Orvieto- a city placed on the ruins of volcanic ash and clay, views down upon the continuous erosion in all directions. Arriving on the train to meet our 'Professional Italian' at "The Big Church you can't miss", we were lost. We took the tram as advised up the mountain, which reminded me much of the geared-train in Zermatt, as well as a train that my family rode to arrive at The Christ a The Redeemer statue in Brazil. Finally arriving at the church, we met with our new professor, Martin Wurm, who was a welcomed addition to the group.
Tired from travel, and feeling under the weather, we made our way to the convent where we have stayed for the past three nights. After a very American style dinner (chicken and fries) we adventured out to find a bar that was hopefully playing the Pats game. After a journey that took a full quarter of game time filled with many dead ends, we decided to give up and just have a drink. After a short time, we were able to convince the bartender that our business warranted their changing the channel from European football to American football, and it was there that I found disappointment from the Patriots first half performance. After a well played game by Manning, I cheered to a surprisingly good season, found my overly-soft bed, and quickly fell asleep.
Day two in Orvieto was very interesting, as half of the group knew the outcome of the Seahawks game as they had logged onto Facebook, and the other half was respecting the pause as the game downloaded on an iPad at the convent. We 'Pausers' battled through a day filled with amazing adventures into the caves of Orvieto, of which there are thousands, only to find out that our prized and promised download did not work. All was well, however, as the Hawks won, and celebration was had all around.
Turning away from football to discuss some economics, the Mediterranean region has a very interesting historical position in the Olive market. Olives in Italy, which are farmed for various reasons including oil for consumption and lamps, at one point made up 99% of the market. Additionally, olives in the Mediterranean diet made up roughly 25-40% of the total calories consumed. This amount of production paired with such a high demand gave the region significant pricing power, and some argue helped provide the area with the wealth needed to expand.
Today I presented my article discussing this, though that was certainly not the highlight of the group's agenda- starting in a small city for lunch, we hiked out on a slippery trail to find our bus. Proceeding to travel for another short distance, we arrived at a naturally stinky hot spring, and good times wee enjoyed by all. The water rushed down a small corridor, and the sulfur crested the surface with a soft-rock-algae mixture that was slick to the touch.
Tomorrow we head further south on this great study trip through Italy. Though an early wakeup is ahead, I look forward to sleeping and enjoying the sights on the long ride.
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