Nancy's Travels

Tommorow came a bit too early... by 4am we were both wide awake, unable to convince our bodies that it was still sleepy time. We watched as the windows grew lighter and the sun rose to announce a new day. We walked out to our balcony - the view was incredible, we could barely believe it. The church bells of Orta and Islo San Giulio sounded across the water to formally welcome us (or so we'd like to think). We stood in awe as the town rubbed the sleep from its eyes and began to stir. Apparently, Wednesday is market day.

Chris and I got an early start and wandered around in search of breakfast. Eventually we ended up with some fresh strawberries, grapes, a hunk of parmaggiano (the cheese guy didn't speak a lick of english), bread, salami, and a can of Fanta orange soda. We sat on a bench by the water and enjoyed our strange but fitting meal. By this time the piazza had filled with vendors selling clothing, jewelry, leather goods. Surprisingly, I stayed focused on our itinerary for the day.

We took the next available boat ride out to the island of San Giulio. It was a quick 5 minute trip over the water, and beautiful. It was neat to look back at Orta from the lake, and make out "our" balcony above the lakeside ristorante. The Islo was a beautiful and sad place to me. Narrow cobblestone streets and alleys were lined with old buildings with ornate doors and windows, but the place seems abandoned, like it belonged to some forgotten yesterday. I liked the random signs protruding along the stone alleyways, announcing some snippet of wisdom in four languages. "Be true to you" one advised. The main church was beautiful as well, and is the resting place of the saint which allegedly chased away an evil serpent from the island back in its hayday. Chris and I think the serpent story was made up so no one would want that piece of sweet property, as all the surrounding real estate was constantly fought over in the early years. (I'm no good with historical dates, so just use your imagination.)

Within a couple hours, we were back in Orta enjoying our first gelatos! Mine was biscottini (creme brulette w/ sweet biscotti), and Chris' tasted like yellow cake mix batter. Both yummy!! We walked all over the cobblestone lined streets and alleys of Orta, and even made our way up to the hill to Sacra Monte. Sacra Monte is a local culture hot spot featuring multiple stone buildings with over a hundred frescos dedicated to the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. What I loved most about this place was the acoustics! I couldn't help but start humming, and my voice filled the ancient chamber in an enchanting way.. I wanted to keep going, but got shy.

Back in Orta, we bought a bottle of Dolcetto along with some local salami and cheese. When the balcony picnic was set up, I was so sleepy I begged Chris to let me nap instead. Like a true man, he took care of the picnic all by himself. Refreshed by my nap, I was ready for some pizza! There were 2 places advertising pizza in this town, so we said, why not? We split a pizza from each place, and the verdict was... Rosso's in Santa Rosa was better, hands down! Is it possible to beat the Uovo pizza? We have 3 weeks to find out. A rum raisin gelato offered me more than adequate consolation for the disappointing pies, and I went to sleep with vocabulary words leaping through my head, like Italian sheep jumping over salami logs. My favorite word today, I decided, was ciotole (chee-o-toe-lay): Bowl.