All good things must come to an end...

Today is, sadly, the last day of our trip. I appreciate you all for reading this through either the entire trip or just a few entries. We had so much fun writing this and this has been the best vacation of my life. I know surprisingly I've been on so many trips as an 18 year old. Either way it was amazing for me every single minute.

I wanna dedicate the entire blog to my great Aunt Jane for taking me here. I know it's not easy to put up with me, especially for 2 weeks with no one else. Thank you so much, I love you and this trip is the greatest graduation present ever.

Now onto business. We woke up early to head over to Orvieto, which was a very cute city. Went through an underground tour which I liked a lot. Me being the adventurous type loved going through those sketchy staircases and those caves. Very interesting to see how the city was built and seeing underneath it.

After that, we headed to the Duomo di Orvieto which was a beautiful cathedral. Check out the pictures for proof. They didn't let us take any pictures inside. I'm sorry, you'll have to just trust me on this one. It was very beautiful though and obviously the center of the city and main attraction.

Then we headed over to a very nice place for lunch. We shared some prosciutto with melon which was very good then I had spaghetti with bacon and meat sauce. Also very good. The waiters and staff of the restaurant were very nice. I spoke what little Italian I knew and I think the waiter thought I knew it. Fooled him then. Also got some free lemoncello which was my first time having it and I love it.

Next we headed to a couple museums, which weren't much to talk about kinda boring. Then we had some gelato which was fantastic as always. We finished our stay by walking back to Bianca and did some shopping on the way through town.

Next we took a little road trip over to Civita, which that and human foosball are the coolest things I've seen so far. It is so hard to explain what it is. Just look at the pictures and make sure if you ever go to Italy you at least drive to see it. 100% worth the trip.

Not gonna update on our dinner tonight, sorry. But we need to wake up early for our plane and I still gotta pack. It has been an honor blogging to you three who have actually been reading this. I appreciate it, hope I didn't offend anyone if I did I'm sorry and if you don't accept my apology, well thats not my fault. I know there has been demand for us to continue blogging but I don't know what it would be about. We'll see though. I had fun doing this and I might come out with something else. Thanks again and now the best aunt is up. Caio!

Aunt Jane's take:

A great ending to a fantastic two weeks. If you read my very first post, you know that I wasn't quite sure what to expect on a two week trip with my nephew. Now that we are at the end, I have to say, it's been one of the best adventures of my life. Everett has been a fantastic travel buddy, a constant source of humor, and an expert navigator. In a word, he's awesome.

I can't begin to describe how much fun and joy it's brought me to share Italy with Everett. Seeing this place through his eyes has been an experience that I will never forget.

Our last day was spent in Orvieto, a very pretty hill town in Umbria that I've visited several times. Set on a giant hunk of tufa (sort of like a mesa of volcanic rock), it has spectacular views of valley below, as well as beautiful architecture, history, etc. And its Duomo is gorgeous. Beautiful mosaics on the outside, great frescoes and paintings inside.

We took a tour of Orvieto's underground, which is a complex system of caves, cisterns, etc. beneath the city. It's immense. While I enjoyed how cool it was to be below ground, I got a little claustrophobic. Especially when our guide started talking about how soft and crumbly the walls and ceilings of the caves were, and about landslides, earthquakes, 60 meter wells, etc. Below are few pix from above and below ground:

 Saw a beautiful exhibit of sculpture and drawings by Emilio Greco, too.

 And some nice frescoes in the old Papal Palace (love the monkey):

Certainly the highlight of the day was our trip to Civita di Bagnoregio, a town south of Orvieto that is "dying." Built on the same volcanic rock as Orvieto, the town has been slowly eroding over the past centuries and now there are only 15 full time residents. Literally, big hunks of the town have been dropping off.  There are doors that open into thin air.

Civita is reachable only by a foot bridge that is a rather formidable trek. As Everett, said, it's very hard to describe and the pix can only tell part of the story. But it was amazing, even the second time around for me. I knew Ev would love it, too.

And now we are packing our bags to return home. What a great trip. Thanks to everyone who has posted or sent us messages. It's been so much fun to share this with you.

Ciao and buona notte!