Day 30: 4831....and now Rome!!!

Before I start the day's blog...let me ask you all to vote in the poll just to the left.  It is easy to do,  and will be fun to see how many blog followers pay attention to anything I'm saying:)

Arrividerci Montalcino!!!!  We departed after a lovely breakfast and view from our power table...

 and as we drove out of town, we had a look back and since no one was behind us, I stopped in the MOTSR (middle of the stinking road)...to capture a view of Montalcino from below:)))  I guess it was worth the tension sweat and deathly fear of a major collision...

 Our last road portion took us away from the Autostrada along some pretty nice scenic routes...this town was called Torresomething...for obvious reasons...

 This portion of our vacation…the Road Trip….ended today in Orvieto.  We safely completed 4831 kilometers with no tickets, no dents, no disasters and no need to drive into Rome.  Hertz has a convenient rental agency just across the street from the train station in Orvieto.  Orvieto has this magnificent church that we’ve been to with the Jordans...

 and as you get closer, it really is spectacular...especially what we call the facade (the front)

 But just to the north is a small plaza with a pizzeria that serves excellent coffee/espresso.  This is Peggy's favorite bite...for obvious reasons...

 Waiting at the train tracks was a treat for Peggy, while I hunted far and wide for some duct tape...during lunch hour when every store is closed...but what's really important, men, is that my bride was relaxed...(I did secretly think about asking her to cross the railway lines or at least go beyond the yellow line...to no avail...)

…we had a great lunch…saw the church, got gas, dropped off the prepaid car, walked across the street for tickets to Rome (only 7 euro each), sat back and relaxed….until we hit Termini Station in Rome.  This is a reunion tour after all, and we had little trouble walking to our Hotel Romae, just a few blocks from the station.  This place was first recommended to us 8 years ago by the Cooksons, and it is new and improved as well.

We decided to walk to the Pantheon...about an hour...and find the little restaurant that we and the Jordan loved the last time we were here. ...Mission Accomplished!!! We were given the last table out front, and the place, to Tiffany Winter's great joy is called...Osteria del Sostegno...which means "place to eat that's committed to sustainability!"...Been here in this tiny alley just a few blocks from the Pantheon for 11 years.

Having the last table meant being on a slight angle...since the cobblestones really had a workout over the centuries.

 Everything started off great with a free Bruschetta and fresh tomatoes...

 The salad of mixed greens came on time...and was delicious...

 Unfortunately, this pasta dish was brought after they brought the wrong dish and after about 45 minutes of waiting for them to figure out their error.  It was delicious nonetheless with fresh zucchini flowers and tomatoes...and a perfectly al dente pasta...

After another 45 minutes with continued reassurances that our eggplant parmigian was soon to arrive, we had felt a 2 hour stay with 1 salad and 1 pasta dish was just fine for dinner....They were apologetic to a point...but said they really thought we looked like we were enjoying the wait.  We were since we always enjoy time together, but it wasn't quite a good enough excuse for the incredibly poor service.  An hour stroll back and our evening was redeemed and delightful...especially when we saw the world famous:

Everyone on the streets of Rome was buzzing about the wood fired oven soon to be built in this establishment!!!  Ciao Roma!!!