wide open space, fronted by a massively ornate cathedral. It dwarfs the buildings in it's shadow, and shines brilliantly in the sun. People gather on the steps to talk, take pictures, relax, and most importantly...eat gelato from the nearby gelateria.

This is my first gelato!

And this is the front of the Duomo :)

Views!

One thing that Orvieto has, unlike anywhere I've seen, is a 360 view of the countryside. Since it's perched on a tall hill, you can walk in any direction and come to an edge with views like these. The city of Orvieto atop the hill has around 5000 people, and the surrounding town of Orvieto down below has around 21,000 inhabitants.

These two views are from both the balconies in my apartment!