The Hilltop Town of Orvieto, Umbria

31 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Orvieto, The Hilltop Town, Orvieto, umbria

Tags

Fortezza albornoz, Funicular, Guarding comunali, hilltop town, italy, Orvieto, Parliament river Valley, Photography, Rome, travel, umbria

In addition to the Duomo and the Underground city tour, one of my favorite parts of Orvieto was, Orvieto.

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Orvieto is a city and commune in southwestern Umbria. It is only just over an hour train ride from Rome. Trains depart hourly from Roma Termini so it makes it easy to visit Orvieto just for a day. However, if you have the time, I suggest that you spend a couple of days or more there.

The city is a warren of winding narrow streets and beautiful alleyways. While the city walls and the sheer cliff faces that supported them were ample defense in most cases, the city’s rulers decided not to take any risks. The result is a series of winding streets which while somewhat confusing also do a brilliant job of adding charm and character to the town.

Of the many streets I saw and wandered, there were many more I missed.

Street scenes of Orvieto, Piazzas and Streets

I spent an entire afternoon exploring many of these streets and the city’s series of impressive walls which were added to the tops of the cliffs to further secure the city’s perimeter.

These walls provide a stable series of walkways and viewing platforms for residents and visitors to traverse in search of one of the many amazing views the city offers.

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The Town Walls and Views from Orvieto

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I ended my afternoon in The Giardini Comunali which are near Piazza Cahen and set within the walls of the medieval Fortezza Albornoz. From this garden you can enjoy marvelous views of the Paglia river valley.

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Giardini Comunali

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Orvieto’s funicular connects the railway station to the city’s historic centre by overcoming a vertical distance of 157 metres.

Apart from the city inside the walls, Orvieto is an ideal location for relaxing walks, enjoying the countryside, and outdoor picnics. If you have the time to spend in the area there is so much more to see outside these city walls. I met people on the train going to Rome who had rented a villa down from the hilltop town in the valley who told me that they had visited the walled city many times during their week long stay as well as exploring many of the areas below the town on the hill.

Christmas in Brisbane

21 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Australia, Christmas in Brisbane

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

australia, Brisbane, Brisbane River, Christmas, City Hall, CityCat, King George Square, Photography, story bridge, travel

After living in Brisbane for many years, I finally went it in to the city to see the Christmas lights, in particular the City Hall Lights Spectacular.

We took the City Cat Ferry from Southbank Parklands down the river towards the mouth of the river. What a great way to see the city. As day turned in to evening, it was magic riding down the Brisbane River watching the city lights and bridge lights come on and the changes in the vistas.

The Christmas coloured lights on the Story Bridge were amazing

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There was plenty of room on board the CityCat either inside or outside, up the front or out the back. We leisurely cruised zig zagging across the river with a few stops on the way, dropping off and picking up other passengers.

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There are many interesting stops along the way where you can get off. We finally chose Bretts Wharf to disembark and then we took another CityCat back up the river, where we finally disembarked at North Quay in the CBD.

I absolutely loved getting on the City Cat close to dusk and riding it up the Brisbane River. The CityCat Ferry is the ideal way to see Brisbane. Cheap, Clean, Comfortable and Fast. A must do if you are visiting Brisbane.

After stopping for dinner, we then made our way to City Hall in King George Square. We walked through the Queen Street Mall to see the beautiful shop windows decorated with Christmas scenes.

King George Square -Daytime

Finally, we arrived at the City Hall Christmas lights display. The Light Spectacular features an exquisite, animated Christmas story. This year’s story is a playful, Aussie take on The Night Before Christmas. Set in a suburban backyard during a hot, Brisbane summer, it’s bursting with whimsical adventure, cuddly creatures and plenty of fun. City Hall’s clock tower sounds nightly to signal the start of each show.

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The light show is quite short, about 10 minutes, so we stayed and enjoyed it several times. It was a wonderful festive atmosphere and not very crowded at all.

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Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful festive season. Thank you for all your comments, and likes and support over the past 12 months.

Buon Natale

Heavenly Beautiful Devonport

17 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Auckland, Auckland Harbour, Devonport, Devonport NZ, Esplanade Hotel Devonport, Hamilton, New Zealand, Photography, travel

We arrived in Auckland late morning by coach from Hamilton. After enjoying a light lunch, we then had a free afternoon in the city. We explored the Auckland waterfront before deciding to see the harbour and foreshores from a boat. We enquired at the ferry terminal and were told about the short ferry ride to Devonport.

We purchased our tickets, which were $12 round trip and hopped on to the next ferry to take the 15 minutes ferry ride across Auckland Harbour to the seaside village of Devonport.

Auckland

Not only is the view spectacular as you leave the city but it gets even better when you arrive at Devonport with its beautiful little bay where you are met with enchanting buildings and parks on the waterfront

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Auckland Harbour

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On arrival in Devonport the views across to Auckland city are spectacular so don’t forget to take the camera.

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You can spend a couple of hours here, or all day, whether you’re into relaxing with a picnic on the shore front reserves and beaches or exploring North Heads history and the Navy museum (free). All are easily accessible, with a flat walk from the ferry building. If strolling around is too much there’s always sightseeing in the horse drawn carriage as a novelty.

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There are lots of cafes and shops right in the quaint downtown high street of Devonport centre. Or you can take a leisurely walk along the shoreline (approx 1km) to the museum (has its own cafe). If you’re into exploring, you can walk up to North Head where you get amazing views of Rangitoto Island and the Waitemata Harbour. At the base of North Head is the beautiful Cheltenham Beach, which can be accessed by steps down from North Head, or a flat walk along the road. It is a very safe beach for a swim, or just sit and enjoy the view of the Harbour.

After we finished exploring we popped in to the Esplanade Hotel which is set in a landmark 1901 building overlooking Waitematā Harbour and only a minute walk to the ferry terminal. A delightful way to finish our short time in darling Devonport.

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Esplanade Hotel

And then we enjoyed the spectacular ride back to Auckland.

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The town of Devonport has plenty of character and history and as soon as you get off the ferry it feels like you’re on holiday. I absolutely loved it and can see myself returning.

The Underground City – Orvieto

08 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Orvieto, Underground City Tour

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

caves, italy, medieval, Orvieto, Orvieto Duomo, Photography, travel, Underground Tour

A fascinating perspective on the ‘city beneath the city’ in this marvelous medieval town of Orvieto.

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Entrance to the underground caves

I found the Orvieto Underground Tour (leaving from the Piazza Duomo) was a fabulous way of absorbing much of Orvieto’s history while enjoying a most unusual facet of Orvieto’s history – Life Underground. This interesting tour was good value for €6

Inside the underground caves

You need to book a tour in your preferred language in advance. This can be done at their office next door to the tourist information office which is opposite the Duomo. There are only 4 tours per day so reserve early. The English speaking tours were heavily booked.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about Orvieto’s geology, history, culture and peculiarities, and made the 1 ½ hour tour memorable. The tour takes you through approximately 15 subterranean caves which were actually “basements” dug by the families who lived above during medieval times. Apparently there’s more than 1200 spread across the city. It’s truly amazing the work these people did with basic tools. As it turns out the constant temperature and humidity are ideal for storing olive oil.

Our guide was excellent ensuring our safety as well as providing in depth information about the early inhabitants and how each civilisation used the caves, up to today where they are used for storage for wine and olive oil.

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This easy trip with only a few narrow stairways will take you beneath present-day Orvieto and 3,000 years into past history to the first inhabitants, who carved out a maze of underground rooms and passageways. Knowledgeable docents will relate its very interesting story, from the Etruscans up until now

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Many of the caves have openings so there are good views of the valley and countryside. Most of the caves include pigeon holes for the pigeons that were encouraged to nest there and produce food for the town. The pigeon rookeries were a strategic source of meat during siege warfare as the birds would fly into the surrounding countryside and forage then return at night. There are no pigeons there now though.