INNAMORATA

Orvieto is drop dead gorgeous.

We arrive early Thursday before the morning fog has lifted. The medieval city seems to be rising from the clouds. The fog burns off and the sun lights the piazzas with bright morning light.

Market day in Piazza del Popolo finds nonnas shuffling along the cobbled streets pulling their market carts behind them and housewives hustling to get their shopping done. We sit in a caffe' in the piazza, watching the Orvietiani go about their market shopping. One of the cheese vendors has no less than 8 kinds of Peccorino (sheep) cheese, from bone dry to mozzarella fresh, each type labeled with the exact locality of it's production. A grandfather parks his grandson's stroller at the vegetable vendor and picks up a red pepper the size of a football. He dangles it above his grandson, asking “what color is this?” Next, he tries an eggplant, then a green pepper, then other veggies and fruits...teasing and entertaining the toddler while nonna does the serious business of buying today's dinner.

Except for marveling at the intricate the stonework of Orvieto's amazing Duomo,we didn't do any touristy stuff...no museums, cathedrals, underground tours. Today we just wandered the streets and piazzas, admiring pretty lace curtains and flower boxes, taking pictures of doors and windows, laughing as we got caught up in a herd of middle-school kids in neon-yellow caps on a field trip. The city is delightfully empty of tours and tourists. Lilacs in full bloom, so fragrant, they perfume the entire street. Stuffed zuchini flowers and truffled pasta in the garden terrace of a tiny restaurant make a romantic lunch. Nothing is urgent. Life here is slow...alert...fresh...content.

Leaving Orvieto in the late afternoon sunlight is just as breathtaking as arriving in the fog..The beauty of the sun's reflection on the rocky plateau on which Orvieto sits is overwhelming. I feel light-headed...like breathing pure oxygen. I want to stay here....near this place. I don't feel like I need to travel all over the country anymore. I want to return to these places often...these towns in Upper Lazio, Umbria, Southern Tuscany... discovering and rediscovering all the nooks and crannies. I don't want to go far.

Do you know what this feels like? It feels like falling in love. When you've dated for years...then you find the right person, and you just want to know all there is to know about him. The others become less and less important. All you want is to know everything there is to know about the special one.

That's what it feels like living here.